| Sophie Ramsay: Edinburgh Festival 07 ** |
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I have very strong opinions about how I like my folk music, and Sophie Ramsay was the antithesis of of what I look for in the genre. In a typically Fringe-esque wee room at the back of the now largely defunct Roxy Art House (the building was a great music venue not that long ago) I arrived slightly late during a slightly limp but charming rendition of Green Grow the Rushes O. For some odd reason the singer had decided to indulge in a set consisting of a broom, a basket, some pitta bread in a dish, an earthenware mug and a candle. I suppose this was supposed to add atmosphere, unfortunately the atmosphere created was of one of Edinburgh's many waxwork ridden tourist haunts. Sophie with the look of a startled infant deer, had a good if slightly nervous stage presence and clearly managed to engage her audience. The main problem was her material which, despite a few gems, was based around the many over sung popular songs from the 17th and 18th century- there were a lot of Jacobites involved. The songs were loosely tied together by a basic narrative of Scotland's past, which at points seemed to come out like an Usborne Guide to Scottish history. The fact that this was delivered in a RP accent between broad Scots songs was also a little off putting. Her performance style worked, but only to a very limited extent. The solo female voice does manage to inspire a certain reverence, even on the wilder nights of the Royal Oak, and Ramsay was not an exception to this. However there was too much daintiness and not enough meat to many of her songs. A striking example being an overly jaunty Bonnie Dundee, topped off with a series of obviously rehearsed pantomime facial expression, all a bit too obvious for a grown up audience. The only other type of performance she seemed able to render was the polar opposite, a sort of vulnerable heartbroken Jacobite widow. However Ramsay obviously new her stuff, and a seeming love of the music she performed, and were it not for the singer's seeming lack of confidence she could come across a good performer. Her version of Auld Lang Syne was notable in its use of the original melody, while the rest of her show would have provided a good introduction to Scot's song for the unversed tourist. |