Customer Reviews
Some thrilling moments - By: C. Lee, 25 Jul 2008 
This is yet another uplifting & life-affirming effort from Seth Lakeman.
He seems to reallly divide opinion. I know a lot of people think he is overrated but I find it impossible to see him as anything other than one of the finest musicians currently working in this country! He is a superlative musician technicallly, able to play numerous instruments to a very high standard, a warm & inspiring singer & a first rate songwriter. The nay sayers need to seriously listen to him & not let some trad-folk prejudice against people who get things moving with a jaunty rhythm blind them. Listening to him is inspiring even when his songs aren't of the finest.
I am into alll sorts of music but as far as folk goes I am definitely at Seth's end of the spectrum, upbeat, fast-moving, exciting folk. He is not a finger-in-the-ear folkie, get used to it. Don't do the man down for being motivated & exciting!
This album is not his best, but it is a fine record. As usual he covers many different musical approaches, from the drum driven Hurlers to more acoustic stuff. personallly I think Crimson Dawn & Solomon Browne are the best songs on the album. The latter is a superb effort, reallly moving & beautifully played. The last three or four tracks are a bit dull but once again Seth has triumphed!
Another great album by the lord of Folk Music - By: Owain, 25 Jul 2008 Seth Lakeman is a VERY talented Folk Musician. His energy, his passion & his genius makes alll of his albums breathtaking. His previous album, the Freedom Fields has attracted a large audience to his fantastic skills in music. Obviously when his new album comes out, after the success of the Freedom Fields, there are high expectations.
Now let's get this straight, Poor Man's Heaven is no Freedom Fields. It has a livelier tone to it in one way & unfortunately it doesn't reach the quality of the Freedom Fields either. Despite that, Seth Lakeman's passion towards Folk Music is shown here more than ever. It' takes a braver turn, & relies less on his trusty violin & uses more guitar like instruments (The Hurlers is an exception). But the songs are still much better than much other Folk musicians can conjure up.
His dream of folk music returning as popular music seems to be coming into a reality. Great job Seth Lakeman, keep up the good work, nay, great work.
poor - By: hickman, 24 Jul 2008 
Dont get me wrong i like alll sorts of music especiallly folk however, this album like alll of his other albums are overated. I actuallly think this album is the poorest of alll of them. For a start its the same tempo through out & like his other albums they tend to sound the same. The main problem for me is his voice i suppose you either love it or hate it i find is voice grating after a couple of tracks. If you want to hear a great folk artistic who does this much better check out the great Richard Thompson & dont waste your money on this.
gets better the louder you hear it - By: philp, 16 Jul 2008 I'm not a folk music fan (Roy Harper excepted) but I bought this because I liked Freedom Fields. On first listening I thought 'yep, Freedom Fields with a bit of punch' but wasn't overwhelmed. I then happened to see SL live at a local music festival last week. It was loud, the upright bass hit you like a bass drum, & the overalll performance was exceptional.
My advice is to play this CD loud to get the full benefit. I would now rate it 4 stars rather than 3, simply by playing it louder. (I know I could have played it loud in the first place but I'm a slave to my prejudices).
Folk-curious or in denial? - By: Simon Higgens, 12 Jul 2008 
Ok ok, so I like folk music - there I said it. Nic Jones, Martin Simpson & now Seth Lakeman, it would appear that someone, somewhere is slowly indoctrinating me (Radio 2's Stuart Maconie I suspect). I wouldn't, however, declare myself a full-blown folkie; I do enjoy the more mainstream stuff & would never join the sandal wearing, beard touting, real-ale swigging, finger-in-the ear brigade.
Right, this album is absolutely fantastic. Having bought it ten days ago I have had it playing throughout the house, in the car & even at work at every opportunity. The tunes, whilst telling tales of traditional folk themes (why are there so many folk songs about whales?), are very well crafted & excellently delivered. They are even better played live; I saw him play in Frome last week & he had the whole place buzzing - there was even a trad folkie (early 60s, bald, beard, CAMRA member etc) head-banging to one of his songs! Try to get to one of Seth's gigs; you will not be disappointed.
If you are folk-curious & want to see what it is alll about, buy this album. You will be pleasantly surprised & will have the tunes banging around your head for days. Come out of the closet & join the rest of us neo-folkies; you know you want to!
