This weeks album of the week is, Bellowhead – Burlesque
Bellowhead brings big band arranging to English music, featuring a full-on horn section and the Bellowhead of 2006 is most certainly a large band, with eleven members kicking up a wall of sound. Burlesque set me scrambling for comparisons.
Perhaps Brass Monkey, which featured Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick with a horn section? Not really, as Bellowhead’s rhythmic flair is more dynamic and diverse than even Brass Monkey had imagined.
Perhaps The Barely Works? Well, not even the Barelies are a fair comparison, as that band combined horns with more of a bluegrass/Irish influence, although the sense of experimentation and having fun is certainly apparent in Bellowhead’s music.
Track list:
- “Rigs of the Time”
- “Jordan”
- “Across the Line”
- “London Town”
- “Sloe Gin” (Frozen Gin/The Vinegar Reel/The Sloe
- “Courting Too Slow”
- “Flash Company”
- “Hopkinson’s Favourite”
- “One May Morning Early”
- “The Outlandish Knight”
- “Frog’s Legs & Dragon’s Teeth”
- “Fire Marengo”
- “Death and the Lady”