by Michelle Osborne

Artist: Kate Rusby
Album: Underneath the Stars
Year produced: 2003

My first introduction to Kate Rusby was through finding her albums at my local Borders. I knew nothing about her and so I trudged home to check out some clips on amazon.com. I found she had a lovely voice and ended up getting this album for Christmas. I had mixed feelings about the album at first, but the more I listen to it, the more I fall in love with it.

Kate Rusby, who also sings with the all-female folk group the Poozies,appeared on the scene in 1998 with her first solo album, Hourglass. A little bit folk, a little bit Celtic, a little bit entirely her own, Kate has been a voice for a new generation of folk singers. Underneath the Stars, her latest album, is almost solely tracks composed by the artist. Does this leave her as simply folk, more than Celtic? A friend once told me that artists cross over into the "folk" category when they spend most of their time writing and performing their own tunes. In that way, Kate Rusby, is certainly folk, but the beautiful simplicity, Celtic vocal styling, and instrumental backup consisting of guitar, fiddle, and even whistle, give her music a sort of folk/Celtic fusion.

The opening track, "The Good Man," has traditional lyrics, but music written by Rusby. This is one of my favourite songs on the album. The words are deceptively simple and at first listening, I didn't really pay much attention. Upon focusing on the words, it becomes a song which could very well imply two different stories: a cheating wife or a suspicious husband? Other highlights on this album are "Let Me Be" (a song about a woman who wants to remain independent, but then finally meets someone she wants, only to have him overlook her) and the title track (a lamenting song about leaving before you can't leave of your own free will).


   Buy the Album: Underneath the Stars

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Celtic MP3s Music Magazine writer, Michelle Osborne, is a native to the central New York region. She plays both high and low whistles regularly with the Syracuse Irish session. Besides being heavily involved in Irish traditional music, she is also a classical clarinetist and composer.