The Singers: Ruth and Sadie Price - Spine tingling sibling harmonies. Ruth and Sadie are sisters from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire who sing mainly traditional Yorkshire song in 2 part harmony. Daughters of Bill and Wendy Price, they have been steeped in traditional song from a very early age and have gone on to develop their own sound and style. Their singing has been described as “2 part harmony singing at its most delightful, 2 sisters voices matched magically”-“stunning”- “authentic Stuff with an edge to it”. Regulars at folk clubs around England, and firm favourites at Whitby Folk Festival. The Songs: 1 - Master Smith Said to John Our dad, Bill Price, learned this song from Bob Auty, formerly of the Holme Valley Beagles. We've "buggered it abaht a bit" by singing the refrain as a round. The tempo of this song, as we sing it, reflects the beating hooves of running horses. 2 - Pony Driving Song Another one from Our Dad Bill Price's singing. "Parts of this song were collected in Methley, Nr Castleford. This version is from the singing of Joe Lindley, who was a doggy at Swillington Colliery. The Pony drivers were lads of 13-14 in their first job in the pit leading pony-drawn tubs along the narrow galleries. The turn-minder, or doggy, (in this case Bobby Bellwood) was in charge of the team of pony-drivers, counting and allocating the tubs to the face workers, and being older and stronger, he would lift derailed tubs back onto the rails. Joe himself was a doggy at 16." Wendy Price 3 - Forster's Mill "On 9th April 1812, Forster's Mill at Horbury, Nr Wakefield, was attacked by 300 luddites from the Spen Valley, and extensive damage was caused to the machines and property. This account of the attack was noted at The Shears Inn, Hightown, Nr Liversedge, by Frank Peel, whilst collecting material for his book 'The Rising Of The Luddites, Chartists and Plug Drawers' (1880)." Wendy Price 4 - Jolly Country Lads (Counting Song) From Mary and Nigel Huddleston's "Songs Of The Ridings - The Yorksire Musical Museum" 2001. Our version is largely but not exactly as it appears in the book. 5 - Cropper Lads "At the beginning of the 19th Century when machines were being introduced into the mills and factories, rebellion was brewing among the craftsmen who were thrown out of work. The first signs of violence came from the Nottingham lace makers, and encouraged by this, the West Riding cloth finishers (croppers) began to urge that similar measures should be taken to destroy the cropping frames being introduced by the Yorkshire manufacturers. Thus arose the Fraternity of Luddites, pledged 'to submit without demur or question to the commands of General Ludd'. 'Enoch' was the hammer used by the Luddites in breaking the frames, named after the chief partner of the firm engaged in their manufacture, Enoch Taylor - 'Enoch has made them and Enoch shall smash them'." Wendy Price 6 - Fine Old Yorkshire Gentleman (The Wensleydale Lad) The story of a country lad's first visit to town and how his native wit triumphs over the city dwellers sophistication. This was Bill's 'signature' song and the title of his first album (1973). Collected in Horton In Ribblesdale with verses 2 and 5 being added from Holroyd's 'Yorkshire Ballads' (1892). 7 - Catch Me If You Can An oft sung tale of accidental pregnancy except in this case the pregnancy is attributed to the singing of a song rather than the playing of a tune, as is often the case in songs with a similar subject. Bill got this song from Vic Ellis of Leeds. 8 - The Eskdale Hare Written by Gus Gommersal (uncle Gus) a close friend of our family. Gus was an avid science fiction/fantasy reader and a regularly visitor to Whitby and the surrounding area. Uncle Gus wrote this so he would always have a song no-one else had sung, and so justify getting free admission to folk clubs on singers nights. The words were put to music by Steve Walker of Dewsbury, another good friend of the family. It tells the story of a great white hare wreaking havoc in the Eskdale valley, and the local farmers attempts to kill or catch the hare with a scary twist at the end as the hare is killed. 9 - The Barleycorn Our Dad said he thought he picked this up during his time in Canada in the 1960's. It's an Irish Version of this many versioned song, John Barleycorn. 10 - Squire Frith Another song given to us by Bob Auty formerly of the Holme Valley Beagles, not the whole song just 6 verses, as directed by Bob. It tells the true story of an alleged 40 Mile Hunt on the Bank Hall Estate. 11 - The Farewell Shanty Bill was good friends with the Cornish fisherman/singer Mervyn Vincent and we would make occasional visits as children to stay with him. Bill learned this song from Mervyn. Sadie and I had not heard Bill's version of the song until about 2007 when a rare recording from the 1978 Old Dominion Folk Festival in Norfolk, Virginia arrived (via the wonders of cyberspace). 