F I N E S T  K I N D

Ann Downey Ian Robb Shelley Posen

Finest Kind is the remarkable folk trio from Ottawa, Canada whose exquisite harmony singing and brilliant vocal arrangements are bringing a fresh sense of excitement and discovery to the performance of old songs. The trio’s glorious sound, served up with easy-going humour, has won a devoted following across North America. Their voca; arrangements are a creative tour de force.

Tradition-based yet curiously modern, the trio’s harmonies are an enchanting feast of opulent chords and ever changing textures. The trio’s amazing vocal blend has been called “molecular bonding” by one reviewer: “Any closer,” he says, “and they wouldn’t be allowed to do it in public.” Audiences invariably mention “goosebumps.”

Ian, originally from London, England, is renowned as one of North America’s most gifted performers of British folksong, a concertina player extraordinaire, charter member of Toronto’s Friends of Fiddler’s Green, and composer of folk standards such as “The Old Rose and Crown.”

Ann, who hails from the southwestern U.S., plays guitar, banjo, and bass, and has performed in bands playing old-time and cowboy music, bluegrass, klezmer, jazz, and swing in North America and Europe.

Shelley, a professional folklorist from Toronto, is a versatile singer and multi instrumentalist who has spent a lifetime researching, teaching, writing about, performing, and sometimes composing songs.

The trio is often joined on stage by fiddler and mandolinist James Stephens, a master of styles ranging from Irish to Cape Breton, bluegrass to swing.

Surprises.

The variety of these individual musical backgrounds makes for one of the distinctions of a Finest Kind performance -- the exhilarating mix of repertoire. British, American, Irish, and Canadian traditional ballads keep company with gospel rousers, drinking songs, sea shanties, and pop oldies. The timeless works of the Carter Family, the Copper Family, Rudyard Kipling, and Hank Williams mingle with originals by Ian or Shelley. Unencumbered by allegiances to any one style, Finest Kind presents the hand-picked best of many genres, and keeps audiences wondering just what delight they’ll hear next. Review from Dirty Linen August/September 2004 #113

...The same general description might be offered for Finest Kind's latest CD, Silks and Spices [Fallen Angle Music PAM 05 (2003)]. The trio (including the English-born and -raised Ian Robb) are all excellent singers and good instrumentalists, playing standard folk instruments like guitar, banjo, and concertina. On this disc, the material ranges from American country and pop songs to English folk ballads and carols, with the emphasis on the traditional selections. A close harmony group with instrumental accompaniment, they count the Copper Family and the Young Tradition as major influences, and also perform songs learned from Barry and Robin Dransfield, Bob Dylan, Tommy Jarrell, Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, and Planxty. Some of my favorites include "The Painful Plough," that paean to the trusty farm tool, "John Barleycorn," in the classic Penguin Book of English Folksongs version, and "The Ten Dollar Bill," a version of the ballad in which a guest dallies with a chambermaid at an inn, pays her, and the following year gets a three-month-old baby as "change." The most distinctly Canadian song is a new version of "The Maple Leaf Forever," which adds some diversity to Alexander Muir's ode to the essential Englishness of Canada. Like their previous albums, this one is very enjoyable, especially for those with a taste for things English.   Excerpted from The Old North :  British-Canadian Roots by Steve Winnik 

I already have two albums by this trio from Canada, both of them delightful, so I expected something good from this one. I got it! Finest Kind have scored a hat trick with a skilfully sung programme of songs ranging from the Copper Family to the Shirelles via Marty Robbins, Bob Dylan, and others.

Finest Kind comprises founder-member Ian Robb, English-born singer and concertina player; Ann Downey, American singer/banjo/guitarist, and Canadian folklorist Shelley Posen, singer and multi-instrumentalist. Each one brings something of their individual taste to the repertoire though they do not mix their album material for the sake of variety alone. Their choices seem to me to be well thought out on the basis of creating a balanced, varied, and enjoyable experience for the listener. Not as common as one might think.

The bulk of the songs on this particular album are from English tradition, sung unaccompanied. If that sounds daunting to any of you let me tell you that what you hear here is, in my opinion, the way to sing these songs. The harmonies are close without being cloying, the keys fresh and lively, and the pace chosen for each song is exemplary. All those groups who drag a mournful way through their songs should listen to the way Finest Kind attack theirs. No dirges, no "slowing down to lethargy", but a tempo that allows the text to shine through without losing scope for appropriate harmonising. Furthermore, and top marks in my book, the melody is always clearly defined no matter what clever harmonies are going on.

Each one of the singers is a good soloist, very good actually, and where instruments are used they add to the whole without intrusion. Guest musician James Stephens deserves a tip of the hat for his work on fiddle, mandolin and viola. Rather than picking out individual items I simply recommend every track on this joyous album. Finest Kind give me the feeling that they would sing with as much zest in my kitchen as they might on some lofty concert stage. I like them, and 'Silks & Spices' very much. Please come over here asap.  Roy Harris   Finest Kind: Silks & Spices  Review  from The Living Tradition     

 FINEST KIND  “Lost In A Song” Sing Out! Magazine         Ian Robb's From Different Angels was one of my favorite albums of 1994, due in no small part to the glorious vocal harmonies from his trio, Finest Kind. Now the group has its own CD, and again the result will be high on my best-of-the-year list.

Besides Ian, Finest Kind's members are Shelley Posen and Ann Downey. All three are strong singers with diverse tastes and influences, so the repertoire ranges from the Copper Family to the Carter family. (Though they're all in Ottawa now, Ian was born in England, Ann in the Southwestern U.S., and Shelley in Toronto.)

Eight of the 17 tracks are sung a cappella, the group's specialty. Some are the sorts of British traditional songs that are typical a cappella fare -"The Banks of Sweet Primroses", "Gower Wassail"- but Finest Kind applies that technique to all sorts of material. Their harmonies almost sound like a barbershop quartet on the sentimental numbers "The Miner's Dream Of Home" and "A Handful of Maple Leaves." On the other hand their breathless speed on "The Night Pat Murphy Died" suits that slapstick tale of a raucous wake. Shelley's original "Fa-So-La" describes (and demonstrates) the beauty of sacred harp singing. One of the surprises on Ian's last album was Finest Kind's a cappella rendition of Stan Rogers' "Mary Ellen Carter". This time they do Utah Phillips' "Goodnight Loving Trail" that way, and it works beautifully.

As stunning as Finest Kind's a cappella harmonies are, they don't limit themselves to that style. The accompanied tracks range from more British songs - "Sussex Drinking Song", Peter Bellamy's splendid setting of Kipling's "A Pilgrim's Way"- to some nice country-ish and cowboy songs. Ian's concertina is featured on the English stuff, though it also fits (taking the place of, say, a harmonica) in the Western classic "Blue Mountain". Ann sings lead and frails the banjo on "Going To The West" (with another concertina break). Shelley plays guitar and Ann plays bass throughout the album, with occasional guests on fiddle and mandolin.

The musicianship is fine, but the singing is what makes this album special. Check out the intertwining parts on "Give Me Just A Little More Time", a swell gospel number learned from E.C. and Orna Ball. Enjoy how "Pat Murphy" keeps modulating higher (and getting faster) as the story gets wackier. Bask in Ann and Shelley's old-time duet harmonies on "I Heard The Bluebird Sing". The whole thing is a delight.

Given the time and care that have obviously gone into this recording, I hope it's not too greedy to ask for a second helping - and soon! Meanwhile, don't miss this gem.   Bob Blackman