> Folk Music > Records > Hannah James & Sam Sweeney: Catches & Glees

Hannah James & Sam Sweeney: Catches & Glees

Hannah James & Sam Sweeney: Catches & Glees (RootBeat RBRCD07)

Catches & Glees
Hannah James & Sam Sweeney

RootBeat Records RBRCD07 (CD, UK, August 2009)

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Produced by Andy Bell, Sam Sweeney and Hannah James;
Engineered and mixed by Andy Bell at Leeders Farm Studios;
Recorded and mixed by Andy Bell at Cold As a Frog;
Mastered by Nick Cooke;
Artwork by Andy Tudor

Musicians

Sam Sweeney: fiddle, viola, octave violin, English bagpipes, nyckelharpa;
Hannah James: vocals, piano accordion, clogs

Tracks

  1. Gaol Song (Roud 1077) (4.11)
  2. Ploughboy’s Dream (Roud 1545) (5.05)
  3. You Are the One (3.54)
  4. Dick’s Maggot / Dog Leap Stairs hornpipes (3.44)
  5. Died for Love (Roud 60; Laws P25; G/D 6:1170) (1.23)
  6. Flaxley Green Dance / The Old Wife of Coverdale English Country Dance tunes (3.23)
  7. Wee Weaver (Roud 3378) (3.08)
  8. Catches and Glees / Comical Thought jigs (3.33)
  9. Three Ravens (Roud 5; Child 26) (4.44)
  10. Polska (3.53)
  11. The Young and Single Sailor (Roud 264; Laws N42; G/D 5:1038, 6:1201) (4.20)

All tracks trad. arr. Hannah James and Sam Sweeney except
Track 3 Andy Letcher;
Track 4b Alistair Anderson;
Track 8 William Winter;
Track 10 Viktor Gabrielsson

> Folk Music > Records > Hannah James & Sam Sweeney: State and Ancientry

Hannah James & Sam Sweeney: State and Ancientry

Hannah James & Sam Sweeney: State and Ancientry (RootBeat RBRCD13)

State and Ancientry
Hannah James & Sam Sweeney

RootBeat Records RBRCD13 (CD, UK, 2 April 2012)

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Engineered and produced by Andy Bell;
Mastered by Andy Seward;
Artwork and photography by Elly Lucas

Musicians

Hannah James: vocals, piano accordion, clogs, foot percussion;
Sam Sweeney: fiddle, viola, nyckelharpa, Hardanger fiddle, English bagpipes

Tracks

  1. Hole in the Wall 3/2 hornpipe (3.30)
  2. Parson Upon Dorothy / Dolly (Roud 2611) (4.17)
  3. William Taylor (Roud 158; Laws N11; G/D 1:169; Henry H213, H757) (3.15)
  4. How Do You Do? / Gallons of Cognac (5.27)
  5. On Yonder Hill There Sits a Hare (Roud 5173) (4.27)
  6. The Battered Hake Polka / Jack’s Maggot (4.08)
  7. There Was a Lady Lived in the West (Roud 64; Child 100; G/D 5:999; Henry H221) (4.29)
  8. The Farmer’s Cursed Wife (Roud 160; Child 278; G/D 2:320) (4.00)
  9. Wallaby / Harry’s Flowers (4.54)
  10. The Bonny Miller / Strike a Bell (4.56)
  11. The Golden Glove (Roud 141; Laws N20; G/D 1:166; Henry H524) (6.24)

All tracks trad. except
Track 1 Henry Purcell;
Track 3 words trad., music Hannah James;
Track 4b Sam Sweeney;
Track 6a Colin Cotter;
Track 9 Hannah James

> Folk Music > Records > Sam Sweeney: Made in the Great War

Sam Sweeney: Made in the Great War

Sam Sweeney: Made in the Great War (RootBeat RBRCD21)

Made in the Great War
Sam Sweeney

RootBeat Records RBRCD21 (CD, UK, 1 September 2014)

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100 years after the start of the First World War, acclaimed fiddle player Sam Sweeney and award-winning storyteller Hugh Lupton bring the story of a violin left unfinished as its creator left for the battlefields of Flanders and how, almost a century later, it came to be in the hands of one of the finest English fiddle players of his generation. For nine decades, the parts of the unfinished violin lay untouched in an envelope before being bought and finally completed by Oxford luthier Roger Claridge. The violin caught the eye of fiddle player Sam Sweeney and led him on a trail from the music halls of pre-war Leeds to the battlefields of Belgium. Inspired by this, Sam engaged writer and storyteller Hugh Lupton to produce a tale that both celebrated and honoured the memory of Richard Howard, the man who started to make the fiddle in 1915. Together with multi-instrumentalist/composer Rob Harbron and his Bellowhead bandmate Paul Sartin, Sam has produced a musical journey to accompany Lupton’s story, which takes the listener from a house in Leeds, through the Music Hall, to the Battle of Messines and back to Leeds; a potent, profoundly moving and finely-crafted tale. Richard Howard’s violin, Sam Sweeney’s fiddle, rises to tell its story.

