Lodestar
Studio album by
Shirley Collins
Released4 November 2016
Recorded2015
GenreFolk music
Length42:56
LabelDomino
ProducerIan Kearey
Shirley Collins chronology
For as Many as Will
(with Dolly Collins)
(1978)		 Lodestar
(2016)		 Heart's Ease
(2020)

Lodestar is the seventh studio album by the English folk musician Shirley Collins. The album is Collins's first in 38 years, making it one of the longest gaps between studio albums.[1]

Background

After being one of the most significant figures in the English Folk Revival of the 1960s, Collins withdrew from music in the late 1970s when she developed dysphonia, attributed to being left by her second husband, Ashley Hutchings.[2][3] In 2014 she was coaxed back into performance by Current 93's David Tibet for a concert at Union Chapel in North London.[4] Following this performance, Collins started making a new album at her house in Lewes, recorded by Stephen Thrower and Ossian Brown of the group Cyclobe.[5] Some of the album's recording was filmed, and included in the documentary The Ballad of Shirley Collins.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Clash8/10[9]
Exclaim!8/10[10]
musicOMH[11]
Pitchfork8/10[12]
Record Collector[13]
The Guardian[1]
The Irish Times[14]
The Observer[15]

Lodestar was met with universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 82, based on fifteen reviews.[7]

Daniel Paton of musicOMH praised the album, saying: "whether stark and menacing, grief-laden or simply plain daft, Lodestar is a triumph of storytelling and sound".[11] AllMusic's Mark Deming resumed: "the album isn't a comeback but a continuum, and a welcome return from a true oracle of traditional song".[8] Patrick Clarke of Clash wrote: "she embraces their words, often of death and reminiscence on youth, as if they'd come from deep within herself. It is, after 38 years, a fine reminder of her vital place in British musical tradition, as the essential elder stateswoman of folk".[9] Emily Zimmerman of Exclaim! stated that "Lodestar is true to Collins' roots".[10] Louis Pattison of Pitchfork concluded: "that Lodestar exists at all feels like a minor miracle. That it is so exquisitely done is a small blessing on top".[12] Mike Goldsmith of Record Collector wrote: "the music exceeds expectation and while this understandably isn't her best album, it looks at the current trend for reformations and reduces them to ash".[13] Neil Spencer of The Observer wrote: "the mood is austere, studded by encounters with mortality, but the accompaniments from Oysterband's Ian Kearey are full of subtlety and surprise, with delicate guitars and blasts of squeezebox. A late-flowering triumph".[15]

In a mixed review, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote: "this should all be heavier going than it is: that it isn't is at least partly down to the arrangements, which are largely based around acoustic guitar and subtly effective throughout. Moreover, they fit Collins' voice, which has weathered considerably in the years she kept silent. But the new patina suits her, and the material".[1]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank Ref.
The Quietus Albums of the Year 2016 2016
5
The Wire Top 50 Releases of 2016 2016
2

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Awake Awake / The Split Ash Tree / May Carol / Southover"Trad./Ossian Brown/Shirley Collins/Glen Redman11:09
2."The Banks of Green Willow"Trad.3:18
3."Cruel Lincoln"Trad.3:30
4."Washed Ashore"Trad.2:57
5."Death and the Lady"Shirley Collins4:45
6."Pretty Polly"Trad.4:17
7."Old Johnny Buckle"Trad.1:43
8."Sur le Borde de l'Eau"Trad.3:53
9."The Rich Irish Lady / Jeff Sturgeon"Trad.5:58
10."The Silver Swan"Orlando Gibbons1:26
Total length:42:56

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 97
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 88
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[20] 13

References

  1. 1 2 3 Petridis, Alexis (27 October 2016). "Shirley Collins: Lodestar review – austere, foreboding music from long-silent singer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Rogers, Jude (21 March 2008). "'You want no sheen, just the song'". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Farber, Jim (7 November 2016). "For Shirley Collins, a Folk Revival of Her Very Own". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Michaels, Sean (10 February 2014). "Folk singer Shirley Collins performs first show in 35 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Bonner, Michael (8 September 2016). "Shirley Collins announces her first album in 38 years; shares new song, "Cruel Lincoln"". Uncut. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "The Ballad of Shirley Collins review". Little White Lies. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Lodestar - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  8. 1 2 Deming, Mark. "Shirley Collins - Lodestar Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  9. 1 2 Clarke, Patrick (5 December 2016). "Shirley Collins - Lodestar". CLASH. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  10. 1 2 Zimmerman, Emily (21 November 2016). "Shirley Collins Lodestar | Exclaim!". Exclaim!. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  11. 1 2 Paton, Daniel (4 November 2016). "Shirley Collins - Lodestar | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  12. 1 2 Pattison, Louis (8 November 2016). "Shirley Collins: Lodestar". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  13. 1 2 Goldsmith, Mike (3 November 2016). "Lodestar - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  14. ↑ Long, Siobhán (4 November 2016). "Shirley Collins - Lodestar album review: epic tales of murder, unrequited love and cross- dressing". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  15. 1 2 Spencer, Neil (23 October 2016). "Shirley Collins: Lodestar review – a late-flowering triumph". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  16. ↑ "The Quietus Albums of the Year 2016". The Quietus. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  17. ↑ "Listen to The Wire 's Top 50 Releases of 2016 – The Wire". The Wire Magazine – Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  18. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  19. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  20. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
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