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| Judy Dyble - Weavings Of A Silver Magic (2020) |
And from RnR magazine.. thank you Oz Hardwick
Spiral Earth
https://www.spiralearth.co.uk/weavings-of-a-silver-magic-judy-dyble/
Weavings Of A Silver Magic – Judy Dyble
8th May 2020
Things haven’t always gone smoothly for Judy Dyble, the resilient sort of lady who thoroughly deserved her 2004 reawakening, from which she’s spun a whole line of albums which reveal her as a writer of other worldly fantasy, songs about things just slightly out of view or round a corner.
There’s something enticing and entirely captivating about her creations, they’re charismatic vignettes which may take time to mature, though since she began work with Alistair Murphy a decade since her music has taken on far more form and substance. Herewith ‘Weavings Of A Silver Magic,’ is the second live offering from Miss Dyble but this one differs in virtually every degree from ‘Live At WM Jazz.’ Recorded at St. Barnabas Church in Cambridge, with her regular backing musicians Perfect Strangers along with sundry percussion, keyboards and an elegant sounding string section with the tongue in cheek name of Ad Hoc! What was produced and has since been heightened by other gigs including a super showing at Cropredy are tracks from her contemporary albums as well as an old rework from the days when she sang with a proto King Crimson.
The Dyble vocals are very English, but then there’s no earthly reason why a woman with roots in north London should sound like she was from California, Detroit or New York, her words distinct and often personal.
Stand out track by far is ‘The Sisterhood Of Ruralists,’ ten minutes or more of carefully chosen verse about friends who’re craftsmen, bound by decorum and charming arrangements somehow it sums up the whole approach. Great to have her creating music that’s alluring and gentle, not everything in life need be brash and voluminous. Make room for mesmeric.
Simon Jones.
Spiral Earth Rating.
Spiral Earth rating
Prog Female Voices- Sebastien Bonnays
Judy Dyble - Weavings Of A Silver Magic (2020)
Why listen to this record?
" The legendary Judy Dyble! ". It is with these words that Judy Dyble is introduced on stage during her concert given on September 10, 2016 at St Barnabas Church in Cambridge. Because yes, Judy Dyble is a true legend. First singer of Fairport Convention at the end of the 60s; the origins of King Crimson at the time of Giles, Giles & Fripp; Founder of the Trader Horn duo with Jackie McAuley, an essential folk reference. Then back in grace at the end of the 2000s where, in less than a decade, she aligned three essential solo albums, not to say masterpieces, between prog and folk: Talking With Strangers (2009), Flow And Change(2013) and Earth Is Sleeping (2018). Weavings Of A Silver Magic , his second live testimony, follows Live At WM Jazz , recorded in 2013 in a warm London room. This time, the configuration is different, more solemn. Surrounded by her faithful Perfect Strangers, an informal group that has accompanied her since 2009, Judy called on the Ad Hoc Strings comprising two violins, two violas and a cello. The titles revisited are mainly from Flow And Change , with the exception of two unreleased tracks, See What Your Words and Faded Elvis which will appear on Earth Is Sleeping , as well as from I Talk To The Winddating back to pre-Crimsonian times (Giles, Giles & Fripp). Throughout the songs, Judy tells her endearing stories in all simplicity where it is a question of childhood, nostalgia, loneliness. The flamboyant The Sisterhood Of Ruralists, stretching over ten minutes, pays tribute to four of her artist friends. A lot of emotion filters through this fragile, soft and delicate voice carried by intoxicating strings or a distinguished piano. However, Judy is not devoid of humor, which allows her to maintain a balance and not to sink into tears. Become a cult and recognized artist today, as evidenced by her collaboration with the new generation ( Andy Lewis, Big Big Train), it is high time for us to thank this immense singer with rare sincerity, for all that she has accomplished, still accomplishes, and will accomplish again.
Musicians
Judy Dyble: vocals
Alistair Murphy: guitar, piano
Jeremy Salmon: guitar
Phil Toms: keyboards
Mark Fltetcher: bass
Rich Nolan: percussion
Steve Bingham: violin
Kate Clow: violin
Brenda Stweart: viola
Christina Connel: viola
Daniel Grace: cello
Securities
01. Driftaway
02. Crowbaby
03. See What Your Words
04. Faded Elvis
05. Silence
06. Featherdancing
07. Wintersong
08. The Sisterhood Of Ruralists
09. I Talk To The Wind
The Metro newspaper
Judy Dyble
Weavings Of A Silver Magic (Cromerzone)
★★★☆☆
Judy Dyble was much involved in the evolution of modern folk, prog, and art-rock in Britain. She was Fairport Convention’s first singer, and fronted a nascent version of King Crimson. Then she quietly disappeared from the music business altogether for around 30 years, re-emerging in the Noughties with her first ever solo records, which initially attracted next-to-zero notice or distribution. At last, in 2009, her album Talking To Strangers gained her some traction. Since then, she has become a fixture on the folk scene. With Alistair Murphy, who plays guitars and keyboards with her regular accompanists, Band Of Perfect Strangers, she has formed an able songwriting partnership. But what really marks her out is her voice: clear, genteel, unaffected. She has a purity not just of tone but of approach, as if the received pronunciation of late-Sixties artistic womanhood – not so much cut glass as plate glass – has been distilled into song.
There is something about this sound, with no pretensions to earthiness, which feels cooling and simple – although the simplicity is deceptive. Dyble favours ornament, and this live set, with the inclusion of a string section, indulges that nicely. It’s drawn chiefly from her previous two studio albums, with nothing from Talking To Strangers; a shame that record’s extraordinary folk-prog excursion Harpsong doesn’t get the benefit of this treatment. But another splendid epic, The Sisterhood Of Ruralists, goes some way to compensate, as do the best of the shorter tunes: Crowbaby, the bittersweet waltz See What Your Words, and a sweeping, romantic I Talk To The Wind – more familiar from King Crimson’s debut album; but as Dyble notes, “I sang it first.” DAVID BENNUN
Prog Magazine Review
Classic Rock -David Quantick