12 - Breaths Words by Senegalese poet Birago Diop set to music by Afro American choral group 'Sweet Honey in the Rock'. I think Sadie and I picked this up at Vancouver Folk festival in around 1979/1980 when we were very, (very) young. A song about the afterlife continuum of humankind in spirit and nature. "Those who have died have never, never left..." The Reviews: Mardles SufFolk Folk East Anglia's Folk Magazine May - July 2011 A strange yet utterley logical title - Ruth and Sadie's initials, yet there's not a hint of a rasp anywhere in the singing. This is two part harmony singing at its most delightful, two sisters voices matching magically, with Ruth holding lower parts and Sadie singing higher lines, as only voices within a folk family can be; for folk family they certainly are. In the very first song Master Smith said to John, my imagination was transported back more than four decades to the West Riding folk clubs of the 1960s and Bill Price - the 'Fine Old Yorkshire Gentleman', Ruth and Sadie's dad, from whom many of these songs came, particularly the Luddite frame breaking songs from the early 19th Century. The tune for Cropper Lads was a very pleasant surprise, but Foster's Mill, the Pony Driving Song, Jolly Country Lads and one or two others rushed back with a refreshing pleasure that only complete forgetfulness can bring. The harmonies in the slower songs, particularly Catch me if you can and The Eskdale Hare are very evocative. Ruth's English Concertina playing is well up to expectations - you would have most likely seen her as one of the lead instruments in The Witchmen's band - on this set her playing adds real depth to Fine Old Yorkshire Gentleman and Barleycorn especially. The set is completed by Breaths from the American a capella group Sweet Honey in the Rock. Even on this track there's no mistaking Yorkshire - Ruth and Sadie sing with the same lilt in which they talk, as all good folk singers should. This is a really enjoyable CD - hopefully it will bring Ruth and Sadie a good deal of work in both clubs and festivals. Colin Cater - March 2011 Folk London No 253 June - July 2011 It is refreshing indeed to listen to two beautifully matched voices singing fabulous harmonies in a way I have not heard since Norma and Lal Waterson! RaSP is a collection of mainly traditional songs encompassing different tempos and styles sung by Ruth and Sadie Price who sing collectively as well as unaccompanied. Minimal concertina input adds another texture to the performance on 3 songs but does not detract from, what I feel to be, the main voice focus of this CD. The first track, Master Smith Said to John, learned from their father Bill, enables the listener to enjoy the speed and thrills of horses and dogs running together through clever arrangement and tempo of the song. Forster's Mill and Cropper Lads are politically driven songs reflecting rebellion from mill and factory workers at the beginning of the 19th Century against the introduction of machines which threw craftsmen out of work. Both are powerful songs. Unfortunately I feel that something of the rawness and passion of Ruth and Sadie's voices, so prevalent in their live performances, are missing here. Perhaps it's a case of 'lost in production'? Fine Old Yorkshire Gentleman reminiscent of music hall, conjures up a vivid image of a countryman's visit to the city and is full of humour. Breaths uses the words by a Senegalese poet and the music by an Afro American choral group and is a beautifully reflective song to end on. This is a bright, imaginative and well structured CD that I am glad to have in my collection. Alison Frosdick The Living Tradition Issue 89 August 2011 Ruth & Sadie are the daughters of Wendy and the late Bill Price, (a grand singer), and I haven’t seen them since they were little girls. Now they are two grown up young ladies presenting this, their second CD. Have they inherited the flair and commitment that their dad brought to his singing? By gum they have! Bill’s big song was Fine Old Yorkshire Gentleman, his “signature tune” say Ruth and Sadie in their notes. His daughters give it a sprightly workout, with just the right accent, and a feel for the music hall style of delivery needed for this song. In a 12 item set of mainly traditional songs, there are two exceptions, these being The Eskdale Hare, words by Gus Gomersall, tune by Steve Walker, and Breaths, learned by the girls from the iconic Afro-American women’s group Sweet Honey In The Rock. The rest of the set has several Yorkshire based or collected songs such as Master Smith Said To John, and Squire Frith, given to them by Bob Auty, an ex Holme Valley Beagler. Yorkshire’s industrial history shows up in Cropper Lads and Fosters Mill, songs from the days of the “Croppers”, the Yorkshire name for Luddites. Ruth & Sadie sing unaccompanied but for a touch of concertina here and there. Their voices record well, sweet but strong and with an edge when required. They also have a good grasp of the words of their songs which makes the stories easy to follow. By the way, the lower case “a” in RaSP is deliberate, and since no label credit is given I assume this is self-released. All in all, an album for them to be proud of and for listeners to enjoy. Roy Harris