Folk singer Jim Moray kept it simple for his trip to the Ropetackle.
His voice, an acoustic guitar and an electric piano was all he needed.
Lately Moray’s been plying his trade in noisy folk-rock band False Lights, and he seemed to relish the chance to play a quieter show.
His excellent guitar-picking style (and some unobtrusive pedal trickery) added light and shade to traditional material like the creepy Long Lankin and the masterful tragedy Lord Douglas.
The piano suits Moray well. His composition about Elizabethan “scientific adviser” John Dee, The Straight Line and the Curve, was elegant and mysterious – if, as he admitted, a little hard to sing along to.
The piano also added a chill to The Captain’s Apprentice, a tale of cruelty at sea.
As well as material from his own albums, Moray played songs from two folk operas he had starred in. Both, coincidentally, were tearjerkers – by Anaïs Mitchell and Peter Bellamy respectively – and powerfully performed.
In the second half, Moray treated the audience to a preview of his upcoming album of ballads.
The a capella Another Man’s Wedding was breathtaking, and Moray also put his own stamp on Lord Franklin – no mean feat when Martin Carthy and Bob Dylan have both also done so.
Four stars
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