“A Drop Of Morning Dew” is Serious Sam Barrett’s eighth record, consisting of live tracks performed at the Bacca Pipes Folk Club in Barrett’s native Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The set features 18 tracks, mostly originals, all performed solo by Barrett. Alongside writing and singing, Barrett also performs using a 12 string guitar with thumb picks in the style of Townes Van Zandt, as well as banjo and slide guitar.
Barrett has spent many years in the Yorkshire Folk Scene in Northern England, yet his music seamlessly blends the classical English folk sentiments with elements of the 1960s Greenwich American style. The American Press of “A Drop Of Morning Dew” is from Arkam Records, but the album is from YaDig? Records. He has been featured in Uncut Magazine as well as BBC Radio 2.

From the album’s opening “Every Night Has An Ending,” performed acapella in a typical British pub fashion, Sam Barrett’s music is daring in its timeless quality. Both the melody and lyrics fit right into the English folk tradition, with a cyclical folk structure instead of the modern verse-chorus structures. The transition into, “Alf’s Song,” might be the highlight of the album, as he immediately begins picking his 12-string guitar and jumping into another strong melody. The understated energy, like a horse galloping, makes it hard for the listener to do anything but pay full attention. “He was a fighter and a dreamer til he died/he was the best damn man I ever saw,” seem reminiscent of Townes Van Zandt’s ability to take a real person and elevate him to some folk hero in a matter of 2 minutes.

Sam Barrett’s comfort at the intersection between American and English folk influences is on full display again on a track like “Drive Your Way Home.” He plays a slide guitar, before singing with the occasional intentional voice crack about driving, moss and drinking, reminiscent of Dave Van Ronk. The clean, high tone of his 12-string still somehow carries an English folk element, that’s a bit more deliberate literary like Martin Carthy than something rougher and more American like Bob Dylan or Big Bill Broonzy.

When taking into account his songwriting and performing ability, and his ability to mix the best of old-fashioned English and American folk as well as his unique quality, Serious Sam Barrett should undoubtedly be a household name in the genre.

Serious Sam Barrett’s album can be downloaded on Bandcamp.