Produced, recorded and mixed by Andy Bell;
Mastered by Dean Honer;
Photography by Elly Lucas;
Artwork by The 16k Design Works;
Cover layout by Tom Sweeney

Musicians

Hugh Lupton: writer and storyteller;
Sam Sweeney: fiddle, viola, cello, vocals, percussion;
Rob Harbron: English concertina, fiddle, vocals, harmonium;
Paul Sartin: oboe, cor anglais, vocals, fiddle

Tracks

  1. Prologue (1.36)
  2. Remembering (3.58)
  3. Unriddling (0.47)
  4. The Wellesley I (1.35)
  5. 7 July 1916 (4.27)
  6. The Palace of Varieties (6.51)
  7. Conscription (2.53)
  8. The Wellesley II (1.53)
  9. 7 June 1917—Zero Day (4.17)
  10. The Battle of Messines (8.22)
  11. The Ballad of Richard Howard (6.33)
  12. 24 July 1917—Leeds (2.40)
  13. Epilogue (2.15)
  14. Rose Howard (4.43)

All music composed and arranged by Sam Sweeney and Rob Harbron except
Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty by Arthur J. Mills, Fred Godfrey and Bennett Scott;
What Did You Do in the Great War, Daddy? by Tom Clare;
Unknown Norwegian Halling and The Wellesley trad.

> Folk Music > Records > Sam Sweeney: The Unfinished Violin

Sam Sweeney: The Unfinished Violin

Sam Sweeney: The Unfinished Violin (Island 00602567692546)

The Unfinished Violin
Sam Sweeney

Island Records 00602567692546 (CD, UK, 2 November 2018)

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Produced by Andy Bell and Sam Sweeney;
Recorded and mixed by Andy Bell at Simpson Street Studios (Thropton), The Foundry (Sheffield) and Woodworm Studios (Barford St Michael);
Mastered by Dean Honer;
Photography by Elly Lucas;
Design by Stylorouge

Musicians

Sam Sweeney: violin, viola, cello, nyckelharpa;
Rob Harbron: English concertina, harmonium;
Becky Price: piano;
Ben Nicholls: double bass;
Jack Rutter: acoustic guitar;
Sam Fisher: flugelhorn, cornet;
Morven Bryce: violin;
Helen Bell: viola;
Lucy Revis: cello

Tracks

  1. Highland Soldier (4.12)
  2. A Lament (2.51)
  3. St Patrick’s Day - Young May Moon (5.26)
  4. Sad Am I (3.53)
  5. The Shell That Shook the Billet (2.10)
  6. The Girl I Left Behind Me (3.42)
  7. Begone Dull Care (4.59)
  8. The Battle of the Somme (5.16)
  9. Interlude (0.48)
  10. Valiant Soldier (2.14)
  11. The Rising of the Lark (1.57)
  12. The Wellesley (2.56)
  13. Rose Howard (4.32)
  14. The Old Brags (3.03)
  15. The King of Prussia’s March (3.33)
  16. Eventide (4.27)

Tracks 1-2, 7, 9-10 trad. arr. Sam Sweeney;
Track 3 Iain MacPherson arr. Sam Sweeney;
Track 4 John Mouat arr. Sam Sweeney;
Tracks 5, 13-14 trad. arr. Sam Sweeney, Jack Rutter;
Track 8 William Lawrie arr. Sam Sweeney;
Track 11 trad. arr. Sam Sweeney, Rob Harbron;
Track 12 Rob Harbron, Sam Sweeney;
Track 15 trad. / William Monk arr. Sam Sweeney;
Track 16 George Fleetwood arr. Sam Sweeney, Becky Price

> Folk Music > Records > Sam Sweeney: Unearth Repeat

Sam Sweeney: Unearth Repeat

Sam Sweeney: Unearth Repeat (Hudson HUD019CD)

Unearth Repeat
Sam Sweeney

Hudson Records HUD019CD/LP (CD/LP, UK, 27 March 2020)

Sam Sweeney: Unearth Repeat (Hudson HUD019LP)
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Recorded and produced by Andy Bell;
Mastered by Dean Honer;
Photographs by Camilla Greenwell;
Graphic design by Robin Beatty

Folk Radio UK review by Glenn Kimpton

Musicians

Sam Sweeney: violin, viola;
Jack Rutter: acoustic guitar;
Ben Nicholls: double bass;
Louis Campbell: electric, acoustic and nylon strung guitar;
Dave Mackay: piano, keyboards

