BAND OF TWO - What You See... (PDCS PDCSCD001)
An alternative title to this album could be 'Give 'em what they want' as here two-thirds of "The Tabs", Peter Fyfe (guitar, vocals) and Gary Blakeley (fiddle, guitar, vocals) tread over ground which you might be forgiven in thinking had been well and truly trampled over. However, the surprising thing is that virtually everything here sounds fresh and exciting. I can imagine many old folkies eyes misting over listening to this, as songs they thought they'd never hear again except in drunken gatherings are rescusitated in fine style. Examples are "I'll Tell Me Ma", "Whiskey In The Jar", "Black Velvet Band", "Irish Rover" - you get the picture. Listening to them again makes you realise why these songs were popular in the first place - they are accessible to join in with and have bloody good tunes. They also include instrumentals to ring the changes - these include "Duelling Banjos"/" Orange Blossom Special". It would be easy to imagine this duo in a pub bringing the house down by giving people what they want which really sums up this CD. Good time music to have a good time by.
( Phil Hugill - Folk On Tap, Issue 70, Jan/Mar '97)
Well, you're all probably hung over from St. Patrick's Day, your only chance to drink loads of cheap beer spiked with green food coloring and listen to Clancy Brothers cover bands. If you are, sure an' I have some releases for ye! The best of the three is Band of Two's What You See [PDCSCD 001]. Their repertoire is mostly standard Irish ballad-group fare; such songs as "Black Velvet Band," "Whiskey in the Jar," "Cock- les and Mussels," "The Irish Rover," "I'll Tell Me Ma," and "Working on the Railway" fill this 19-track, 67 minute opus. Indeed, these guys probably got their whole humongous repertoire off Clancy Brothers, Dubliners and Irish Rovers LPs. Both have robust singing voices (and English accents, which is a bit odd given the material), but the star of the album is really Garry Blakely's excellent, fiery fiddling. It kind of makes you wonder why he chooses to play in this sort of band, but then there's a fond spot in my heart for Irish bar music, too.
( Steve Winick - Dirty Linen, Issue 69, April/May '97)
BAND OF TWO - What You See... (PDCS PDCSCD001)
GARRY BLAKELEY - Out Of The Shadows (PDCS PDCSCD002)
It must be almost 30 years now since I first saw Garry playing the fiddle as a young lad with The Mariners. He was good even then; now he has reached the status of being a masterly musician for whom a solo album is long overdue. Garry has never been pushed to the front as a singer in any of the groups that he has performed with over the years, but the fact is that he has a warm and pleasant voice and he has chosen songs well to suit it here, particularly Jim McCarthy's "Ride On". However it is on the traditional and self-composed dance tunes that this album really scales the heights with the beautiful distinctive tone of his fiddle contrasting with the cutting edge of his fiddle playing. The album reaches a fine climax in the final set where he is joined by Paul Sedgwick's pipes and Barry Dransfield's cello.
We hear Garry in a totally different context in the other album where he is partnered by Pete Fyfe as Band of Two. They have been enormously successfully on the pub music circuit and this album is clearly aimed at being sold on these gigs. It would be easy for the dyed-in-the-wool folkie to be stuffy about the "Wild Rover", "Whisky In The Jar", "Dirty Old Town" etc. that the album contains, but we all had to start somewhere and Band Of Two are out there several nights a week trying to win converts with their direct, attractive approach. The second album will probably sell better whilst the first will have more appeal to the committed folk enthusiast.
It is important that both these well-produced albums do well as the "PD" part of PDCS is that man of great talent, taste and integrity, Paul Dengate. His third planned release is one by Oliver Bootle. A successful record label headed by Paul; now there's a fine prospect.
(Vic Smith - The Folk Diary, No.163, Feb/Mar '97)