Stone Angel is by no means a new band, having originally risen from the ashes of Midwinter in 1974. At this early stage, the band consisted of regulars from the old Great Yarmouth Folk Club (as opposed to the Great Yarmouth Old Folks club - Ed), which should give you an idea of the type of sound to expect - laid back easy listening is the order of the day here. Members eventually began to drift off to University, and over time the band evolved into a trio and became known as The Village Band. And so the early years came to a close for Stone Angel...

Fast forward to the mid-90's, and the re-release of their original album from twenty years previously rekindled an interest in the band. One reviewer even went so far as to describe the CD as "one of the most remarkable examples of acid folk...", managing to single-handedly invent a whole new genre of music in the process!

Stone Angel is currently made up of Dave Felmingham on Keyboards, Andrew Smith (yes, the one from Mainland) on Electric Guitar, and Michael Wakelin on Bass. Dave and Andrew also supply the backing vocals and Ken and Joan Saul join the throng as members of the original ensemble, supplying lead vocals.

I have to confess to being less than clued up on the sounds of individual instruments within folk, but I am reliably informed that the band effortlessly play such wonderful sounding instruments as the dulcimer, cittern and crumhorn. Hmmm. They do it well, anyway, as the result hasn't left my CD player in some time!

All of this, of course, is very interesting- but what, I hear you say, is the sound like?

Well this is certainly Folk music, but with a very modern feel. Nobody ever danced around a maypole with an electric guitar in their hand! If the idea of listening to Folk makes you run screaming into the distance, think again - this is seriously good stuff, however old you may be. It's relaxing, laid back and VERY easy to listen to after a hard day at the office. Expect all the usual storytelling and tales of woe, but accompanied by upbeat guitar riffs - forget all your impressions of folk music, listen to Stone Angel and discover how they are redefining the genre for a modern generation. The thirteen tracks on "East of the Sun" are drawn from the best traditions of British storytelling - full of laddie-o's and maidens, all wrapped up quite slickly in something which should please everybody but the hardest of rockers. Have a listen when we put up the band's pages on KlubKat in April 2001, and see what you think.

The most noticable thing about traditional Folk music is that, like the blues, there is always a story behind the song. You can actually sit back and listen to the lyrics and relate to the people being described - something you really can't do with modern music. Everything is based on an old poem or a traditional tale of lore. Each track tells a different tale, and tells it well - I can't imagine Stone Angel turning up in major music clubs, but only because there are so many stereotypes about what people will listen to in the noughties (as I have decided to call this decade).

Track 6, "The Sick Tune", is my favourite - and evidently the band share my view. Described on the CD inlay as "An anonymous dance tune from the sixteenth century", parts of it share a suspicious similarity to the theme from TV's "It's a Knockout" it you can cast your mind back that far… perhaps the BBC used the same inspiration? I'm sure it will do the band no pleasure to think of their remixed masterpiece associated with guys in big heads lolloping around a field to the sound of crazed laughter, but there you are! "The Sick Tune" is actually a finely crafted example of the genre, and could easily sell on it's own merits!

Unfortunately, of course, the fact that this is Folk music will probably put a lot of people off. In fact, I probably lost a few readers as soon as I mentioned it - but this is a shame as a single listen to "East of the Sun" would convert many. The traditional tunes here have been modernised with electric guitars a la Clapton, and the guitar riffs on some of the tracks are just out of this world. If you played the resulting album to the original 16th century folk who invented the style, they probably wouldn't recognise any of it. In April 2001 KlubKat will be adding a Stone Angel section to the site, containing photos, reviews and biographies - it'll be well worth checking out for more information on the band.

I would be most interested to see Stone Angel play live - it must be one hell of a night out!