Crucible Press Quotes
What the press have said about Crucible:
"far and away the best debut album from a "mixed" English-style band that I've heard in a very long while."
Malcolm Douglas, Stirrings
"...in a postition to do for English music what The Bothy Band and Planxty did for Irish music in the '70's..which is to present the music in a way that is very accessible, make it exciting, but without compromising its integrity or style."
Mill Race Festival, Ontario Canada
"To experience Crucible is to experience traditional music at its most vital and exciting. Mix a well centered and grounded sense of authentic music with the raw energy and commitment of four highly skilled singers and musicians and you have Crucible. We were fortunate enough to see them in all their various facets: as singers of incredible harmonic sense and passion, as driving dance players and as inspiring teachers - what a complete and riveting package!"
Goderich Folk Festival, Canada
"I had the greatest pleasure in singing and playing with Crucible at performances and bar sessions at the 2003 Celtic Festival in Goderich,Ontario. Marvellous - you have to go abroad to the wild open spaces to hear the most down-to-earth treatment of authentic traditional songs and tunes from little old England. They really have put together some unusual material with a potent rhythm and style, which completely electrified our mixed American and Canadian audiences."
Peter Kennedy
"plenty of light and shade, good taste, expertise and clued in performance - an example to anyone and everyone - young and old- who wishes to get involved in the interpretation of traditional English music and keep it real and keep it cool! Their combined instrumental and singing skills are nothing short of stunning."
Keith Kendrick, English Dance and Song
"Right from the opening you know you're in for something special here, with confident, poised bouncing rhythmic playing ushering in Crucible's vibrant take on Bold Poachers (putting me in mind of Spiers and Boden just a bit in fact, though without the foot stomping!). But straight away you notice too that the sound that Crucible make is a mite unorthodox - this stems from their instrumental blend, which features along with the fiddle of Jess Arrowsmith, the melodeon of husband Richard and the guitar of Gavin Davenport, the darker tones of an unusual 5-string viola-violin hybrid played by Helena Reynolds, who's also a dab hand at the border pipes it turns out! There's an easy (but not complacent) maturity in the playing of these young musicians, that comes no doubt from their wealth of experience (already!) on Sheffield's traditional music scene. And their choice of repertoire is enterprising, mirroring their prowess as singers and their evident healthy interest in the power of song. The vocal tracks - taking up over half of the CD - range from a fine reworking of Child 278 (The Devil & The Farmer's Wife), the traditional Harvest Song and a modern American shape-note hymn through to Jess's original Changeling's Lullaby and an inspired West Gallery-style adaptation of Psalm 29 by talented local songwriter Simon Heywood (who also contributes a set of tunes). All four take turns on lead vocal duties, which makes for even more variety yet (curiously perhaps) doesn't compromise the album's unity of purpose and expression. The instrumental tracks are superbly lively, and Helena's piping often lends the sets a piquant Breton ambience in tandem with that sprightly English morris feel. Perhaps some of the band photos in the booklet may seem a little earnest and stylised, belying the immense enjoyment and excitement they all so obviously derive - and communicate - from their music-making. But your ears can't lie - Crucible have a hell of a lot to offer, and deserve to go far!"
David Kidman, NetRhythms
"Emphatically talented... What instantly stands out is that each of them is not only a very capable musician but also has a joyfully distinctive voice... the excellent live performance transfers well to the recording. The pleasure they take in what they do also crosses over to the record. they take simple, direct materials and bring them to life by the subtle and varied way they use them. There is a lot of hard work on this record that manages to sound free and easy. What a lovely record!"
John Denny, The FolkMag
"Crucible are two young couples currently coming out of Sheffield, probably to a folk club near you. Their vocal and instrumental skills enable them to deliver traditional music and song from all corners of the folk spectrum, and they explore a wide variety of vocal and instrumental combinations with great success. Basically, the gentlemen (Richard Arrowsmith and Gavin Davenport) play squeezeboxes and guitar while the ladies (Jess Arrowsmith and Helena Reynolds) play fiddles and border pipes, and all four have obviously spent the last few years doing little else...
"Most of the 13 tracks are song-based, and the majority of those songs come from the English Tradition apart from a mighty Sacred Harp hymn, a similar Simon Heywood re-working of Psalm 29 and the title track, written within the band in a traditional style. With four individual and distinctive voices to work with, Crucible are able to ring countless changes from solo unaccompanied to four-part harmony, and given their undeniable instrumental virtuosity, it's safe to say that the world is their oyster. "Changeling" is an exciting and satisfying debut from a young quartet steeped in The Tradition up to their ears and beyond. Catch them if you can, they should go far."
Alan Rose, The Living Tradition
