Shirley Collins. Classic. Dud is not an option here, I'm afraid.

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I remember when I would buy old vinyl rekords on thee Harcvest label eg Edgar Broughton Band "Inside Out", Third Ear Band "Macbeth" soundtrack (I R Simon House completist) Sundry Pink Floyd, Bakerloo" etc etc. You would get a GRATE printed inner bag w/pics ov various "Harvest" label releases. Thee k-weird shit on some of these albums (esp. 3rd ear-ies who I LUV more each passing year) would make one want to get all of it. Sad to say a whole bunch if it was boring cobblers by ex-members ov deep purple, and this dissapointing I digress. On thiz inner bag, tho' one wd find pics of 2 albums by Shirley and Dolly Collins WTF was all that about, I wd wonder. Eventually I got this compilation on Decca (I forget thee title) And fuck me if this wasn't the best music I think i've ever ever heard even to date. Let us get one thing out ov the way - Ms Collins is a FOLKSINGER, w/95% ov her musick being "trad. arr", which = not that which will make u hip, oh no (tho' obv I do not care 'cuz I like folk musick so fur q.). BUT she is NO ORDINARY SINGER. Her interpretations, as well as her choice ov material is such that esp when put alongside her sister Dolly's genius early music instrument arrangements this is musick that makes the directest line to yer subconcious mind. It fux!ng gets u there. Many is the time i've completely zoned out whilst listening to eg "The Murder of Maria Marten", & have entered some other space entirely - it's like "mythago wood" or suchlike. I think she is an artist rather like Delius, in that when U hear her if u don't like her, u prob never will, but if U do, i envy u b/c u will discover some of the most haunting/beautiful/otherworldly music ever made. There is an interview in the latest "Wire" if yer interested. My pix0rz are

1/ "Anthems in Eden" - Folk song suite recorded w/early music consort - arranged by Dolly collins for krumhorn, rackett etc. Based on theme of rural england before & after 1924-1918 war

2/ "No Roses" - Folk Rock album a la Fairport Convention "Leige & Leif", but actually superior IMO. Standout track = "The Murder of Maria Marten" - murder ballad clevery arranged by Ashley Hutchings w/alternating folkrock/trad drone folk sections. Possibly yer k-rad's favouritest track ever.

After that, "The Power of the True Love Knot" and "Love, Death and the Lady" are great, though the latter is not Xactly brimming w/larfs. generally, Ms Collins picked the most hardass songs from the eng. folk repertoire - crime/transportation, murder, death etc, & it all is in great contrast to heritage britland i think. What d'you think, if U give a shiz 'n' all that?

x0x0x

― Norman Phay, Thursday, 2 May 2002 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Totally classic. I,ve only heard "Love, Death and the Lady", which as it's yer 3rd pick sure makes me curious to hear some of that other stuff. But from that listening I'd have to agree with "Ms Collins picked the most hardass songs from the eng. folk repertoire" - tho I think "Love, Death and the Lady" is rec'd as the Collins Sisters? The liner notes to cd version talk about how she/they rec'd it just after Shirley's(?) divorce and it's just harrowing. Ms Collins as the Charley Patton of Eng. folk too obvious to suggest? Prayer of Death. Pts 1,2 alongside this stuff on *the* mix tape of high lonesome?

― dylan, Thursday, 2 May 2002 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

No Roses was my first. A friend described her voice as sounding like it was being sucked down a drain. Absolute stone classic.

― briania, Thursday, 2 May 2002 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

R. Carmody to thread. Prepare your horse and trap, sir!

― Dr. C, Friday, 3 May 2002 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Maybe the most haunting voice ever. Classic Classic Classic.

― Alex in SF, Friday, 3 May 2002 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

7 months pass...

Anyone know if the long-muttered-about Shirley Collins box set is still in the works?

― Amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 2 January 2003 04:49 (10 years ago) Permalink

Oh, I adore everything I've heard from Shirley and her sister Dolly, although the first two records (False True Lovers and Sweet England) are a few cuts below the later work. Does anyone else really favor the last one, For As Many As Will?

― Amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 2 January 2003 05:11 (10 years ago) Permalink

The Sweet Primeroses is my favourite of her albums. As there are obviously a few fans out there, perhaps someone can tell me, did she record a version of the folk song 'Lord Gregory' and if so what album is it on and is it good? I mean, it's a great song and I'd love to hear her do it.

I've never heard For as Many As Will. I remember seeing it when I worked in a record shop years ago; no-one bought it or played it much, and because I was a teenage idiot I never even bothered to check it - or any of her other stuff - out myself. I was totally wrong and foolish and am making up for it now. I think there are some musicians that you can't really appreciate until certain things have happened to you, and she is one of those. For me, anyways.

― msphinx, Thursday, 2 January 2003 16:56 (10 years ago) Permalink

The box is apparently out now (though I haven't heard it yet).

http://www.thebeesknees.com/bk-sc-box-set.htm

― Douglas (Douglas), Thursday, 2 January 2003 17:31 (10 years ago) Permalink

Thanks for the link, Douglas. I'll see if perhaps Twisted Village will be carrying it.

Incidentally, Shirley now has her own web site.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 2 January 2003 17:41 (10 years ago) Permalink

Re. the picture on Shirley's home page: rrrrrowr.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 2 January 2003 17:43 (10 years ago) Permalink

Oh, and should I get that Young Tradition CD that is a collaboration with Shirley and Dolly, The Holly Bears the Crown? I like Christmas quite a bit, and of course I like the Collins sisters, but I know nothing of the Young Tradition.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 2 January 2003 17:49 (10 years ago) Permalink

I am going to singlehandedly carry on this thread, such is my passion for Shirley and Dolly Collins.

I don't know what may have primed me for Shirley Collins, perhaps some slight study into Child ballads and a lifelong affection for Jean Ritchie--whose two volumes of British Traditional Ballads in the Southern Mountains (on Folkways, sadly out of print) are extraordinary. Unaccompanied ballad singing so perhaps an acquired taste. I would also recommend Harry Cox and Texas Gladden *and* it's useful to pay attention to the folk motifs in RV Williams and Britten (Williams and Cox and Gladden are some of Shirley's heroes). Ii think these artists are more proximate to Shirley's aesthetic as any of the britfolk artists who are routinely namechecked here.

For As Many As Will is the last album the Collins sisters recorded. I think Shirley had actually announced her retirement prior to making the album, but something (temporarily) postponed that decision. I recognize that Anthems in Eden and The Power of the True Love Knot may be more important albums, but I treasure this one perhaps above the others for reasons I couldn't begin to explain. This is the only album on which Shirley sings a contemporary song, "Never Again" by R. Thompson. But that's not necessarily a highlight. "The Blacksmith Courted Me" and "The Moon Shines Bright" are remarkable, I like the unabashed "recital" quality of Shirley's singing here. "Gilderoy" is I think one of the sisters' major achievements.

I found the article in the Wire fascinating to learn of Shirley's roots in the CP's people's song movement, I could have guessed I suppose.

msphinx: Shirley's version of "Lord Gregory" is on Folk Roots, New Routes.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 8 January 2003 09:28 (10 years ago) Permalink

Did I say Jean Ritchie's LPs of Child ballads were unaccompanied. Feh. She accompanies herself on the autoharp most tracks. There is great overlap b/t these records and Shirley's repertoire. Also you can order CDR copies from Folkways. FA 2301 and FA 2302.

Then there is the Folkways LP of nothing but versions of The Unfortunate Rake/The Streets of Laredo/One Morning in May/When I was a Cowboy. You really don't need to hear folklorists sing, but the liner notes are ace.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 8 January 2003 09:36 (10 years ago) Permalink

Amateurist: just out of curiosity, where do you you hail from?

