Discount Wayfaring Stranger: Folksongs On Sale.

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Label : Decca
Manufacturer : Decca


	Amazon.com: The German countertenor Andreas Scholl takes risks on his latest CD, Wayfaring Stranger, and not all of them pay off. It is a recording of 17 English-language folksongs, some of them very well known, such as "Down by the Salley Gardens" and "My love is like a red, red rose." This is not usually a repertory tackled by classically trained singers, who can sound prissy, but Scholl's clear, plaintive alto, with its rich low notes and gentle top range, is a quite plausible vehicle. "Wild Mountain Thyme" evokes real sadness, while "Barbara Allen" aches with unhappy love. A surprise awaits in the ballad "Henry Martin," as Scholl uses his rough, nondescript baritone to identify the hero. It is rather a jolt. At least, it is good to know his voice has actually broken. In this song, too-feminine endings in the lyric fall clumsily on stressed beats. Scholl does nothing to counter the infelicity; English, of course, is not his mother tongue. In the beautiful title track, which opens the disc, he sings endearingly of a "why-farring straincher." The accompaniments for various combinations of chamber orchestra, lute, dulcimer, and harp tend to be slushy, sentimental, and over-fussy. The bass uncomfortably parallels the tune in "Salley Gardens" and would have won a big red line through it in old-fashioned harmony classes. Still, on the whole, this is a worthwhile disc. Scholl clearly loves the songs he sings with great tenderness, and he deserves credit for his courage even where the experiment fails. --Rick Jones

Average Rating :

Rating : - He must have listened to someone's old Joan Baez records...
Many of these songs were performed by Joan Baez in the early 1960s, back when she still had "...an achingly pure choir boy soprano..." and accompanied only by her own acoustic guitar. I thought it would be interesting to hear new versions of these old chestnuts. My, my...wasn't I suprised to hear that they are, in fact, virtual covers of Joan's own vocal arrangements.

My suggestion is to give her versions a hearing instead, specifically her first two studio albums, the 2 concert albums, and Joan Baez 5.
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