An Introduction To [CD]

A personally selected and sequenced compilation by Martin Simpson.

This new addition to Topic's series of introductory overviews of the label's most renowned artists includes an exclusively recorded track by Martin, a wonderful solo acoustic version of Leon Rosselson's 'Palaces of Gold' from his classic 1968 album A Laugh, A Song and a Hand Grenade.

It's remarkable to think that Martin Simpson is now celebrating some 45 years as a professional musician since, unlike so many of the Topic greats, Simpson was not part of the 50s folk revival or the more expansive contemporary folk scene of the 60s. Effectively, Martin Simpson has spearheaded the generation of folk musicians who only began recording in the mid-70s and is now readily acknowledged as one of the most original and skillful folk guitarists currently playing on the British and American folk scene.

It was as a defining instrumentalist and interpreter of predominantly traditional British and American folk material that Simpson first established himself. Yet, as this new selection amply testifies, he has become a highly gifted songwriter. He first made a significant mark as a songwriter on 2003's Righteousness & Humidity with a handful of songs that included the evocative truck stop epic 'Love Never Dies'. Since then he has continued to deliver powerful compositions, none more poignant than the remarkable 'Banjo Bill' (from 2011's Purpose & Grace), based upon the words of Banjo Bill Cornett of Hindman, Kentucky, which testifies to the breadth and scope of Simpson's writing.