― Mary (Mary), Wednesday, 8 January 2003 09:57 (10 years ago) Permalink

amateurist - I really rate "for as many as will" as well. this isn't saying much, b/c i haven't heard anything i don't really, really like by thee collins sisters. it doesn't seem to be as well-recorded as the others I have, but that could be the cd transfer. i sometimes get the impression that it was done from vinyl rather than master tapes. anyway, the best track on it i think is the beggars opera medley, not least because you hear dolly singing, which i don't think is something you can hear anywhere else. dolly's singing isn't as "good" as shirley's, but it has this beautiful pure, "real" quality that's almost too much. "o polly, you might have toy'd and kis't". i wish there was an album of dolly singing, but it might be too much to take. dolly's arrangements are this constant source of marvel to me as well - i really don't think there's been anyone better than her. does anyone know if "power of the true love knot" has been reissued on CD? also, i have thee obituary for dolly c from the guardian, where it mentions s.th about a folk opera based on sea shanties she wrote before she died? man, that's something i really want to hear - i wonder if it'll get recorded. That cd box set is so#mething i'm going to have to get asap i think.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Wednesday, 8 January 2003 11:55 (10 years ago) Permalink

― pashmina (Pashmina), Wednesday, 8 January 2003 11:55 (10 years ago) Permalink

Power of the True Love Knot has been issued on CD by Fledg'ling. As far as I can tell all of Shirley's LPs have now appeared on CD, although there are odds and ends (EPs, anthology appearances) which remain hard to find. An enterprising DJ at WFMU burned a few of these EPs onto a CD not long ago. Some rarities are on the box set, beware though that about three-quarters of it is available elsewhere.

Dolly's sea shanties project, "We Have Fed Our Seas," was a collaboration with Peter Bellamy of the Young Tradition. It hasn't been recorded yet to my knowledge. An earlier collaboration, "The Transports," is available on CD but I haven't heard it. I agree that Dolly's voice is charming; there's something ecstatic about the moment when Shirley takes over, their voices seem in such close accord.

One more thing: Anyone interested in Shirley and Dolly's music should try out the Voice of the People series on Topic Records. This was the major field recording/compiling projects of the English folk revival and made available something close to the full spectrum of folk music from the British Isles--somewhat akin to Alan Lomax's Southern Journey project. All of VotP has been reissued on CD. A wonderful English web site called Musical Traditions features very informed (you might say partisan) reviews of this sort of thing. They have a part of their site devoted to VotP with lots of information.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 8 January 2003 18:49 (10 years ago) Permalink

(Mary: I'm from Chicago)

― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 8 January 2003 18:49 (10 years ago) Permalink

My gosh, someone is selling Shirley's first LP (on Folkways) on eBay for a starting bid of $600. Will there be any takers?

― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 22 January 2003 04:45 (10 years ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

OK a condensed version of Jean Ritchie's two LPs of Child Ballads for Folkways is now available on CD. I cannot recommend this more highly for most anyone, but especially anyone who likes Shirley and Dolly Collins' music.

Shirley is I think my favorite singer and performer of all time. A better scholar than I should really take up the task of assessing her life's work. One fascinating thing about it is the way she combines an intense respect for and understanding of sundry traditional styles (ballad singing, "early music," art song) but combines these styles in such a way that is absolutely sui generis. It is a very selfconscious appropriation and mixture of different aspects of British musical heritage, but it works beautifully through the force of Shirley's taste and talent and that of her collaborators -- foremost among them Dolly Collins, but also including David Munrow (R.I.P.) and the London Early Music Consort, whose own records (there are many) are worth seeking out (=gross understatement).

I might have mentioned this above but one of Dolly's common arrangement techniques--setting a rich polyharmonic arrangment in counterpoint to an almost perversely uninflected ballad reading by Shirley--reminds me of some of Britten's folksong settings, including my favorite, "O Waly, Waly," where the piano part is basically continually unfolding variations on being several beats behind the very foursquare vocal line, resolving into a standard meter only after the singer has finished. it's devastating (i hope I described it OK, obviously it's not technically correct as I am musically illiterate but perhaps it conveys some sense of the music).

i always picture shirley standing stock-still, hands folded into one another, as if in a formal recital, framed against a wall with a rich cover of green vines, undulating in continually shifting patterns of shadow and reflected light. like shirley is maintaining a sort of tableau-like rigidity and dignity amidst an effusion of intense emotion. it's like all this history and heartbreak and tragedy (personal and political and both at once) is suggested but cannot quite be contained by the strictures of a great tradition.

ok i need to go to bed now.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 10 July 2003 06:01 (9 years ago) Permalink

I mean Shirley set out to redeem traditonal ballads from the preciousness and feyness of contemporary (1950s) modes of interpretation and in some ways the route she chose to do so was as radical (if not moreso) as the nearly-contemporaneous experiments of Bob Dylan (who also wished to tap into the power of the traditional music of his country without fallying prey to some of the same traps*). They both excite me for similar reasons, I think.

