³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

In amongst a bundle of CDs that arrived at the studio the other day was a new album from called Outsiders. Many of you will remember Chris from the folk scene of the seventies and eighties and will remember him as a fine guitarist and singer, up there with and Martin Carthy. The last album I'd had of his, Jewels, came out in 2004 and included a terrific version of the traditional night-visiting song (where a dead lover returns to haunt the loved one) The Grey Cock - I played it on the programme alongside the / version which they call .

This new CD, which arrived from Iceland, where Chris is now living, shows that the last four years have not been barren. I don't know whether it's living in the land of Sagas that has done it, but the album is full of great songs, most of them with a strong narrative base. My own particular favourites are Lord Bateman and The Cruel Mother, two of what I would call the Big Ballads.

Chris is playing and singing beautifully on this new CD - it is a real gem. I am especially in awe of his version of the classic Song Of The Olive Tree.