Ridgeriders

Ridgeriders
Studio album by Phil Beer, Ashley Hutchings and Chris While with The Albion Band and Julie Matthews.
Released	September 1999 25 June 2001
Recorded	1999 January 1995 ("Close Your Eyes")
Studio	Tone Deaf Studios, Preston, and Central Studios, Southport
Genre	Folk English folk
Length	41:31
Label	Blueprint records / HTD Records / Talking Elephant
Phil Beer chronology
The Fiddle Collection (1999) Ridgeriders (1999) Mandorock (2000)

Ridgeriders is a studio album from 1999 and TV series starting in 1994. The TV series featured Nick Knowles and was produced and shown by Meridian Television. One series was broadcast on Thursdays on from 7 June 2001, whilst the final series aired in 2002. The series is about the Southern English trackways (as one description for the series goes, "Nick Knowles takes to the saddle once again for a new four-part series of Ridgeriders, which follows the ancient trackways of the South of England"^[1]). The album is a collaboration album between Phil Beer, Ashley Hutchings and Chris While. It is the soundtrack album to the TV series.^[2] It also guest features The Albion Band and Julie Matthews. The album packaging also carries the Meridian Television "sun-moon face" logo.

The musicians later toured much of the album in January 2001, with one concert subsequently released as "Ridgeriders" In Concert in November 2001.^[3]

The album is a concept album, as it is a "journey" album that would be played on a journey around Southern England, making it similar to another of Beer's albums, Show of Hands' The Path.^[1]

Similar to Beer's older album The Works, the album's release is of question. Whilst the TV series began in 1994, the album was released in September 1999, and mostly recorded the same year in Preston and Southport. The album was re-released in June 2001 by Talking Elephant, who would release the aforementioned live album later that year.

"Close Your Eyes" was actually recorded in 1995, and appeared on The Albion Band's album Albion Heart that year.^[4]

Critical reception

In their positive review, Living Tradition said the album is an "interesting concept album with enough interest for those who never saw the series, but for those readers north of the Border, it is very English in feel."^[5]

Album track listing

1. "Shapes of the Landscape" - 2:22
2. "The Work of the Devil" - 2:10
3. "Along the Downs" - 2:29
4. "The Drover's Song" - 2:03
5. "Turnpike Reel" - 2:24
6. "Close Your Eyes" - 3:11
7. "Low Southern Slopes" - 1:54
8. "What Celia Sees" - 2:43
9. "Never Without a Thief or Twain" - 2:12
10. "Along the Pilgrim's Way" - 3:58
11. "Michael Morey's Hump" - 1:58
12. "Mossing We'll Go" - 2:43
13. "Up on the Ridgeway" - 2:24
14. "Smuggler's Road" - 2:58
15. "Betteshanger Treasure" - 2:39
16. "Dorset Cursus" - 3:41

Personnel

• Phil Beer: vocals, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, mandocello, fiddle, mandolin;
• Chris While: vocals, acoustic guitar;
• Ashley Hutchings: vocals, acoustic bass, electric bass

with

• Joe Broughton: fiddle, mandolin;
• Neil Marshall: drums, percussion;
• Julie Matthews: keyboards, backing vocals;
• Ken Nicol: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals;
• Simon Nicol: acoustic guitar on Close Your Eyes
• Engineered by Ken Nicol except for tracks 1, 3, 10 & 12, engineered and mixed by Julie Matthews
• Executive producer: Ashley Hutchings
• Mastered by Andy Seward
• Photography by Jeff Wright

References