*for a good example--and I do actually mean "good" as in worth hearing--of the sort of folksong presentation both were running from, see the records of Richard Dyer-Bennett.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 10 July 2003 06:18 (9 years ago) Permalink

I find her voice quite irritating.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 10 July 2003 11:21 (9 years ago) Permalink

Piss off, you dreary little pedant.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 10 July 2003 11:27 (9 years ago) Permalink

...Oscar Wilde lives and breathes

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 10 July 2003 11:29 (9 years ago) Permalink

What's the best starting point for a S+ D Collins virgin? Tell me one recd to get and I'll get it.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 10 July 2003 11:58 (9 years ago) Permalink

either the albion country band's "no roses", which is really good folk-rock, i think as good as "liege & lief" (ymmv) or "anthems in eden" which is the collins sisters' folk song suite, arranged for early music instruments. Possibly try to hear one of her records first, b/c i think she's the sort of artist you'll either like or dislike straightaway.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 10 July 2003 12:02 (9 years ago) Permalink

i think she's the sort of artist you'll either like or dislike straightaway.

One hates to be dreary and pedantic about these things but I neither liked nor disliked Shirley Collins straightaway. As it is, I love her albums but I find it difficult to listen to her voice over an entire album - I think it's the fact that she sings slightly out of tune all the time.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 10 July 2003 13:08 (9 years ago) Permalink

i'll be the first to admit that her voice is an acquired taste! as is dylan's!

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 10 July 2003 13:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

Does anyone happen to have the Love, Death and the Lady CD with bonus tracks? I think it came out on EMI. I have the previous BGO reissue. If you have the newer CD might I trade a copy for a copy of any of her other LPs--I believe I have all the others, save for the box set.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 11 July 2003 18:46 (9 years ago) Permalink

I have that one amateurist, mail me, and i'll do a copy of the extra tracks.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Friday, 11 July 2003 22:13 (9 years ago) Permalink

10 months pass...

sorry i never mailed you!

i think i've come around to thinking that the first side of "anthems in eden" is her best work overall. though there are things on "power of the true love knot," "adieu to old england" (this is the one that no one ever seems to mention), and "for as many as will" (and several others, though not the first two 59/60 lps) that are magnificent.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 05:53 (9 years ago) Permalink

Love, Death & the Lady is my fave.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 05:57 (9 years ago) Permalink

A heads-up on Shirl's new book that's just been published...

A heart-rending emotional journey into the cultural roots of traditional American Music with legendary archivist Alan Lomax. Highly respected English folk singer Shirley Collins describes her year long stint as Lomax's assistant and their diligent work uncovering the traditional music of America's heartland. They covered Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Georgia - along the way encountering Mississippi Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters and many others.

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 07:49 (9 years ago) Permalink

wow! well, i'm buying that then. still haven't managed to send shirley a mash note but i'm not sure how.

i wish she'd write about her own music and her relationship to traditional english music and its various revivals. that interests me as much if not more (if only because the america stuff has been covered so well by so many).

ok i have a noisy cat begging for my attention...be back later.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 08:08 (9 years ago) Permalink

btw the title of her book comes from something an american woman (in appalachia i believe) asked of shirley: "you come from england? england over the water?"

― amateur!st (amateurist), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 08:17 (9 years ago) Permalink

I've sort of met Shirley a couple of times through a mutual friend, and I got the impression that she's such a quiet and shy and, above all, modest person that I didn't feel like she even wanted to talk about her own music, much less write about it. Mind you, I didn't really want to bother her with all that, so I could be wrong...

