A SURVIVOR from a golden age of Sixties and early Seventies' folk, Martin Simpson has been quietly prolific.
Trails And Tribulations is customarily plush in production, beautifully recorded. While there is no sense of going over the ledge, Simpson is very easy on the ears.
Some place him alongside Bert Jansch and the recently departed John Renbourne, yet his virtuosity is never thrust in your face, always deployed in service of the song.
So what of the material? Blues Run The Game by Jackson C Frank is a melancholy note to start on, and this ruminative feel drifts through the whole record. With smooth banjo lulling your senses, these trials range from days of yore to the American Deep South.
Highlights include St James Infirmary and his re-writing of an old murder ballad Thomas Drew. Safe folk perhaps but the protagonists here lead a precarious existence, though at least their demise is accompanied by some lovely musicianship.
Martin Simpson plays National Centre for Early Music, York, on November 6.
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