Seth Lakeman | ||
| Allmusic Biography : When the band Equation stumbled into semi-retirement in 2001, Seth Lakeman appeared to be the bandmember least equipped to find solo success. His brothers Sam and Sean teamed up in successful duos with their partners and fellow bandmembers Cara Dillon and Kathryn Roberts, but few imagined the bands frenzied fiddle player/guitarist would swiftly transform himself into not only one of the hottest talents on the British folk scene, but achieve fame and success well beyond the genres norm. Post-Equation, he played support fiddle behind his sister-in-law Cara Dillon, but back home in the beautiful, dramatic surroundings of Dartmoor in the southwest of England, he was inspired to write songs about the myriad legends and folklore endemic to the mystical countryside in which he was raised. His only motivation for releasing his first solo album, The Punch Bowl (recorded in brother Seans kitchen with other members of Equation and released on his own iScream label in 2002), was to stir up enough interest to get a few folk club gigs. The album sank without a trace. He didnt have the credibility or a striking enough voice to be taken seriously performing traditional material, and his own songs seemed scarcely original enough to garner attention beyond Equation followers. Lakeman had little expectation that his second effort, 2004s Kitty Jay, would fare any better. Again recorded on a shoestring budget in his brothers kitchen, it delved further into Devons rich legacy of legends and was officially launched with a surreal gig in front of a captive audience at the bleak, intimidating Dartmoor Prison close to his home. But unlike its predecessor, Kitty Jay captured peoples imaginations in unexpected ways. The title track told the harrowing story of a maid who committed suicide when ostracized by the local community after being impregnated by the squires son, and inspired a trail of visitors to her roadside grave. Lakeman, meanwhile, found himself on the short list of the 2005 Mercury Music Prize alongside rock luminaries Coldplay, Kaiser Chiefs, Magic Numbers, Hard-Fi, KT Tunstall, and eventual winners Antony and the Johnsons. Lakemans passionate performance of "Kitty Jay" at the finals and his genial, homespun attitude toward the press helped win a whole new audience, not merely for him, but the folk genre he was representing. Suddenly Lakeman was the pinup boy of "nu folk," and although his next album, Freedom Fields, had already been recorded in a similarly modest manner as the previous two, EMI stepped forward in 2006 to sign him to its Relentless imprint and remix and reissue the album. With the full might of a major company behind him, Lakeman was projected into a previously alien world of singles, remixes, videos, daytime TV and radio promotion, and massive tours. He took it all in stride and relished the chance to create a bigger sound, establishing a band that included brother Sean on guitar and Irish percussionist Cormac Byrne, from the Uiscedwr trio, playing bodhran. Achieving mainstream recognition and a couple of minor U.K. hit singles (with "The White Hare" and "Lady of the Sea"), Lakemans spectacular rise was greeted with skepticism by a folk world programmed to be suspicious of crossover success. Yet while his style was hardly authentic -- a novel hybrid of traditional song, frothy pop, and classically flavored fiddle playing -- he built an entirely new, young fan base for the music -- something many had tried and failed to do before him. He was rewarded with Album of the Year (for Freedom Fields) and Singer of the Year honors at the 2007 BBC Folk Awards, though there was an outcry when the apparently self-written "The White Hare" was nominated as traditional track of the year. His fourth album, Poor Mans Heaven -- a rock-influenced effort with Zeppelin-esque drums -- arrived in 2008, followed by a move to Virgin, another label in the EMI stable, for Hearts & Minds in 2010. Following the end of his EMI contract, Lakeman opted to release his sixth album, 2011s Tales from the Barrel House, on tiny indie label Honour Oak; concomitantly, it reached only number 63 on the U.K. album charts. Undeterred, Lakeman continued to tour, performing a special show with the BBC Concert Orchestra in 2013, five tracks of which were released as an EP. For his next album, Lakeman signed to Cooking Vinyl. Word of Mouth was slated for release in early 2014 and was preceded by the