Tracks

Side 1

  1. Unearth (0.40)
  2. Steppy Downs Road (3.27)
  3. Highway to Warrington (4.55)
  4. Maid of the Mill (5.29)
  5. Half of One (6.30)
  6. Winter 350 (3.27)
  7. Dark Arches (6.13)

Side 2

  1. Repeat (0.38)
  2. The Old Wagon Way (3.58)
  3. Princess Royal (3.48)
  4. The General (3.14)
  5. Shepherds Hey (4.39)
  6. Sun Beams (4.11)
  7. Red (3.50)

Video

Sam Sweeney at the Hudson Records Listening Club on 6 May 2020:

> Folk Music > Records > Sam Sweeney: Solo

Sam Sweeney: Solo

Sam Sweeney: Solo (Hudson HUD027CD)

Solo
Sam Sweeney

Hudson Records HUD027CD (DL EP, UK, 4 February 2022)

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Produced by Andy Bell;
Recorded by Andy Bell at St Martin’s Church, Stoney Middleton, 20-21 September 2021;
Mixed by Andy Bell at Hudson Studios, Sheffield;
Mastered by Sam Proctor;
Photography by Emma Ledwith;
Graphic design by Robin Beatty

Musicians

Sam Sweeney: violin, viola

Tracks

  1. Untitled Waltz #1 / Tweedside (4.54)
  2. Cuckoo’s Nest / Old Oxford (6.13)
  3. Untitled Waltz #2 (2.23)
  4. The Four Seasons (2.30)
  5. The Old Captain (3.40)
  6. Old Ways Best / Booth’s Hornpipe (5.16)

All tracks trad.

> Folk Music > Records > Sam Sweeney: Escape That

Sam Sweeney: Escape That

Sam Sweeney: Escape That (Hudson HUD032CD)

Escape That
Sam Sweeney

Hudson Records HUD032CD (CD, UK, 21 October 2022)
Hudson Records HUD032LP (LP, UK, 11 November 2022)

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Produced by Andy Bell and Sam Sweeney;
Recorded and mixed by Andy Bell at Red Kite, Tesla, and Hudson Studios;
Mastered by Sam Proctor at Lismore Mastering;
Photography by Emma Ledwith;
Graphic design by Robin Beatty

Musicians

Sam Sweeney: violin, acoustic, electric, bass and tenor guitars, synthesisers;
Jack Rutter, acoustic guitar;
Ben Nicholls: double and electric bass;
Louis Campbell: electric and acoustic guitar;
Dave McKay: piano, Wurlitzer and synsthesisers

Tracks

  1. Ruby (3.13)
  2. Want to Fly Want to Flee (4.09)
  3. Feet Together Jump (2.46)
  4. Escape That (3.08)
  5. Pink Steps (4.25)
  6. Deep Water Shallow (End) (4.08)
  7. Under Gigantic Clouds (4.48)
  8. Westering (4.22)
  9. Nightshifting / Atlantica (4.47)
  10. Yoddin (3.03)
  11. Don’t Worry, Trains (4.28)

All tracks written by Sam Sweeney

> Folk Music > Records > Sam Sweeney & Louis Campbell: Shapes

Sam Sweeney & Louis Campbell: Shapes

Sam Sweeney & Louis Campbell: Shapes (Hudson HUD039D)

Shapes
Sam Sweeney & Louis Campbell

Hudson Records HUD039D (DL EP, UK, 5 May 2023)

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Produced by Andy Bell;
Recorded by Andy Bell at St Martin’s Church, Stoney Middleton, 11 May 2022;
Mixed by Andy Bell at Hudson Studios, Sheffield;
Mastered by Sam Proctor;
Photography by Emma Ledwith;
Design by Liam Campbell

Tradfolk review by Jon Wilks

Musicians

Sam Sweeney: fiddle;
Louis Campbell: electric guitar

Tracks

  1. Shape #1 (D) (3.35)
  2. Shape #2 (Gmin) (3.32)
  3. Shape #3 (E) (3.31)
  4. Psalm (4.13)
  5. Shape #4 (G) (2.28)
  6. Shape #5 (A) (3.39)

All tracks trad., Sam Sweeney

> Folk Music > Records > Sam Sweeney

Groups and Projects featuring Sam Sweeney

Besides being with Kerfuffle, Bellowhead and Leveret, and his former duo with Hannah James (see above), Sam Sweeney played on these albums:

The Full English (Topic TSCD823) The Full English Band, The Full English, CD, Topic TSCD823, 2013

Eliza Carthy: The Wayward Tour Live (Topic TSCD772D) Eliza Carthy and Jim Moray, The Wayward Tour Live, DVD+CD, Gonzo SR033DVD, 2015

Eliza Carthy: You Know Me (Convent CVRSING001b) Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band, You Know Me, single, Convent CVRSING001b, 2015

Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band: Fade & Fall (Love Not) (Topic STOP9592P) Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band, Fade & Fall (Love Not), promo/DL single, Topic STOP9592P, 2016

Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band: Big Machine (Topic TSCD592) Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band, Big Machine, CD/2 CD, Topic TSCD592/TXCD592, 2017

> Folk Music > Records > Sam Sweeney

Other records with Sam Sweeney

FolkESTRA North! (Fellside FECD178) FolkESTRA North, FolkESTRA North!, CD, Fellside FECD178, 2003

Charlie Barker: Sleeping at the Station (RootBeat RBRCD04) Charlie Barker, Sleeping at the Station, CD, RootBeat RBRCD04, 2005

Jon Boden: Painted Lady (Soundpost SOPO5001) Jon Boden, Painted Lady, CD, Soundpost SOPO5001, 2006; CD reissue, Navigator NAVIGATOR098, 2016

Rachael McShane: No Man’s Fool (Navigator NAVIGATOR27) Rachael McShane, No Man’s Fool, CD, Navigator NAVIGATOR27, 2009

Bellowhead et al: Umbrellowhead (Megafone MEGAFONE112) Various, Umbrellowhead, CD, Megafone MEGAFONE112, 2009

Rosie Doonan: Pot of Gold (Silvertop SRCD03) Rosie Doonan, Pot of Gold, CD, Silvertop SRCD03, 2010

Fay Hield: Looking Glass (Topic TSCD573) Fay Hield, Looking Glass, CD, Topic TSCD573, 2010

Fay Hield: Orfeo (Topic TSCD586) Fay Hield, Orfeo, CD, Topic TSCD586, 2012

Maz O’Connor: Upon a Stranger Shore (Demon Barber Sound DBS005) Maz O’Connor, Upon a Stranger Shore, CD, Demon Barber Sound DBS005, 2012

Neil McSweeney: Cargo (Harbour Song HSR004CD Neil McSweeney, Cargo, CD, Harbour Song HSR004CD, 2013

Folk Awards 2010 (Proper PROPERFOLK10) Various Artists, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2010, 3 CD, Proper PROPERFOLK10, 2010

Folk Awards 2013 (Proper PROPERFOLK14) Various Artists, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2013, 3 CD, Proper PROPERFOLK14, 2013

Ollie King: Gambit (RootBeat RBRCD22) Ollie King, Gambit, CD, RootBeat RBRCD22, 2014

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2014 (Proper PROPERFOLK15) Various Artists, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2014, 2 CD, Proper PROPERFOLK15, 2014

Emily Portman: Coracle (Furrow FURR008) Emily Portman, Coracle, CD, Furrow FURR008, 2015

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2015 (Proper PROPERFOLK16) Various Artists, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2015, 2 CD, Proper PROPERFOLK16, 2015

Fay Hield: Old Adam (Soundpost SOPO5003) Fay Hield, Old Adam, CD, Soundpost SOPO5003, 2016

Jon Boden: Afterglow (Hudson HUD004CD) Jon Boden, Afterglow, CD/2 CD/LP, Hudson HUD004CD/CDX/LP, 2017

Neil McSweeney: A Coat Worth Wearing (Hudson HUD002CD) Neil McSweeney, A Coat Worth Wearing, CD/LP, Hudson HUD002CD/LP, 2017

From Here: English Folk Field Recordings (From Here SITW005) Stick in the Wheel present: From Here: English Folk Field Recordings, CD, From Here SITW005, 2017

Topic: The Real Sound of Folk Music (Topic TICD001) Various Artists, Topic Records: The Real Sound of Folk Music, 2 CD, Topic TICD001, 2017

Jim Moray: The Outlander (Managed Decline MD001) Jim Moray, The Outlander, CD, Managed Decline MD001, 2019

Jack Rutter: Gold of Scar & Shale (Jack Rutter RUTTCD025) Jack Rutter, Gold of Scar & Shale, CD, Jack Rutter RUTTCD025, 2019

Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings: Rose in June (Hudson HUD016CD) Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings, Rose in June, CD/LP, Hudson HUD016CD/LP, 2019

Fay Hield: Wrackline (Topic TSCD608) Fay Hield, Wrackline, CD, Topic TSCD608, 2020

Tamsin Elliott & Tarek Elazhary: So Far We Have Come (Penny Fiddle PFR2309CD) Tamsin Elliott & Tarek Elazhary, So Far We Have Come, CD, Penny Fiddle PFR2309CD, 21 September 2023

Ben Nicholls: Duets (Hudson HUD042CD) Ben Nicholls, Duets, CD, Hudson HUD042CD, 5 April 2024

Miranda Rutter: Bird Tunes (Miranda Rutter) Miranda Rutter, Bird Tunes, CD, Miranda Rutter, 1 May 2024