The album is book-ended with two of the earliest tracks, from the 1997 Eliza Carthy & The Kings of Calicutt album. From the first notes, it is clear her decision is the right one. It is music that evolves through performance over time – in which thirty years is just a blip. On the surface this sounds risky, but folk music is never about the primacy of the recording. Just as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy reclaimed his back catalogue with Sings Greatest Palace Music, she has picked the songs her fans love best, and changed them. Eliza has re-recorded songs from throughout her three-decade discography, selected through Twitter polling. Queen of the Whirl is a celebratory best-of, but no cash-in. In this spirit, Queen of the Whirl celebrates Eliza’s songs by playing them again with a new cast. The stand-out feature of Eliza’s career is collaboration, and the alchemy of playing with others – not just the wider family, but an eclectic range of musicians including the likes of Joan Baez, Bill Frisell, Kate Tempest, and Patrick Wolf. Folk royalty or not, living on the proceeds of touring is a tough existence, but it is also live performance that makes the music special. During the pandemic, she was obliged to appeal online for money to keep her family in their home. A glance at her project list shows just how much she has achieved: two Mercury Prize nominations, a radio history of folk music, theatre work, film and television soundtracks, festivals, and an MBE. Now – almost suddenly it seems – she has been in the music business for thirty years, and has a CV to match her parents, the much-missed Norma Waterson and the godfather of folk, Martin Carthy. It feels as though she has always been around, but the moment to stop and reflect on her career has never quite arrived.

Because Eliza Carthy belongs, famously, to a folk dynasty it is easy to take her for granted.

Songs joy mukherjee