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 08:25 (9 years ago) Permalink

Shirley has a voice that's both powerful and innocent.
I have 'Folk Routes..' and 'No Roses' and love them both.
For some fathomless reason 'No Roses' only gets 3 stars on amg, when as amateurist says it's possibly beter than 'Leige and Leif'.
I know Shirley's not on it, but would anyone on this thread recommend 'Rise up like the sun' to me, because obv. if it even approaches the goodness of 'Roses' I'd like to own it.

― de, Tuesday, 18 May 2004 12:34 (9 years ago) Permalink

"No Roses" is genius. "Rise Up Like the Sun" is the best folk rock album released after 1973. There is one crap Morris dancing tune on it but the rest of it is brilliant: "Poor Old Horse", "Ampleforth/ Lay Me Low" (which is almost as good as "Meet On the Ledge"), "The Gresford Disaster".

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 12:36 (9 years ago) Permalink

Ah thank you. Btw I own 'Morris On', and I love it, so I might like that crap tune.....
(How I've managed to resist buying 'Son of Morris On' and 'Grandson of Morris On' thus far I'm not sure....a Neitzchan control of my will prob.)

― de, Tuesday, 18 May 2004 12:41 (9 years ago) Permalink

I have "Morris On" and "Son of Morris On"! Still think that "Rise Up Like the Sun" could do without the Morris tune.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 12:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

Now I trust your judgement fully :-)

― de, Tuesday, 18 May 2004 12:44 (9 years ago) Permalink

uh-oh.

"dada is correct abt "rise up like the sun". "poor old horse" is probably worth the price of the album on its own.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 12:47 (9 years ago) Permalink

Martin Carthy did a really good version of "Poor Old Horse" on one of his albums too

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 12:50 (9 years ago) Permalink

"as amateurist says it's possibly beter than 'Leige and Leif'."

did i say that? i dunno.

i don't like shirley with drums really. i don't like "amaranth" much, largely because of the echoey production.

i like shirley with dolly's arrangements, basically.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 15:57 (9 years ago) Permalink

Ha, it was me, right at the top, who said that "no roses" is superior to "liege and lief" and even though i think "liege & lief" is one of the best rekkids EVER, I like "no roses" better.

Amaranth is probably the worst (read least great) shirley collins music I have. I like the folk-rock arrangements on "no roses" tons, but I think it's probably enough of shirley w/that type of sound. Have you got the "etchingham steam band" cd amateurist? That's kind of...interesting, but not great.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 16:03 (9 years ago) Permalink

sorry dudes

― de, Tuesday, 18 May 2004 16:19 (9 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

has anyone read her book? I keep meaning to buy it.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Wednesday, 4 August 2004 21:58 (8 years ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

still haven't bought it.

you know i'm sort of suspicious of english folk-rock (i've really lost the taste for fairport/sandy denny/et al) in part because it's admirers don't seem to be critical at all; i've hardly read a bad review of a british folk-rock album. it doesn't seem like a world that encourages really serious musical experimentation, as opposed to kitschy "ambitious" stabs (like peter bellamy's "transports," arr. dolly collins, which i'm really NOT getting into).

all this to say that "no roses" sounds like a failure to me, in fact it almost pains me to listen to. but damned if i can find a single negative review of it.

i really don't think shirley has the audience she deserves.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 21:28 (8 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Hi amateurist.

Have you read the (rather lengthy) interview she did Johan @ perfect sound forever? real interesting read. i want to hear more of her albums. we had a copy of anthems in eden at the store and it was great. the only one i own is power of the true love knot. greaaat stuff. i wanna read her book, also.

― electro-acoustic lycanthrope (orion), Thursday, 27 April 2006 00:19 (7 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 53 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

no, i have no idea about maria marten, just heard the song for the first time today....will google it

― captain angeroo (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 9 November 2012 23:37 (7 months ago) Permalink

one reason i'm glad i read this book cuz i guess i always associated steeleye span with some lamer celtic woman/chieftans type bullshit for some reaons...but yeah this early shit is fucking killer

― captain angeroo (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 9 November 2012 23:41 (7 months ago) Permalink

yeah i'm pretty into their guitar sound on those early records. so harsh!

