Ever since she sent us her debut album through the post a few years back, we've been a little bit in love with Pepi Ginsberg so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get her to record us an exclusive track for Beautiful Star. And, as you've probably noticed, she chose what would become the title track, originally written and recorded by Odetta for her 1960 album Christmas Spirituals. It's not an obviously festive number though, so don't disregard it on that criterion alone. Pepi's version is a defiantly lo-fi, hushed recording that hums with a warm sensuality and shouldn't be missed.
John Drumbo French from Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band worked with Thompson on two albums along with Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser.
Those two French, Frith, Kaiser and Thompson albums led me to this.
Also, Richard Thompson taught Hugh Cornwell (of The Stranglers) how to play the bass guitar in a band when they were both at the same school (Emil and The Detectives?).
With a career spanning 50 years and playing with two of my heroes (French and Cornwell) Thompson has produced a fascinating EP. yellowcakeuf6
The instrumentation and songwriting in this album is really top-tier. Aofie is one of my favorite folk/alt-country artists and she performs wonderfully, bringing her unique tone of voice to this project. This album was my first step into Aofie's artistry, and is firmly one of my favorite albums. rileyridgway