World Music Network's
Rough Guide to English Folk delivers 15 cuts from up-and-coming contemporary folk artists along with a pair of songs from two of the genre’s legends. Concerning the latter, the
Shirley Collins and
Bob & Ron Copper offerings, as good as they are, seem a tad out of place here, especially considering the genre’s heavily populated 21st century rebirth (a track from someone like
Laura Marling,
Johnny Flynn,
the Smoke Fairies, or
the Unthanks would have fit nicely). That said, the collection is pretty solid, casting a wide net over the scene and reeling in some gems from the likes of vaudevillian folk collective
Bellowhead (“Yarmouth Town”), spooky Glastonbury-based singer/songwriter/concertina player Emily Portman (“Tongue-Tied”), and multi-talented fiddler and Northumbrian small pipes player
Kathryn Tickell (“Wedding/Because He Was a Bonny Lad”). A bonus disc, The Rough Guide to Coope, Boyes & Simpson, is also included, and features 14 classic English folk songs from the award-winning a cappella trio. ~ James Christopher Monger