Borrowed Moments

Chronique

Although Bob Fox has been on the Celtic folk scene for over 25 years in groups and as a solo artist, he's only occasionally graced the studio with his presence. Even without a lengthy track record, he brings a sure hand and strong sense of what makes good folk music on Borrowed Moments. Fox has gathered 11 songs from both contemporary and traditional sources, and has tempered them into a cohesive whole. One of the nicest things about Borrowed Moments is the subtle arrangements of guitar (Fox), piano accordion (Anna Ryder), whistles and flutes (Norman Holmes), and double bass (Neil Harland). It's as though Fox has found a happy middle ground between a heavier folk-rock set-up, and a basic one man-one guitar aesthetic, a compromise that never sounds like a compromise. There are also several nice touches, including Kurt Weill's piano on "The Last of the Widows," and Ryder's muted trumpets on "Bonny at Morn." Thanks to the production and Fox's own sensibility, older ballads like "Virginia" meld perfectly with more recent fare like Steve Tilston's "Life Is Not Kind to the Drinking Man." As the title might suggest, Borrowed Moments is a rather contemplative affair, and most of the songs are taken at a slow pace, as though they'd been specially made for a mellow Sunday afternoon. Lovers of traditionally styled folk music, presented in an intelligent manner, will be glad that Fox decided to enter the studio once again.

© Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. /TiVo