While the rest of the folk world in the 70s was hopelessly enamoured with Irish fiddle tunes,
Stradling and friends were reviving and reinventing the English country dances. From his folk
work with Oak to his dub-reggae-set dance fusions with Tiger Moth, Stradling took the accordion
where Albion sun never shone before, and made some damn interesting music. This release continues the tradition in a set of old style tunes set to slide guitars, saxophones and electric rhythm section. The center of it all is the energetic push and pull of his melodeon, a veritable orchestra in a box with no samples, just a lot of air and a lot of music. Bits of Italian, French and American folk tunes insinuate themselves into the proceedings nicely, and the spirited backing of his band Feckless is musically adept and clever. There are some swell solo outings as well, that give him a chance to really show how much music can be squeezed from that little box of bellows. Rhythms of The Wold (as in "Cotswold," etc...) is another title in the continuing bad pun catalog of Rogue Records, England. - CF(review originally published in 1993)
Read Brian Peters interview with Mr. Stradling.
Rod can be found at Musical Traditions any time of the day or night!
