Rockerilla - Giugno 2008 (di Enrico Ramunni)
Nel ricordo di John Stannard, storico leader dei Tudor Lodge, la coppia formata dall'inglese Michael Milner e dalla californiana Claire Hart catturò l'attenzione di tutti i folk clubs londinesi...e la mancata apparizione del loro attesissimo disco di esordio fu vissuta come un'autentica delusione... Queste registrazioni... rivelano un talento rimasto inspiegabilmente inespresso, tra ballate folk, country acido e armonie westcoast (sia Ralph McTell che David Crosby sono sempre dietro l'angolo). Un piccolo capolavoro strappato all'oblio
Shindig - Luglio/Agosto 2008 (by Paul Martin)
Mike and Claire Milner were a husband and wife acoustic folk duo. These 13 recordings were recorded in the USA in 1971 comprising three covers and ten originals. Their harmonised voices are melodic and complimentary but it's their guitar playing that really stands out.
Mike admits Claire was the stronger player, but listen to the seven songs on
side one in particular and you'll be impressed. Intricate, deft and full,
the interplay is profound in instrumental passages on 'Pegasus' or 'The Playing
Fields of England'. Side two is more conventional in style but
nonetheless pleasing. Odes to both British and American traditions are here
in 'The Hunt' and 'Don't Turn Your Back On a Christian' but the set is
otherwise contemporary.
Their 'Universal Rock and Roll' warrants a full band treatment. As with all
Nightwings releases, the packaging is sumptuous and the vinyl is 180grm. A
must for all acoustic fans
Record Collector - August 2008 (by Paul Rigby)
Englishman Michael Milner and his American partner, Claire Hart, recorded this folk album in 1971 which went unreleased until now ...
Hart’s trad-folk tones bounce off Milner’s far softer, yet persistent, vocal on their mostly self-penned tunes. It should be investigated by all British folk fans and comes limited to 500 copies, with sleevenotes and lyrics on a card insert.
Ugly Things - issue 27, August 2008 (by Mike Stax)
...It's a handsomely designed package, true to the graphic style of the times, and includes an insert with liner notes by Mike Milner.
The thirteen tracks here were originally intended as demos, so the production
lacks some of the richness and depth the material deserves, but
it's an enjoyable set of songs nonetheless, tempering the American folk singer-songwriter
style with traditional English influences. The yearning
"Playing Fields of England" and "I Need Someone Tonight"
are among the more compelling numbers here.
There's a casual, intimate quality to these performances that gives the listener
an idea how it might have been to have caught the duo live in a
small folk club or coffeehouse at the time. Fans of '60s/early '70s folk should
find it all very much to their liking.
Folk Roots - issue 328, October 2010 (by Ian A. Anderson)
... But why, for example, people like Anglo-American duo Michael-Claire (Mike Milner & Claire Hart) didn't make the breakthrough is much harder to imagine. With great voices, songs, guitar playing and fabolous good looks, they played all the right venues of the day like Les Cousins and the London and Bristol Troubadours, appeared on the BBC's radio folk show, even hung out with the gang in London's popular post-gig café La Fiesta that included the likes of Sandy Denny and Trevor Lucas, but they never got a record out. Finally, in 2008,Italy's Night Wings released their extraordinarily good 1971 demos - but only on vinyl, not CD, so they're still nearly lost to posterity.