haunting, minimalist single "Portrait of My Wife." Few ever successfully manage to straddle the disparate worlds of pop and folk, but with his infectious energy, original style, and natural charisma, Lakeman kept his balance. His 2016 follow-up, Ballads of the Broken Few, prominently featured the sweet, close-harmony vocals of all-girl folk trio Wildwood Kin, who also hail from Lakemans native Devon. Recorded with minimal instrumentation around a single mike in vintage style, the album added a fresh, soulful touch to his earnest, earthy songwriting. Lakeman spent the majority of 2017 touring with Robert Plant as part of the Sensational Space Shifters, finding a gap in the schedule in early 2018 to head back into the studio. While recording his ninth solo full-length, 2018s The Well-Worn Path, he enlisted producer Ben Hillier, bassist and longtime collaborator Ben Nicholls, guitarist Kit Hawes, drummer Evan Jenkins, and his sister-in-law, Kathryn Roberts, who provided backing vocals. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 12 Title: The Punch Bowl Released: 2002 Tracks: 10 Duration: 28:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Garden of Grace (03:15) 2 Image of Love (03:11) 3 April Eyes (02:11) 4 Its All Your World (03:05) 5 Send Yourself Away (02:45) 6 Look Outside Your Window (03:18) 7 How Much (02:22) 8 The Punch Bowl (02:16) 9 Scrumpys Set (02:47) 10 Ye Mariners All (03:24) |
 | Album: 2 of 12 Title: Western Approaches Released: 2004 Tracks: 12 Duration: 42:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Jigsaw (02:03) 2 Surfers Storm (03:28) 3 Crooked Man (04:52) 4 Captains Court (03:29) 5 Image of Love (03:38) 6 Track of Words (03:20) 7 The Keeper (03:56) 8 Sand in Your Shoes (03:25) 9 Ye Mariners All (03:15) 10 The Ballad of Josie (03:10) 11 If I Fall (04:10) 12 Dawn Wave (03:40) |
 | Album: 3 of 12 Title: Kitty Jay Released: 2004-05-10 Tracks: 11 Duration: 36:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 John Lomas (03:52) 2 The Bold Knight (03:51) 3 Fight for Favour (04:03) 4 Kitty Jay (03:12) 5 Farewell My Love (02:22) 6 Blood Upon Copper (03:04) 7 Henry Clark (03:02) 8 The Storm (02:41) 9 Cape Clear (04:20) 10 The Ballad of Josie (03:25) 11 The Streamers (02:43) |
 | Album: 4 of 12 Title: Freedom Fields Released: 2006-03-20 Tracks: 14 Duration: 48:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Charmer (02:33) 2 Lady of the Sea (03:24) 3 Childe the Hunter (04:18) 4 The White Hare (03:30) 5 The Colliers (03:14) 6 King and Country (04:27) 7 The Setting of the Sun (04:01) 8 Take No Rogues (03:55) 9 1643 (03:25) 10 The Riflemen of War (02:52) 11 The Band of Gold (03:14) 12 The Final Lot (01:53) 1 Lady of the Sea (live) (03:13) 2 Ye Mariners All (live) (04:22) |
 | Album: 5 of 12 Title: Poor Mans Heaven EP Released: 2007-10-22 Tracks: 5 Duration: 21:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Poor Mans Heaven (04:33) 2 Race To Be King (04:29) 3 How Much (Live) (05:38) 4 Lilywhite Girl (02:51) 5 Poor Mans Heaven (Live) (04:16) |
 | Album: 6 of 12 Title: Poor Mans Heaven Released: 2008-06-30 Tracks: 11 Duration: 40:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Hurlers (03:22) 2 Feather in a Storm (02:52) 3 Crimson Dawn (03:13) 4 Blood Red Sky (03:58) 5 Solomon Browne (02:52) 6 Cherry Red Girl (03:55) 7 Ill Haunt You (03:55) 8 Race to Be King (03:57) 9 Poor Mans Heaven (04:31) 10 Greed and Gold (04:16) 11 Sound of a Drum (03:51) |
| Poor Man's Heaven : Allmusic album Review : You cant deny the success Seth Lakeman had with his previous release, Freedom Fields -- for a folkie, it was a real breakout, and one hes tried to capitalize on with this album. Hes certainly gone for a sound thats more polished, and aimed at the arena rather than the folk club. His backing band is certainly more rock, and theres an edge to his own fiddle playing, while hearing him on the title cut its impossible not to be reminded of Robert Plant, whos used folk music himself in the past. He draws from his home region for lyrics, with "Solomon Browne" putting a 1980s lifeboat disaster into a traditional-style ballad. Lakeman has the folk background, but on the basis of this and its predecessor, he wants to use that as a springboard to the mainstream. Theres nothing necessarily wrong with that, unless one were to question Lakemans move further away from his roots toward something like singer/songwriter heaven. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 12 Title: Hearts & Minds Released: 2010-06-14 Tracks: 13 Duration: 49:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Hearts & Minds (03:53) 2 The Watchman (03:30) 3 Tiny World (03:22) 4 Spinning Days (03:46) 5 See Them Dance (03:10) 6 Stepping Over You (04:21) 7 Changes (04:15) 8 Tender Traveller (04:03) 9 Hard Working Man (03:27) 10 Preacher’s Ghost (04:54) 11 The Circle Grows (03:40) 12 Ghost of You (04:23) 13 High St Rose (03:08) |
