“GHOST GIRL

Soulful, bluesy and well known for her work with The Poozies, there are not many artists who can tread the festival circuit, reach the final of The Voice back in 2014 and step into Sandy Denny’s shoes in a reformed Fotheringay. Sally Barker does all this and more on this, her sixth solo album, released to coincide with her support slots on Fairport Convention’s 50th Anniversary Tour.

Kicking off with the whip sharp and excellently observed ‘Emperor Of Cool’, Barker delivers this bitter break up song with a swagger and stunning vocal performance that sets the stamp for this record. ‘Ghost Girl’, the title track, originally appeared on The Poozies’ Into The Well album and here Sally radically reinvents it to fit into this album’s stunning breadth of style and grace, whilst a haunting refrain ‘Theme To Ghost Girl’ reprises and rounds off the album in style.

‘I’m Not Whole’ proves talent runs through the family, being written by Sally’s son Dillon Harold Thomas, mixing evocative images of a lost love and coastal landscapes and is delivered in Sally’s warm vocals. The jazzy ‘Hand of Fate’ is inspired by her time on the Voice and, with some silky smooth backing vocals and a funky riff, it is another example of Sally’s versatility and Ian Crabtree’s acoustic slide guitar is a delight.

Sally is joined by regular collaborator Ian Crabtree and guests like PJ Wright whose distinctive guitar work is on the energetic and entertaining Mr Bang.

The mix of light, shade and different styles shows Sally’s vocal skills off superbly. Her way with a word and tune makes this a really enjoyable album and one that you can listen to again and again.

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“Emperor of Cool is a brilliant put-down of an arrogant lover - “As you roll another cigarette, you delight in telling me you dated me for a bet. But darling I know where your single malt is kept, I’ll piss in the bottle so you don’t forget”. Carried along by a Spanish feel and a jaunty rhythm, we can see that the woman has not been crushed by her ex, merely empowered to take back her life. Vampire of Love is a sad, slow acoustic dirge, as much about the woman’s vulnerability as the man’s callous approach to love: “I never could trust a handsome man, but I always wanted to tame a wild one.” The sparse backing exposes Sally’s voice to close scrutiny – and the tone and pitch are perfect.
Two Hearts, and particularly Tell It Like It Is, share the plaintive sound and soulful yearning of classic Denny. Credit must go to the tasteful playing of Sally’s backing musicians, especially Keith Richard Buck (pedal steel guitar) and Glenn Hughes (piano) who add light and colour to these songs.
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“LOVE RAT

This is an excellent highly listenable mix of her own (solo and co-written) material, and songs by others. It includes the beautifully performed Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, her audition song on The Voice, and a show stopping version of Walk On By. Great EP.

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“MAID IN ENGLAND

This ‘lost’ album was originally released in 2003. The tragic context was that after recording this album ‘inspired by the wistfulness art, and seduction of the folk genre’ which took place over a 3 year period, with Sally’s tonsils being removed part way through the process, when the album came out in 2003 her husband Chris tragically died. She dropped out of the music business to bring up her 2 sons, and this album was never reviewed and disappeared without trace. In summer 2013 she was encouraged by her then teenage sons to apply for ‘The Voice UK 2014’, where she won many hearts and minds with her superb singing voice and interpretation covering others’ songs.

On the back of this late fame, her original record company re-release this ‘lost’ album, with the addition of a couple of tracks that she had performed on The Voice, ‘ Dear Darlin’, an Olly Murs song, and ‘To Love Somebody’ a BeeGees song. It could have been a cynical cash in on late found fame, and a bit of a dogs breakfast, but instead I think it brings late recognition to an earlier overlooked gem which had been passed by due to sad circumstances. There is a song she sang live with Steve Knightley of Show of Hands at the Royal Albert Hall in 1986, ‘Captains’ , as an opening track. The title track ‘Maid in England’ co-written with Debbie Cassell highlights women who have made a significant contribution to the history of England. My personal 2 favourite tracks inspired by her parents farming background where she was brought up are ‘Old Horses’, and the poignant ‘The Farm’ about the sad demise of a traditional family rural way of life.
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“ANOTHER TRAIN-THE COMPILATION

It’s the voice that gets you – right in the tingly zones. It’s a voice that can glide from the proverbial whisper to a scream. Yet her astute use of dynamics ensures that the listener remains aware of it’s power without being overwhelmed … the slow-burning insistence of Beating the Drum, written for her parents, and the rather more ‘In your face’ Money’s Talking with Barker’s guitar playing showing considerable dig.”

