Miranda Sykes And Rex Preston
Album: Sing A Full Song
Label: Hands On
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.sykespreston.com

Drum & Bass is, of course, a familiar musical form but what about Mandolin & Bass ? Well, that's what you get with Miranda Sykes and Rex Preston and "Sing A Full Song" is their delightful second album. Miranda will, no doubt, be familiar to readers as the double-bass player/singer with Show Hands, although she has worked with many other artists including Kirsty McGee, Bill Jones and Roger Wilson to name but a few. Rex has been described as "the best mandolin player in the UK". Whilst it is always difficult to be definitive about such claims [I can think of Simon Mayor, for one], there can be little doubt that Rex is ONE of the best mandolin players in the UK, such is his virtuosity and fluency on the instrument. Rex was previously a member of Celtic/bluegrass band The Scoville Units.

Honorary third member of the group is Grant Gordy from Colorado who plays flatpick guitar on half of the album. There are no other guest musicians or singers on the album which covers a range of musical styles, from folk to bluegrass to jazz. The songs come a range of writers including Imogen Heap, Paul Metsers [two songs], Sara Watkins, Oliver Knight, John Kirkpatrick and Boo Hewerdine, who wrote two songs especially for this album.

First off is the idiosyncratic "Little Bird" by Imogen Heap, which shows off Miranda's lovely voice to great effect, accompanied by Rex's delicate, filigree mandolin playing.

The first of Boo's songs is "Me And My Sister The Moon", a typically fine composition by one of our best songwriters. The song shows how effective the combination of double bass [sometimes bowed] and mandolin can be. The other Boo song is "Windowbox", which he wrote for Miranda and Rex while staying with them in Bath. It's a lovely reflective song, beautifully sung by Miranda.

Not all the lead vocals are by Miranda, as Rex sings the two excellent songs by New Zealander Paul Metsers, "How Soon Is Long" and "Slowin' Down".

The duo do not overlook traditional folk songs as they perform a superb version of the Child Ballad "Lady Isabel And The Elfin Knight". On the strength of this track, I would like to hear Miranda and Rex tackle more traditional songs as this really suits their style of playing.

From traditional British folk the duo slip effortlessly into a different style of roots music, namely, bluegrass, in the form of a tune by the late Garry Harrison "Red Prairie Dawn", which is dedicated to its composer. The song features some stunning playing by Rex. We stay on the other side of the Atlantic for "All This Time" by Nickel Creek's Sara Evans which is a lovely song with heartfelt lyrics which Miranda sings with typical sincerity.

Probably my favourite track on the album is the gorgeous and atmospheric "Turn To Me" by Bill [Belinda] Jones, the mood of which was apparently inspired by a traditional Hebridean song. Whatever its inspiration might be, it certainly is a wonderful song, flawlessly performed by Miranda and Rex.

The album closes with a touching tribute to the late Fisherman's Friends singer Trevor Grills who was tragically killed. The song is a virtually unaccompanied version of John Kirkpatrick's poignant "Sing A Full Song". It's an emotional end to a fine album by this highly talented duo. It's an album which grows on me with every listen and one which I would not hesitate to recommend.

Peter Cowley