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Album
Ravensong
Susan Raven →521 listeners1,389 plays
celticfull track1401fhbritish girlssinger-songwriter
about this album
It would appear that many notables from the folk-tinged edges of rock were keen to join Susan Raven on this, her very fine second solo album. Brian Gulland (Gryphon), Liam Genockey (Steeleye Span) and Steffe Sharpstrings (Gong) to name but a few - though it was her involvement with Man Jumping that intrigued me most as I loved Orlando Gough's experimental work of the early 80's, working with contemporary dance troupes and fusing Philip Glass minimalism with world jazz-rock (including some great de riguer slap bass), and thereby sounding a fair bit like Peter Gabriel's early solo albums - and apparently Ms. Raven also worked with Gabriel's guitarist David Rhodes. With past glories like that I could not ignore this CD! On Ravensong, Susan and friends have well infused their rich heritages into the diverse arrangements that support and enable this fine collection of songs. After a decade of giving tours and lectures concerning the sacred sites of Celtic Britain, the influence of Celtic music is perhaps the most dominant in Ms. Raven's work these days. Soundalikes? Well there's a touch of Sinead o'Connor I suppose: they share that serious sincerity, though Susan's earnestness is perhaps more measured and mature than her Irish counterpart. As regular readers will know, I tend to regard lyrics as less important than music, and can seemingly miss the point of artists like Dylan, or that musically challenged dirge-meister, Leonard Cohen (each to their own!), but some of the messages
