Wayward daughter

"English folk music was in a sorry old state until Eliza Carthy came along with her blue hair and nose ring to grab it by the scruff of the neck in the mid-1990s. Headstrong, determined, passionate, fearless and, yes, visionary too, Eliza's background, pedigree and musical understanding not only afforded her the confidence and freedom to dismantle and reconstruct various sacred cows and take some breathtaking liberties with the music, but forced others to take it seriously when she did ... Of course, someone who take so many risks won't always get it right, but the art of a good compiler (...) is to omit all that stuff and, drawn from 22 albums, this collection gets it absolutely right. It's a proud career CV but more importantly it stands powerfully alone on its own considerable merits - vibrant, modern and relevant".