― tylerw, Friday, 9 November 2012 23:42 (7 months ago) Permalink

you will enjoy, also i totally recommend this book if googling doesn't fully satisfy (i'd post a pic of the cover but the ones online suck and i don't feel like scanning mine atm)
http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?keyword=curtis+mackenzie+maria+marten&mtype=B&hs.x=0&hs.y=0

― pschnauzer (La Lechera), Friday, 9 November 2012 23:43 (7 months ago) Permalink

Martin Carthy playing electric guitar is such an unlikely thing

― buzza, Friday, 9 November 2012 23:46 (7 months ago) Permalink

another thing i learned from that book:

dave mattacks from fairport convention plays on EVERY RECORD recorded between 1969 and 1973 in the UK

― captain angeroo (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 9 November 2012 23:49 (7 months ago) Permalink

speaking of books i couldn't resist -- this is the inside cover

― pschnauzer (La Lechera), Friday, 9 November 2012 23:50 (7 months ago) Permalink

Isn't there a David Keenan book along similar lines?

He wrote a book about the Current 93/Coil/NWW nexus (England's Hidden Reverse), which may or may not contain some stuff on Shirley Collins (obviously there's links to C93 there). I do remember when I saw the Telstar Ponies in Brighton in 1995-ish, they played an old English folk song (can't remember what) and Keenan dedicated it to her so the guy was definitely ahead of the curve on the whole folk revival revival.

― Albert Crampus (NickB), Saturday, 10 November 2012 00:29 (7 months ago) Permalink

i couldn't believe it when i found that lp, LL. the guy had a few hundred records in boxes and i think they'd already been picked over, the only other one i left with was i think a bob james lp.

― sug ones (omar little), Saturday, 10 November 2012 00:30 (7 months ago) Permalink

Telstar Ponies did a tune called Farewell, Farewell, but it's not the Richard Thompson tune from Liege & Lief (itself based on an old tune), but a reworking of various folk songs plus their own material. It builds to a coda which is pretty much a straight quote of Go From My Window which Shirley did a gorgeous version of, so maybe that emerged from their earlier live versions of that song... It's on that great Geographic compilation http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/geographic/29-01-07/you-dont-need-darkness-to-do-what-you-think-is-right/

Shirley's talks are absolutely wonderful. If you ever get the chance to attend one don't pass it up. I'm sure this point has made on here before, but her book on America Over The Water is essential reading. Apparently she isn't interested in doing further books, which is a shame, considering what a good writer she is and her amazing life, but I have to respect her decision. We have the talks though...

― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Saturday, 10 November 2012 00:55 (7 months ago) Permalink

seriously omar i would die -- if that happened to me i would pass out and then maybe die
that's just too much. i can't take it.

I'm sure this point has made on here before, but her book on America Over The Water is essential reading.
Agree 100%! It's a great book, and really illuminating wrt the Lomax recordings. I also respect her decision to stop whenever she pleases -- I admire a well-timed exit.

― pschnauzer (La Lechera), Saturday, 10 November 2012 01:44 (7 months ago) Permalink

love the cover:

it was one of those moments that happens to me a couple times per year where i see a record and then sort of look around and hide it behind another record, and i don't know why i do it but it's instinct. then i have that moment when i hand the money over where i feel like i'm getting away with thievery and i'm about to get caught.

― sug ones (omar little), Saturday, 10 November 2012 02:01 (7 months ago) Permalink

Listen, I'm just going to have to be ok being super envious of that but in the meantime

― pschnauzer (La Lechera), Saturday, 10 November 2012 05:02 (7 months ago) Permalink

that record sleeve is super-nice, especially compared to the horrid reissue

― Albert Crampus (NickB), Saturday, 10 November 2012 09:21 (7 months ago) Permalink

slightly OT but wtf at this cover

― buzza, Saturday, 10 November 2012 19:45 (7 months ago) Permalink

haha, that's almost as wack as henry the human fly

― Albert Crampus (NickB), Saturday, 10 November 2012 20:23 (7 months ago) Permalink

i think the deeper you get into the britfolk wormhole the more terrible the covers get

obviously they're trying to show that there's humor, it isn't all doom n gloom, or just pastoral grooves, but errr.

