Laura Marling - A Creature.../Live From York Minster

Last October, Brit folk revivalist Laura Marling performed with a full seven-piece band at England's York Minster, a gothic cathedral whose magnificent space lent the evening's proceedings an eerie, richly spacious sound. What she referred to as "the big daddy" of all the churches she visited on her inspired tour of regional cathedrals, York Minster now provides us with a 16-song concert recording that will be included as the second disc of a new 2-CD version of her 2011 album A Creature I Don't Know due April 2. For those who already own the album, the York Minster tracks will be available digitally on the same date (song listing below). What's particularly impressive on the live songs is Marling and band's superb arrangements, most notably on the opening "I Was Just A Card" where the song's guitar foundation blossoms with full-fledged theatricality and lush, symphonic sound. Listen also to Marling's stunning vocal control (and remarkable whistle solo) on "Night Terror", a folk hymn that turned out to be ideally tailored to the show's austere surroundings and echoing acoustics.

Laura Marling - "I Was Just A Card" (From Live From York Minster)

Laura Marling - "Night Terror" (From Live From York Minster)

1. I Was Just a Card
2. The Muse
3. Ghosts
4. Don’t Ask Me Why
5. Salinas
6. The Beast
7. Goodbye England
8. Blues Run the Game (not previously available)
9. Night Terror
10. Flicker and Fail
11. Alpha Shallows
12. What He Wrote
13. My Friends
14. Sophia
15. Rambling Man
16. All My Rage

Photos by William Kates of Laura Marling live at New York's Mercury Lounge, June 2008: