Albion band and Chris Baines, The Wild Side of Town, LP UK Celtic Music 1987 - CM042

This album is the result of a collaboration between Chris Baines, a naturalist who has done much for the protection of wildlife, and the Albion band. Baines considered Albion the ideal group to write and perform the music for his television series: in fact, the band has always tried to marry the voices of our largely rural past to the innovative sounds of urban music. Chris and Albion have therefore combined their talents to generate all these new songs that celebrate wildlife. These are compositions of a certain value including "I was the Child", sung by Baines himself. Cathy Lesurf's voice is enchanting. The graphic design as a whole is too artisanal: the cover photo by David MacDonald would be more suitable for a naturalism magazine than a vinyl.

Questo album nasce dalla collaborazione tra Chris Baines, un naturalista che ha fatto molto per la protezione della fauna selvatica, e la Albion band. Baines ha ritenuto la Albion il gruppo ideale per scrivere ed eseguire la musica per la sua serie di televisiva: infatti la band da sempre ha cercato di sposare le voci del nostro passato in gran parte rurale ai suoni innovativi della musica urbana. Chris e la Albion hanno dunque unito i loro talenti per generare tutte queste nuove canzoni che celebrano la fauna selvatica. Si tratta di composizioni di un certo pregio tra cui "I was the Child", cantata dallo stesso Baines. Incantevole è la voce di Cathy Lesurf. Troppo artigianale è invece il progetto grafico nel suo complesso: la foto di copertina di David MacDonald sarebbe più adatta a una rivista di naturalismo che non a un vinile.

Tracks: Bird-Watching - Harvest Anthem - Laura's Song - Butterfly Galliard / Falling Star - I Was The Child - Another World In The Night - Fox On The Rails / Dance Of The Starlings - Woodlands Of England - See This Lake, Son? - My Beautiful Bomb Pit - Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer - Tomorrow's Too Late - Why Have You Stolen Our Earth?

Musicians: Cathy Lesurf - vocals, bodhran, tambourine, Phil Beer - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, vocals Eric Hine - keyboards, Ashley Hutchings - electric bass, Trevor Foster - drums, percussion, Chris Baines - vocals, spoons With: Bill & Pete Zorn - backing vocals, brass, Paul Nieman - trombone, Andy Grappy - tuba, Pete Whyman - clarinet, Steve Waterman - trumpet