Last updated 05:36, Friday, 25 July 2008

Maddy PriorWith a voice this perfect Maddy Prior could sing the football results and it would still be lovely. It was her voice and her crystal clear singing with Steeleye Span in the early Seventies that ensconced many of us comfortably and permanently in a folk-based appreciation of music.

With Back to Tradition she returns to her most pure style, singing songs that inspire and move her.

As the first weak sun of the weekend filtered into the marquee Maddy and the band came onto the stage. For this set she was accompanied by three of the best musicians on the scene; Benji Kirkpatrick (Oyster Bands’ The Big Session), Giles Lewin (Bellowhead, Carnival Band) and John Spiers (Spiers & Boden, Bellowhead).

Maddy pulled pure gold from the shelf with songs of tragedy and tribulation, all in the old style of poetic lyrics and stories. Some words by Sir Walter Scott added some literary depth. Interspersed with lively Morris tunes and country songs, this little treat of a set harked by to an earlier folk era.

Music like this should be kept alive, especially with a voice like Maddy’s to give it clarity, resonance and meaning.

FI EXON