“Fraser Union rocked the house last night at the Jericho Folk Club. I brought newbies and they kept leaning over and saying “these guys are fantastic … this is wonderful.” Yes, indeed, I said, and I brought you here! FU was at the peak of performance, harmony and grace.” —Jane Slemon, BC musician and songwriter
Praise for BC Songbook
“[Fraser Union] have always sung songs that tell stories of B.C. and on B.C. Songbook they have devoted the whole album to that theme. There’s the tale of the loggers’ hotel in Vancouver in Grand Hotel, a song about the miserable conditions inside the Steveston Village Cannery in Canning Salmon and a tribute to the steelworkers who lost their lives building the Second Narrows Bridge between Vancouver and the North Shore on The Bridge Came Tumbling Down. The instrumentation includes guitar, mandolin, banjo and dobro. [It’s] a variety of story songs sung with enthusiasm and commitment. Solid, dependable, simple and unpretentious.” —Tim Readman (Penguin Eggs)
Praise for This Old World
“Listening to and singing along with Fraser Union is sheer delight.” —Faith Petric (The Folknik)
“Wonderful! Great selection of songs! You all sing about what matters…and thanks for including my song on such an important project.” ––Linda Allen, Washington State musician and historian
“If one is going to sing songs that help define the west coast, it would be hard to find a better collection than these.” ––Bill Gallaher, BC author and songwriter
“Your version of ‘World Turned Upside Down’ will make a worthy addition to my collection – unvarnished, unadorned. Which is what I like about your treatment of all the songs – respecting the words and letting them speak for themselves.” ––Leon Rosselson, UK songwriter and musician
Praise for From There to Here
“Fraser Union knows how to pick and deliver a song: good harmonies; direct, evocative, and powerful lyrics; and songs with content. Their songs are about places far and remote as well as close to home, times past and gone as well as up-to-date, and issues that trouble one’s thoughts and tweak otherwise impervious hearts and consciences. From There To Here deserves a lot of praise….” ––Robert Rodriquez (The Folknik)
“The songs are delivered with gusto, conviction and often humour, to their own accompaniment of acoustic guitars, mandolin and octave mandolin. [They] illustrate the ability of Fraser Union to move comfortably between widely different types of material – from quiet ballads to rabble-rousing anthems to satiric humour that leaves the audience calling for more. There are no throw-away numbers on this CD – each song is powerful, with the substance of real life.” ––Laurie Postans (BC Folklore)
Praise for Hello, Stranger
“Hello, Stranger is a delightful mix of contrasts: old and new, humour and passion, blues and British traditional, harmonies and solos, political and not. Fraser Union’s harmonies are gorgeous all the way. The four voices blend beautifully. The seamless texture they achieve is a noteworthy accomplishment. Hello, Stranger is good music. Definitely worth having.” ––Penny Sidor (Three Quarter Times)
Other Reviews
“I just wanted to say that I bought all three of your CDs. Loaded them up in the CD player and enjoyed them immensely. I really enjoy the west coast flavour. Your songs really capture the essence of BC life. Thank you.” ––Barry Rathburn, Qualicum, BC
“I loved both your CDs (very, very much!) Looking forward to the Canning Salmon one in the fall. Telling people where I work how wonderful you guys are! Keep up the good music!” —–Gaylene Lueger, on hearing “Canning Salmon” on CBC Radio