THE 2006 Radio Ballads, first broadcast on BBC Radio 2, were inspired by the Radio Ballads made by folk singer Ewan MacColl and BBC producer Charles Parker in the 1950s and 1960s.
The originals were masterpieces of radio, weaving together song and speech.
Folk singer John Tams and series music producer Andy Seward adopted a similar approach.
The documentary series, based on songs inspired by interviews, explore: hunting with hounds; the decline of the steel and shipbuilding industries; living with HIV/AIDS; life in travelling fairgrounds; and how music attempted to heal Northern Ireland's Troubles.
Tams and Seward now strip out the speech to allow the songs to speak for themselves. The 20 songs represent one-third of those commissioned. They feature Britain's best folk musicians, including Kate Rusby, Bob Fox, Jez Lowe and Karine Polwart.
This CD is an ideal introduction to the six programmes, each of which is also available on CD from Gott Discs.
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