― tylerw, Saturday, 10 November 2012 20:28 (7 months ago) Permalink

Was listening to a bit of Malicorne earlier who were kind of like a french version of the Albion Band. Pretty good!

― Albert Crampus (NickB), Saturday, 10 November 2012 20:31 (7 months ago) Permalink

― Albert Crampus (NickB), Saturday, 10 November 2012 20:35 (7 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Picked up a nice copy of the 4 Men With Beards reissue of Folk Roots, New Routes

Great record! Nice to have a Davy Graham record without his singing, Shirley is great on this

― Andrew WKRP (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 9 January 2013 01:59 (5 months ago) Permalink

oh man "hares on the mountain" is so good
the whole thing is good but that song always kills me

― bish borscht (La Lechera), Wednesday, 9 January 2013 02:46 (5 months ago) Permalink

"love is pleasin'" too

― bish borscht (La Lechera), Wednesday, 9 January 2013 02:47 (5 months ago) Permalink

yeah it is such a good record, didn't know there was a reish.
i was thinking about doing a britfolk lady poll, has that been done before? a no holds barred smackdown between shirley, sandy, anne, jacqui, maybe a couple of others.

― tylerw, Wednesday, 9 January 2013 04:59 (5 months ago) Permalink

i'm not even going to encourage that because i am so 400% on team shirley that you would have to prod me with an electric zapper in a buenos aires torture dungeon in order to change my mind.

no exaggeration

― bish borscht (La Lechera), Wednesday, 9 January 2013 05:17 (5 months ago) Permalink

weird.. my friend recommended No Roses to me the other day and i've been jamming it since. poor murdered woman is my jam

― big fat dictionary (diamonddave85), Wednesday, 9 January 2013 05:31 (5 months ago) Permalink

"British" folk, folk rock, folk pop, trad, w/e female singers of the 1960s & 70s

― buzza, Wednesday, 9 January 2013 05:33 (5 months ago) Permalink

aha, i thought it had been done...

― tylerw, Wednesday, 9 January 2013 14:53 (5 months ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

I got th ehard back version of America Across The Water last week read 1/2 of it6 between last night nad this morning. Very enjoyable read. Wish there wasa further volume of her memoir, this one covers th erecording trip with Alan Lomax in the late 50s in alternating chapters with her growing up in wartime/postwar Hastings.
So woul dbe great to get somethng that covered the time from her return from the recording trip to her retiring from recording or later. I would love that in her own words.

I stress that i [picked up the hardback version since this seems to be the one version styill around. A softback was available initially but seems to have very rising price. Not sure if Book Depositary who I got it through just happen to have a backlogof hardbacks or what the story is.
In short if you want a copy I'd grab one sooner rather than later
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/America-Over-Water-Shirley-Collins/9780946719662

― Stevolende, Sunday, 17 March 2013 17:40 (3 months ago) Permalink

huh, is the paperback a valuable book? i got it at a local shop for $3 less than two yrs ago.

― i guess i'd just rather listen to canned heat? (ian), Sunday, 17 March 2013 22:26 (3 months ago) Permalink

I have the first hardback edition. Dunno if it's valuable, but I enjoyed reading it!

― and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Sunday, 17 March 2013 22:49 (3 months ago) Permalink

http://www.amazon.co.uk/America-Over-Water-Shirley-Collins/dp/0946719918/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1363599514&sr=1-1
paperback.

Get the picture?

SAF seem to have ceased printing & several titles that they put out are becoming scarce. Shame since thye put out some very interesting stuff. Do wish some other label woul dreprint several of them.
The Soft Machine & INcredible String Band ones spring to mind immediately, but there are a few others.

