Ashes and Diamonds

by Rick AndersonThere's not a single June Tabor album that isn't worth owning, and this one is as worthy as any other. That said, "Reynard the Fox" didn't really need a phase-shifted synth accompaniment (note the recording date), and the line "A whole generation that were butchered and damned" doesn't need any more brutality in its delivery than is already contained in its imagery. But that's exactly two mistakes in the course of 44 minutes, and you'll forget them instantly at the sound of her calm, ironic assurance on "Streets of Forbes" and "Now I'm Easy." And if she makes "I'll kiss your mouth ten thousand times" sound a bit more like a threat than a promise on "Lord Maxwell's Last Goodnight," think of it as further evidence of her artistic depth -- any moppet could have delivered that line as sensual promise. The drums on "Now I'm Easy" are as perfect as the synth was inappropriate on "Reynard the Fox," by the way, and so is Nic Jones' guitar everywhere it appears.