Black & White – The Definite Collection / Black & White - The Definite Collection

Though he remains a legendary figure in folk music circles, Ewan McColl was probably known (where he was known at all) to the rest of the world as the composer of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which was recorded by both Roberta Flack and Elvis Presley, among many others. But he was also a fine singer and interpreter of traditional English and Scots folk music; his musical and marital partnership with Peggy Seeger produced some haunting and beautiful recordings, many of which are difficult or impossible to find — hence the value of this generous 20-track collection. It features such classics as "Dirty Old Town," "The Foggy Dew" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (performed here by Peggy Seeger in a style that seems archetypally American in its raw openness), as well as more obscure originals and traditional songs. "Sheath and Knife" is an a cappella tour de force, an ancient incest ballad delivered with an eerie combination of gravity and gusto; MacColl's "Nobody Knew She Was There" is a touching tribute to his mother and her life of invisible toil. MacColl sings in a voice that is both rich and reedy, and Seeger accompanies him skillfully on a variety of instruments. Their chemistry is like gravity, silently and invisibly holding the songs together and lending weight to the music.