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Colin Randall writes: I spoke too soon, at least when I wrote in an earlier piece for this series that The Holly and the Ivy had been squeezed out. It is such a lovely carol that room was found. The Unthanks take the credit for that.
But this is not what we might expect given the central role of the voices of the sisters Rachel and Becky in the sound we identify with this magnificent band.
The Holly and the Ivy as we know it now, with its strong, instantly likeable melody and hearty chorus, derives from the version collected by Cecil Sharp from one Mrs Mary Clayton in Gloucestershire well over a century ago.
The Unthanks by Roger Liptrot for his wonderful folkimages.com site
From the Unthanks, we hear no voices. Taken from a comprehensively high-quality new album, In Winter, it starts with sleigh bells and features only the band.
You imagine one or both of the sisters but they aren’t there, at least not vocally. In truth I might have chosen any of the 19 tracks of this double album, each running seamlessly into the next. And of course there’s plenty of singing, just not on such items as The Holly and the Ivy and probably my favourite carol, In The Bleak Midwinter.
Listen to my selection but also to the work as whole, which begins with In Winter’s Night and ends with a homage to departed loved ones, Dear Companions.
Magic does not begin to describe the effect the Unthanks conjure with their band members Adrian McNally (also their manager), Niopha Keegan and Chris Price. To adapt the infectious refrain of Dear Companions, the Unthanks’ beauty lives now and forever in the music they make.
- To read more of the significant body of material about the Unthanks that has appeared on these pages, just type the name into the search field and plenty should pop up, including that lengthy Q&A interview with Rachel from all of 15 years ago.
- See Colin Randall’s thoughts on the last album Sorrows Away at https://www.salutlive.com/2022/11/the-unthanks-cast-sorrows-away-and-relish-an-outstanding-musical-triumph.html
- And Andrew Curry’s review of a 2022 London gig can be seen at https://www.salutlive.com/2022/06/geordie-girls-mackem-lads-and-lasses-when-the-unthanks-and-sunderland-came-to-town.html
If you like folk, folk-rock or acoustic music, why not visit the Salut! Live Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2902595146676633/.
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