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FAVOURITE DISH

Ms Barker flies off at wonderful tangents throughout this album. Moses, the opening number, is a link with days of Poozies past. The title song brings in a superb sax solo, while the flute on Blue Moon compliments Barker’s gravelly lower register. Landing Light is pastiche French cafe but Sally is at her best with tales of angst. The Honeymoon is Over is a quite remarkable number about the misery of growing apart. The throwaway final lines: “Its just another sentimental tale/And we don’t need to hear them any more” chill long after the song has finished. Sleepy Eyes pushes close to the edge of Leonard Cohen territory. This album is a triumph - intelligent, soulful lyrics are matched with inventive instrumentation and flawless production. ”

“BEATING THE DRUM

Forget Suzanne Vega and Tanita Tikaram and throw your Tori Amos records away for Sally Barker has just released her third album. With a mix of blues, folk, soul, rock, jazz and reggae which defies pigeon-holing, plus musical heavyweight Labi Siffre guesting on backing vocals for the haunting “Elephants”, Beating The Drum has to be one of the most original new album releases around. If there is any justice in the musical world then Sally Barker, with a voice which conveys passion, humour and sadness with the same intensity and sincerity should become even bigger than her soul sisters Vega, Tikaram and Amos. ”

“Barker’s breathy voice with its affecting catch in the throat remains utterly distinctive

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“She can range from deep throatiness to soaring peaks in the space of a few breaths, an amazing vocal versatility... ”

“THIS RHYTHM IS MINE

Barker is responsible for all the material here, plays guitar like a session player and sings with considerable technique and feel. The album’s opener Money’s Talking gives a clue to her left-field stance as well as highlighting some exquisite harmonies. Angry Women is as intelligent and moving a piece of feminist pop music as anyone has achieved and elsewhere she’s capable of simple three-minute perfection as on Chinese Whispers. With a strong jazz and rock influence behind the folky facade Barker looks far more the Joni heir apparent than either Tikaram or Suzanne Vega ”

“...it’s Barker’s seasoned but vulnerable, expressive smokey voice that contains the real magic. ”

“SALLY BARKER (DEBUT ALBUM)

The majority of the self-composed songs on this eponymous album were recorded live at Swansea University folk club in 1988. They highlight Sally’s strongly percussive acoustic guitar style - the perfect compliment to a voice that has guts yet shimmers with rich honey-blues.
Sally Barker is adept at the fragmentary, impressionistic musical setting – it isn’t hard to see why ‘Hunting The Buffalo’ has won prizes, and the rest is of comparable quality.
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“WHEN I WAKE UP

Sally Barker and Anna Ryder met in the middle of a field in the village of Cropredy. They were introduced by bass player and friend of the stars, Fairport Convention’s Dave Pegg on the occasion of their annual folk rock festival. Both Anna and Sally have also mixed with the stars, Sally with supports to Sir Tom Jones, Robert Plant and Bob Dylan and Anna working with Fairport, Eddi Reader and Julianne Regan.
The album When I Wake Up sounds old-fashioned in a good way. It hosts a collection of words and musical shapes that paint personal colours with voices that swirl and swoop in a wonderful interplay of expression. Anna and Sally’s songs bounce off each other like the bubbles a child blows as they bump then float calmly through the air until they gently pop.
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“JONI MITCHELL PROJECT

A bold attempt to survey the complex and challenging repertoire of a complex and challenging artist, carried out with confidence, fidelity and flair. Sally Barker is one of very few guitar-vocalists anywhere who could pull this off so convincingly.”