― Stevolende, Monday, 18 March 2013 09:42 (3 months ago) Permalink

This is old news I'm afraid but it was new to me - our Shirley does the voice of a snail making her way home in Nick Abrahams' short film Ekki Mukk:

http://www.nicholasabrahams.com/ekki-mukk.htm

― acid in the style of tenpole tudor (NickB), Friday, 29 March 2013 21:09 (2 months ago) Permalink

Okay, you might not want to watch the scene of putrefaction that starts at about 7 minutes in.

― acid in the style of tenpole tudor (NickB), Friday, 29 March 2013 21:16 (2 months ago) Permalink

Putrefaction of what?

― and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Friday, 29 March 2013 21:18 (2 months ago) Permalink

I didn't want to say in case I ruined the film for you

― acid in the style of tenpole tudor (NickB), Friday, 29 March 2013 21:26 (2 months ago) Permalink

I watched like 30 sec of it and it was too poignant so I decided to wait! It'll pass and I'll try again, I'm not worried about the putrefaction.

― and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Friday, 29 March 2013 21:29 (2 months ago) Permalink

WOuldn't nomarlly bother me either but I'm a big fan of ________ :0

― acid in the style of tenpole tudor (NickB), Friday, 29 March 2013 21:35 (2 months ago) Permalink

o no

― and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Friday, 29 March 2013 21:39 (2 months ago) Permalink

uh huh :(

― acid in the style of tenpole tudor (NickB), Friday, 29 March 2013 21:58 (2 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

shirley collinses in the news

Union County man donates $50,000 to school in honor of late wife
Posted: May 06, 2013 3:13 PM CDT

The $50,000 donation will be used to build a new media center at the school. The $50,000 donation will be used to build a new media center at the school.
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MAYNARDVILLE (WATE) - A Union County school got a major boost Monday thanks to a donation in memory of a local woman.
Horace Maynard Middle School in Maynardville received a $50,000 donation in honor of Shirley Collins - a former student who attended classes in the building when it still housed the high school.
Freddie Brasfield said the money is to honor Shirley, the love of his life, and create a living memorial to her.
"This is a perpetual program. The Shirley Lynn Collins Media Center is perpetual. We do not ever see it ending, and we will do whatever it takes to keep it at the top of its game," said Brasfield.
The school's library will be converted into a state-of-the-art media center with the funds, including upgraded computers and iPads.
Brasfield says Shirley dedicated her life to helping children achieve their goals.

― free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Wednesday, 8 May 2013 19:16 (1 month ago) Permalink

Good day for a thread revival - it's May 8, Helston Furry Dance Day

― dschinghis kraan (NickB), Wednesday, 8 May 2013 20:03 (1 month ago) Permalink

Summer is a coming
And winter is a gone-o

― dschinghis kraan (NickB), Wednesday, 8 May 2013 20:04 (1 month ago) Permalink

They should have called it the False True Learner's School.

― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Wednesday, 8 May 2013 20:11 (1 month ago) Permalink

Jolly rumble-o! I organized my Shirley Collins CD section today and also earlier this week hung my poster in my new home!

― free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Wednesday, 8 May 2013 20:14 (1 month ago) Permalink

also lol @ False True Learner's School
hehehehe

― free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Wednesday, 8 May 2013 20:15 (1 month ago) Permalink

The Etchingham College of Steam Technology

― dschinghis kraan (NickB), Wednesday, 8 May 2013 20:17 (1 month ago) Permalink

3 weeks pass...

not sure if this will show up or not, but poster from 1976 albion country dance band featuring a funny little illustrated tree with a squeezebox

― free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Tuesday, 4 June 2013 21:15 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

i would snuggle w/that cartoon tree

― unfinest DN (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 4 June 2013 21:21 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

totally. sort of irritates me that there's not more cool shirley footage on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBxtQhql0N4

― tylerw, Tuesday, 4 June 2013 21:28 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

it's weird, i used to search for her all the time on youtube, find nothing, and one day i gave up and set up a google alert, thinking that it would tell me when there was anything shirley related!
and really it hasn't been particularly fruitful. i do find the odd thing, but maybe i have it set up wrong or something.
still, that makes it more beautiful when something does come up. scarcity can be good.

― free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Tuesday, 4 June 2013 21:32 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

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