From: Pete Fyfe
[petefyfe_at_aol_dot_com]
Sent: 28 May 2012 18:30
Subject: Pete Fyfe: Silly Wizard
- 'Live' Again CD & sleeve
Attachments: Silly Wizard - 'Live'
Again.jpg
SILLY WIZARD - ?Live' Again
(Birnam CD BCD619)
The old saying ??died and gone
to Heaven' really is the only way I can describe this re-release of Silly
Wizard's performance recorded at The Sanders Theatre in Massachusetts, USA in
1983. Ah, the memories come flooding back as I relive my youth and the acoustic
explosion that was Andy M Stewart (lead vocals/banjo), John & Phil
Cunningham (fiddle & accordion respectively), Martin Hadden (bass) and
Gordon Jones (guitar). Unfortunately I doubt we will ever see their like again
as they were indeed one of a kind and for those of us that witnessed the band
?live' we can count ourselves lucky that at least we were there when it
happened. To have been lucky enough to bask in their company I know that
everyone I talk to who remembers those days has so many anecdotes there would
be enough to fill several books quite easily. Like the audience at this
particular concert the choice of material including song-writer Stewart's "The
Queen Of Argyle", "Golden Golden" and "The Ramblin' Rover" remain classics to
this day and the humour, respect and interaction between the Cunningham
Brothers comes to the fore in a truly astonishing set of seven reels that I
doubt ever (in my lifetime at least) to witness again. This CD features fifteen
tracks of unbelievable musicality and the warmth extended in return from the
audience is a tangible experience you will rarely find anywhere else at
anytime. I doubt anybody who knows me would blame me for waxing lyrical about a
band that no longer exists but as long as we have recordings like this to
remind us of "?the good old days" we can proudly boast we were there to witness
it first hand. This is an album that not only comes highly recommended but
should be an essential part of any ?true' folk music enthusiast's collection.
If you buy any album for nostalgia's sake this year it has to be this one! www.sillywizard.co.uk
PETE FYFE