| Hearts & Minds : Allmusic album Review : One of a select few traditional British folk artists to cross over to the mainstream, chisel-featured banjo, fiddle, and tenor guitar player Seth Lakeman became the genres poster boy following his Mercury Music Prize nomination for second album Kitty Jay back in 2004. Since then hes risked alienating his initial captive audience with a series of records, each of which has distanced him further from his humble shoestring-budget beginnings. Following the James Blunt-esque AOR leanings on 2006s commercial breakthrough Freedom Fields, and the polished rock sound displayed on 2008s Top Ten hit Poor Mans Heaven, his fifth studio album, Hearts & Minds, is unlikely to silence the naysayers who believe hes abandoned his roots. Indeed, while his early output often evoked the vintage sea shanties of Ewan MacColl and Celtic sounds of Martin Carthy, these 11 self-penned tracks, produced by Tchad Blake (Crowded House, Tom Waits), have much more in common with the increasingly popular nu-folk of contemporary acts like Mumford & Sons and Noah and the Whale. The lo-fi "See Them Dance" is a hypnotic blend of garage rock rhythms, an infectious singalong chorus, and a Jimi Hendrix-style psychedelic violin solo; "Stepping Over You" is a melancholic acoustic pop ballad featuring Bellowheads Benji Kirkpatrick on banjo duties; and "Hard Working Man" is a rabble-rousing anthem that recalls the socially conscious anti-folk of Billy Bragg. Only the brooding minimal closing track, "The Circle Grows," and the plucked pizzicato string-led "Changes" showcase his previous trademark stripped-back timeless sound. The tales of West Country folklore and mystical legends that characterized his early career have also been eschewed in favor of lyrics centering on both autobiographical themes such as long-lost love (the Levellers-esque "Tiny World") and relevant modern-day issues like the financial crisis (the thumping prog rock-inspired title track). Hearts & Minds therefore may be a more personal affair, while his impressive multi-instrumental abilities and passionate delivery are still here in abundance, but overall, it lacks both the rawness and originality of his earlier work that helped him to stand out in the congested singer/songwriter crowd. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 12 Title: Tiny World Released: 2011-04-08 Tracks: 6 Duration: 23:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Tiny World (03:08) 2 Signed & Sealed (03:38) 3 Fire & Dirt (04:02) 4 Hearts & Minds (03:38) 5 Race to Be King (04:36) 6 Kitty Jay (04:12) |
 | Album: 9 of 12 Title: Tales From the Barrel House Released: 2012-04-02 Tracks: 10 Duration: 42:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 More Than Money (04:25) 2 Blacksmiths Prayer (04:28) 3 The Watchmakers Rhyme (03:44) 4 Hard Road (03:37) 5 The Sender (04:25) 6 Salt From Our Veins (04:21) 7 Brother of Penryn (03:53) 8 Apple of His Eye (03:43) 9 Higher Walls (03:47) 10 The Artisan (05:44) |
| Tales From the Barrel House : Allmusic album Review : Accused of pandering to the masses ever since his 2004 sophomore album Kitty Jay picked up a surprise Mercury Music Prize nomination, folk troubadour Seth Lakemans sixth studio effort, Tales from the Barrel House, couldnt be a bolder riposte to his critics. Free from the shackles of a major record company, the first release through his own Honour Oak label is arguably the most primitive, impassioned, and resolutely uncommercial album of his career, not to mention the most independent his having written, produced, and played every instrument on its ten tracks. Recorded at a disused cooperage and featuring a plethora of makeshift percussion ranging from an old Salvation Army drum to an array of anvils, axes, and chains, this heartfelt tribute to the dying trades of his beloved West Country heritage could have turned into a gimmicky affair. But Lakemans poetic way with words, rugged charm, and earthy, everyman tones ensure the unusual techniques on display serve as merely a