Album review: EXCALIBUR (Alan Simon) – Ladies Of The Lake

Babaika [Release date: 02.11.18]

Girl Power: albeit nary a Spice in sight, but the whiff of joss hangs pendulously over this female vocalist-fronted compilation trawl through the four Excalibur sword-and-sorcery releases by French composer Alan Simon.

Alan explains in his notes how he feels rock music to be dominated by the guys, hence this, his tribute to the ladies that have made their mark on the genre.

Given these tracks constitute back catalogue, he has done a good job of re-presenting them with novelty: nicely-sequenced, and in a handsomely-mounted package.

It’s fun to eschew reading the track listing at the outset but just push the disc in, play, and then try to work out who’s singing what.

I got Steeleye Span’s Maddy Prior correct on ‘Secret Garden’ plus Sonja Kristina’s rendering ‘The Passion’, the former’s voice still as clear as a country church bell while the latter’s theatrical styling is just so distinct, indeed unchanged in her work with Curved Air to this day.

If you are not already familiar with Excalibur, it’s a quality international line-up on vocals with Celts in ascendancy.

Along the way, we get fine turns from Clannad’s Moya Brennan, Solas’s Karan Casey, Breton singer Kohann, soprano harpist (there’s a lot of harp on this) Siobhan Owen, Pentangle’s Jacqui McShee, Canadian Nikki Matheson and Spanish Maite Itoiz, who’s concluder ‘Dun Angus’ is appropriately climatic.

M. Simon writes a cracking tune and these benefit from translation into well-drawn and rounded productions in mountings ranging from conventional rock to sumptuous symphonic.

Ballads are to the fore and while their similar pacing inevitably lends a sameness to some of these songs, they still fall nicely together on disc into a liltingly harmonious backdrop to much mead consumed before a log fire. ***

Review by Peter Muir

Album review (Excalibur IV)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)