Customer Reviews
The Fairest Floo'er of CDs! - By: Lisa, 04 May 2008 
I came across the CD by chance as I'd never heard of Karine Polwart, but decided to give it a try after listening to a brief extract of Mirk, Mirk is This Midnight Hour. I am so pleased I took the risk - it is absolutely astounding. I have always liked Dowie Dens of Yarrow since I heard Bert Jansch's version, but Karine's is so beautifully sung with such a hauntingly sparse accompaniment it has mein tears every time I listen to it. A wonderful CD!
Over produced?? Maybe not then - By: Noel Mckee, 14 Apr 2008 I bought this on the back of her album Scribbledin Chalk & I have to say that after the first listen I was wondering what I'd bought but I persevered & now this is up there with the best. I even have my two very young sons singing the Dowie Densin the car & around the house. I explained that one to them but drew the line at Queen Jane. Such a sumptuous beautyin the girls voice & a real achievement to convey the stories held within old poems & the dialect that goes with them. Each day a new track sticks out & I find myself grieving with the mother of the three sons with the grass at their head & the clay at their feet one day & the next my sympathies are with King Henry & as for the girls brotherin the Dowie Dens well I just want to sort him out.
Will Ye Go To Flanders? sticks with me at the moment. Strong youthful Scotsmen heading off for an adventure & then wiped outin to the sound of the bloody cannon. Haunting stuff.
Recommend this?? Yes I do but if you choose to buy this then I suggest you give it time to grow on you. Listen to the stories told & you will undoubtedly be captivated by Karines melodious unique vocals.
Remarkable - By: Suzie Macpherson, 04 Mar 2008 Karine Polwart,in my mind, has without doubt the most beautiful singing voice i have ever heard. Her 2 solo albums are simply stunning, & this is no exception. She sings the songs with such emotion that I find tears rolling down my cheeks. Especially the tragid talein Dowie Dens of Yarrow & The Death Of Queen Jane. She is someone Scotland should be proud of.
Another stunning album - By: Lady Guinevere, 09 Feb 2008 I only recently discovered Karine Polwart, I can't even remember how (possibly through lastfm), but I was hooked the minute I heard the album Faultlines & intend on buying everything she's ever done! This particular offering had me spellbound. It is mostly a series of fresh & evocative arrangements of traditional songs, none of which I was familiar with, but Karine really manages to clearly communicate the emotions behind the songs, & the whole recording is haunting. "The Death of Queen Jane", as an earlier reviewer said, is a brilliant interpretation, very sobering, but the track I cannot shake at the moment is "Will Ye go to Flanders". If you like Scottish music & want to listen to someone whose voice is pure & beautiful, & who knows how to arrange a piecein a sublime fashion, I'd definitely give this a shot.
Beautiful new interpretations - By: James Aitken, 25 Jan 2008 I'm not really a fan of old ballads but bought this album on the strength of Karine's other (original) work, which I really enjoy. I'm really glad I did. Clearly a lot of care & thought has gone into crafting modern, fresh, arrangements of these old songs, all of which were unfamiliar to me from before. Despite being a pretty diverse bunch of songs all of these new arrangements are totally successful & really convey the emotion & story behind them to the modern ear.
What is particularly striking is the pared back style of the accompanying music which really allows Karine's expressive voice to flourish. All of the tracks on the album have something going for them but there are three that particularly stand out for me, the first "the Dowie Dens of Yarrow", "the Learig" & "the Death of Queen Jane". The Dowie Dens tells a typical ballad-type story of young lovers tragically separated by a meddling family, but the arrangement is so well put together & Karine's singing & expression so varied that I think this is probably my favourite track. The Learig stands out because it sounds to me so fresh (apart from the old Scots of course) it could have been written yesterday. The Death of Queen Jane actually tells a pretty gruesome & sad story but is sungin a style so pure & innocent that I didn't realise what the song was really about until I'd heard it a few times.
An exquisite & unusual addition to any CD collection - I can strongly reccommend it.