complement and not a distraction. Indeed, from the foot-stomping opening lament to miners of "More Than Money," to the romanticized ode to the art of carpentry on maudlin closer "The Artisan," his authenticity is never open to question. There may be little in the way of light relief, with only the jaunty Celtic jig that interrupts the stark bouzouki-led atmospherics of "Blacksmiths Prayer" and the singalong chorus of the gritty, country-tinged "Hard Road" deviating from the brooding intensity that swarms the record. But other than the funereal dirge of "Salt from Our Veins," Lakeman cleverly manages to combine his workmanlike approach with a warmth thats been largely absent from his more recent mainstream fare, none more so than on the gorgeously delicate balladry of "Apple of His Eye" and the stripped-back love song "The Sender." Bravely rejecting his crossover status, Tales from the Barrel House is a convincing return to form which proves Lakeman is a far more engaging prospect without the aid of a studio polish. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 12 Title: Word of Mouth Released: 2014-02-03 Tracks: 24 Duration: 1:26:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Wanderer (03:56) 2 Another Long Night (04:37) 3 The Courier (03:37) 4 Labour She Calls Home (04:24) 5 Bells (03:30) 6 Last Rider (04:17) 7 The Saddest Crowd (04:40) 8 Tiger (03:30) 9 The Ranger (03:05) 10 Bal Maiden (04:15) 11 Each Man (03:45) 12 Portrait of My Wife (03:57) 1 End Of Day (04:01) 2 The Borders (04:02) 3 Morning Song (04:15) 4 The Wanderer (Interview) (02:26) 5 Tiger (Interview) (03:32) 6 Last Rider (Interview) (02:38) 7 Labour She Calls Home (Interview) (02:55) 8 Each Man (Interview) (03:21) 9 The Courier (Interview) (02:30) 10 Bells (Interview) (02:56) 11 Another Long Night (Interview) (02:33) 12 Bal Maiden (Interview) (03:34) |
 | Album: 11 of 12 Title: Ballads of the Broken Few Released: 2016-09-16 Tracks: 11 Duration: 42:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Willow Tree (02:57) 2 Silence Reigns (03:39) 3 Meet Me in the Twilight (03:50) 4 Stranger (03:44) 5 Fading Sound (04:05) 6 Ballad of the Broken Few (03:12) 7 Anna Lee (03:51) 8 Innocent Child (04:18) 9 Whenever Im Home (05:00) 10 Silver Threads (03:09) 11 Pulling Hard Against the Stream (04:37) |
| Ballads of the Broken Few : Allmusic album Review : British folk crossover Seth Lakeman turns in one of the most organic records of his career with 2016s Ballads of the Broken Few. A collaboration with sisters/cousin trio Wildwood Kin, Ballads is pares down even further from his semi-rustic 2014 effort Word of Mouth, offering spare single-mike renderings of seven new originals and four traditional and cover songs. As is occasionally his custom, Lakeman once again eschews a proper studio, opting to record at an old Jacobean manor house, with Ethan Johns capturing the sessions in all their harmonic glory. The vocal pairing of Exeter-based sisters Beth and Emillie Key and their cousin Meghann Loney with Lakemans warm tenor is a good one and they make the most of their rich blend on tracks like "Innocent Child," "Fading Sound," and the soulful title cut, the latter of which is given some extra grit thanks to some wild distorted guitar work from Johns. Recorded in single takes around a lone mike, Lakeman and his collaborators gamely work the dynamics of the room, accentuating the liveliness of the affair with stomps, claps, and the spontaneous nuances of each unique performance. The instrumentation is generally minimalist with Lakemans fiddle often providing the sole accompaniment to the vocal arrangements, which occasionally take on a gospel feel depending on the material. A mix of bluesy Americana and classic folk balladry, Ballads is finely crafted and passionately sung with plenty of stirring moments such as the beautiful "Silence Reigns" and "Stranger." Its a nice direction for Lakeman as he moves even more distinctly away from anything resembling pop music and into the timeless elegance of classic folk. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 12 Title: The Well Worn Path Released: 2018-10-26 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Bright Smile (05:01) 2 She Never Blamed Him (04:09) 3 Educated Man (05:07) 4 Lend a Hand (04:33) 5 Drink Til Im Dry (04:13) 6 Fitzsimmons Fight (05:14) 7 Divided We Will Fall (03:59) 8 The Gloaming (04:57) 9 Dig New Ground (04:43) 10 Judge Not a Man (04:44) 11 Well Worn Path (04:42) |