Frankie Armstrong

"Lovely On The Water" 1972






















This is a reissue of Frankie's first full LP for Topic in 1972 with bonus cuts from several compilations issued around the same time. Frankie Armstrong is a wonderful singer who has been active on the English scene since the early 60s and has also attracted a substantial following in the USA. She is a powerful singer with an occasional tendancy to being strident in her vocals. On this CD Frankie sings with more gentleness than on her later recordings but there's no shortage of passion and intensity when called for. The material is all traditional - half of them sung unaccompanied - the rest with tasteful accompaniments by Jeff Lowe/ concertina, whistle, recorder and dulcimer and/or Jack Warshaw/ guitar, dulcimer and banjo. The songs from the original album are mostly on different aspects of love including Tary Trousers/ Low Down In The Broom/ The Crafty Maid's Policy/ The Frog & The Mouse/ The Unquiet Grave/ The Two Sisters and others including truly chilling versions of the grim The Cruel Mother and the Brown Girl. The bonus tracks include four songs of the sea including Here's The Tender Coming and The Sailor Laddie. After almost 30 years these recordings still sound fresh and exciting - a classic!

The main part of this is a re-issue of Frankie's 1972 debut album, 'Lovely on the Water', the remaining 7 of 20 tracks coming from 'The Valiant Sailor' (1973) and 'Room For Company' (1972).