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Review from "The Ringing World" - Dec. 1995
I certainly haven't listened to every ringing CD and cassette on the market, but of those I have listened to, this is unquestionably the best. The recordings - for the technically minded were made inside the bell chambers using adapted Pressure Zone Microphones, and the quality is excellent. There is a clarity to all the ringing that makes it particularly accessible to those ringers - and, indeed, non ringers - who find it difficult to appreciate what's going on, and the fact that most pieces start from rounds is an added help. It is an excellent recording for developing your critical listening skills. In addition, each piece of ringing is individually introduced in smoothly modulated tones by the actor, Nicholas Smith - Mr Rumbold of Are You Being Served? - with the result that the whole CD has a warmth and understandability that makes it particularly enjoyable. The recordings cover 20 towers in the Surrey Association, from Charlwood on the Sussex border to Southwark Cathedral in the centre of London, and they range from a four to 3 twelves, with everything in between. The ringers are the local bands - with a little help from a few visitors - and the ringing is their normal Sunday service ringing. Both the CD and the cassette include notes for the uninitiated, but the CD also gives the names of all the ringers and the bells they are ringing. Brave ! You can hear Call Changes, Bob Doubles, Grandsire on all numbers, Stedman Triples and Caters, Surprise, and most of a lower in peal. It is an ideal recording for giving to non-ringers, improving your listening skills, illustrating talks, and - most important of all - just enjoying yourself.
Steve Coleman
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