Swarbrick / Swarbrick II

Album Review

This is a compilation of Dave Swarbrick's first two Transatlantic Records albums Swarbrick and Swarbrick 2. They were released in 1976 and 1977, respectively, and are comprised of all traditional material with the exception of two pieces by the legendary Irish harpist Turlough O'Carolan, which are essentially traditional pieces with unknown authors. These are acoustic recordings that involve Swarbrick's bandmates from Fairport Convention: guitarist Simon Nicol, bassist Dave Pegg, and percussionist/producer Bruce Rowland, as well as several other musicians that have been influential to Swarbrick's career like Martin Carthy and his old ceilidh bandmembers Roger Marriott, Kate Graham, Alan Robertson, and Beryl Marriott. These recordings are indicative of Dave Swarbrick's dedication to the folk tradition and offer a unique contrast to his involvement on the two Fairport albums released during the same time period, Gottle o' Geer and Bonny Bunch of Roses.