14.11.10 Chris Wood
Throughout his career independence has been balanced by collaboration. The artists he has worked with include Billy Bragg, Andy Gangadeen, Andy Cutting, Jean François Vrod and Hugh Lupton (Wood and Lupton's "One in a Million" won Best Original Song at the BBC 2 Folk Awards in 2006). Recently he has worked alongside Martin and Eliza Carthy and others in The Imagined Village: "Cold Haily Rainy Night", performed by Wood and Eliza Carthy, took the award for Best Traditional Song at the Folk Awards in 2008.
His first solo album, The Lark Descending, was released in 2006 to wide acclaim. “A lyrical, pensive album ... possessed of a timeless quality.”
-- The Observer Music Monthly
In 2009 his album, Trespasser, took on the idea of enclosure: spiritual, intellectual, cultural and physical. Billy Bragg writing in The Independent said “Come Down Jehovah, is a measured statement of atheism that puts Dawkins to shame!” Wood went on to receive "Album of The Year" and “Singer of the Year” from BBC Radio Two.
His most recent album is Handmade Life.
"Chris Wood has developed into an exceptional songwriter …venturing into areas that few artists would dare tackle."
The Guardian ★★★★
"Wood"s tongue is truer than most."
The Times
"It really needs to win an award. The band is a marvel and Wood's unpretentious singing carries real weight."
The Independent
"Chris Wood again defies those who foolishly try to second guess him."
Colin Irwin
"The depth of contempt that Wood summons up is astonishing in its power. This is undoubtedly one of the albums of 2010, regardless of genre."
Americana UK.com ★★★★★
"Highly charged observations on life, love and country"
MOJO ★★★★
"Wood delivers masterpieces… from politics to vegetable patches, he has it covered on this expansive new album."
Songlines – Top Of The World ★★★★
"Understatement and intonation are Wood"s trademarks and his scalpel is so artistically applied you scarcely see the cut. Confirms him as one of English music"s most potent, if complex, talents"
BBC.co.uk