The World Turned Upside Down: Rosselsongs 1960–2010 (CD)

The life and times of England’s greatest living songwriter are captured in a deluxe box set, containing 72 songs on 4 CDs and an 80-page book.

“The songs on these CDs span 5 decades, from the sparky sixties to the curdled present, and encompass a wide variety of song subjects and song forms. They have been written out of hope, anger, love, scorn, laughter and despair. The tracks I have selected are, I believe, sturdily built and quite capable of standing up for themselves. And, because they have something to say about the times in which they were written, there are copious notes on the political and personal environments that formed them along with some pointed observations on the craft of songwriting.” —Leon Rosselson

Frankie Armstrong, Roy Bailey, Mark Bassey, Steve Berry, Billy Bragg, Martin Carthy, Howard Evans, Clare Lintott, Chris Foster, Sue Harris, Paul Jayasinha, Sianed Jones, John Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth Mansfield, Ruth Rosselson, Fiz Shapur, Dave Swarbrick, Miranda Sykes, Roger Williams, The 3 City 4, The Oyster Band, and The Sheffield Socialist Choir all contribute variously to the songs too, in one form or another.

Praise:

“His songs are fierce, funny, cynical, outraged, blasphemous, challenging and anarchic. And the tunes are good, too.”
—Guardian

“Leon Rosselson is one of the select few whose position on the British folk scene is evidence of higher intelligence. Since the 1950s, his music has illuminated the folk and political song sky like forked lightning.”
—Sing Out

“Some of the most literate and well-made songs now being written.”
—New York Times

“I do not think there is anyone in the English-speaking world to touch him. He is a sharp observer, a wonderful wordsmith, a composer of originality and depth, but, most of all, a superb integrator of words and music.”
—Folk Roots

“With dazzling lyrical technique, deftly woven inter-rhymes, a powerful understanding of image, irony and narrative verse, he paints vivid portraits of sadly displaced lives, fools in high places, the absurdities and the occasional graces of modern life.”
—Boston Globe

About the Artist:

Leon Rosselson has been at the forefront of songwriting in England for 50 years. His songs range from the lyrical to the satirical, from the personal to the political, from the humorous to the poignant. His best known song, “The World Turned Upside Down,” has been recorded by, amongst others, Dick Gaughan, John McCutcheon and Billy Bragg (who took it into the pop charts in 1985) and has been sung on numerous demonstrations in Britain and the U.S.

See and hear artist interviews, and other news on Leon Rosselson's page HERE

Click here for one-page information sheet on this product