HART Tim & FRIENDS
My very Favourite Nursery Rhyme Record

PRKCD 108

769934010829
Park Records
UK Regno Unito

 

Having been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008, he spent much of his final year living and receiving treatment in the UK before returning to the Canaries shortly before his passing.
There was, however, one final project that Hart desired to see come to fruition. Originally recorded in 1981 as a gift for his then three year old son, Hart had been inspired to record his own album of nursery rhymes by the appaling standard of releases on offer at the time. Yet, being Tim Hart, this was no ordinary collection of children's songs. Calling on his friends to help him, My Favourite Nursery Rhymes featured many names familiar to Steeleye fans, including Maddy Prior, Bob Johnson, John Kirkpatrick and Rick Kemp, as well as musicians such as BJ Cole and Davy Spillane.

What might sound like the oddest of projects actually turned out, in the singer's own words, as the most enjoyable recording session he had ever taken part in. The material too proved to be entirely suitable for such company, with the likes of 'Hush Little Baby', 'Who Killed Cock Robin?' and 'Oranges and Lemons' more closely related to folk songs than you might imagine - all dealing with dark and evocative imagery.

Thus these recordings (now coupled with a second album that Hart recorded shortly after) not only captured the child like wonder of familiar tunes but also their more adult themes - resulting in an album that genuinely appeals to all ages. For Steeleye completists too it is a must have, bringing as it did so many band members together.