Carroll David & Friends - Bold Reynold

Facts Bold Reynold - an album by David Carroll and Friends (Gryphon's Dave Oberle, Graeme Taylor and Brian Gulland plus Fairport Convention's Chris Leslie and Dave Pegg, with Tom Spencer from The Professionals and The Men They Couldn't Hang, and Lucy Cooper), that puts the rock back into folk rock with seven traditional songs, a Dave Cousins classic and an epic version of The Last Leviathan. With instrumentation ranging from crumhorns, cor anglais and uilleann pipes through fiddle, tabla, bouzouki and dulcimer to bass, drums and electric guitar and all stops in between, this is a soundscape not to be missed. David Carroll spent much of the 1970s in vans travelling the country earning a crust from the then buoyant folk club and college circuits with folk band Spinning Wheel. The advent of punk led to a lessening of interest in older forms of music, so to supplement a waning income, a qualification in stringed instrument making and repair was gained, leading to a long and successful career in the musical instrument industry. Several bands, duos and solo performances followed over the years, as well as a steady flow of both live and studio session work on instruments as diverse as uilleann pipes and appalachian dulcimer as well as the more normal guitar, bouzouki and mandolin. After appearing on numerous recordings for other people the idea of a solo album fermented over several years and, bolstered by offers of help from many good friends (including all the above!) the ideas and arrangements finally surfaced in 2022.