nic jones

He might be 'folk-revival' rather than authentic, but he's not a folk-rocker either - no electric instruments, no 'modern' songs, and it took me a little while to get used to his almost stereotypically folkie voice, it's not exactly a 'beautiful' sound. But I love the springy guitar sound he gets, quite different from yr Faheys and Janschs, but just as distinctive.

Very sad life/story, too

I guess Penguin Eggs is the only CD available? I've also got Ballads and Songs and From the Devil to a Stranger, both very good.

It's very sad that Celtic Music Distribution, who own the rights are not reissuing the records - especially since Nic was in a car crash that put an end to his career in the early 80s. I remember signing a petition to CMD to get them to re-release of sell the rights to the Nic Jones catalog at some point in the 90s, obviously nothing has come of this. I'm not sure how much the situation has changed over the past decade, but if anyone's interested, here's a link to an article about what the situation was:
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.music.folk/browse_thread/thread/848e605aa82c46c0/b2095be27d736e86?lnk=st&q=dave%2Bbulmer%2Bceltic%2Bmusic&rnum=5&hl=en#b2095be27d736e86

bump

these albums --

The Noah's Ark Trap (1977)
From the Devil to a Stranger (1978)
Penguin Eggs (1980)

-- are all absolutely killer. everyone who likes british trad folk needs to hear them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B7udr-BGBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YffOmiHdkIQ&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc4T12JzNWI&NR=1
great, really touching performance

documentary in the works!
http://vimeo.com/37817643

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kxbK46Ql8g

this guy is so good

Noahs Ark Trap is great too, chiefly for Anachie Gordon

Anachie Gordon and Annan Water are now available legit on this superb Brit folk comp (the Lal Waterson title track is very special, too):

http://honestjons.com/shop/preview/27428

"now" -- that compilation is like a decade old!

i have no idea how honest jon's was able to license tracks from the trailer/leader catalogue when that stuff is otherwise completely out of print.

for a long time the guy who owned the rights to those labels' albums (not just nic jones but some great stuff by dick gaughan and many others) would say something like, "i'll put these out on CD just as soon as the LPs sell out..." and he would say this like decades after the LPs had been out of print and were fetching high prices on eBay etc.!

last i heard someone else had bought the rights to that stuff (since I think maybe the dude in question passed away) but no news--that i can find--on re-releases.

"noah's ark trap" and "from the devil to a stranger" are /at least/ the equal of "penguin eggs."

here's a thread on the subject, which i haven't yet read through:

http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=154408

i love Nic Jones more than almost anybdy, check this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM5eHS527V8

also responsible for my all-time favourite version of "Lord Bateman"

much better than the derivative ballad "jason bateman"

All I have is Penguin Eggs, but it's got the best ever version of 'Canadee-I-O' on it.

you should find, at the least, the two preceding albums on the internets, they are magnificent. i wish i knew where to direct you. they used to be all over "album blogs," but those seem to have disappeared over the past five years or so.

http://thewaythetreesgrow.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/nic-jones-noahs-ark-trap-trailer-1977.html

Nic Jones is the absolute best

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VUAJZ7zrF8

otm

The Noah's Ark Trap is a fantastic album - one of the best!

He is a God and I wish he'd been able to record more

"Little Pot Stove" calz. Slays me. Every time

Sorry that one's on Penguin Eggs, d'oh

Noah's Ark Trap has "Fair Indian Maid" on it maybe?

yeah it has The Indian Lass and The Wanton Seed and other such gems, wonderful album.

Along with Little Pot Stove, it's The Humpback Whale that destroys me. I don't actually know The Noah's Ark Trap at all. Will remedy.

such a shame he got injured badly and his career curtailed he's an amazing talent

Aye, tragic and brutal.

His rhythm playing is so bafflingly full and fluid. I was pissing around with some alternate tunings recently and started to get a sense of the melodies but the rhythms were completely beyond me.

weirdly great singer too — guileless but deeply emotional somehow. he always cuts through me.

His voice is even better than his playing imo. As a non muso I don't technically understand why his playing is so good but it is so good

The Bonny Bunch of Roses and Lord Bateman on his self titled album are absolute killers

Also any of his versions of Clyde Water

this is good (especially the Ten Thousand Miles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzVWvjistp0

Woah Tyler haven't heard that before thanks for the heads up

This version of 10,000 Miles is too much. Extraordinary.

Hell yes, oh my god tho Annachee Gordon straight after it, fucking tears

lol the lyrics to The Wanton Seed are absolute filth, but I put aside my catholic sensibilities and enjoy the simple songcraft!

"guileless but deeply emotional somehow."

there is deffo a lot to be said in this genre of music about not being a supreme stylist without being as woefully bad as billy effing bragg.

yeah getting that warmth from "Little Pot Stove" as well, NV. Such a beautiful song.

I get strong Olde Hull vibes from it

does anyone know why there was such a significant gap (71-77 (i think?)) in Nic Jones's pre-accident recording career? this info is probably readily available elsewhere online but wikipedia doesn't have it and i'm lazy.

also, he is the king

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzo7fADr_50

a voice as beautiful and unsettling in its way as Shirley Collins' (the queen).

still don't really understand how a person could record an album like Penguin Eggs a decade after everyone other than Ashley Hutchings had ceased to care

that final comment is actually very unfair, Rise Up Like the Sun is dope and came later in the 70s than i thought. still tho, i stand by the general principle - were there any late-60s/early-70s folkies releasing genre-defining classics in the early 80s? not a facetious question btw, would love some recommendations!

dick gaughan's 'handful of earth' seems like the obvious answer. can't link youtube's from this poxy phone, but go and listen to 'craigie hill'

The man who really carried the torch for UK electric folk in the 1980s was John Tams. Rise Up Like The Sun was actually his record a lot more than it was Hutchings'. His next band, Home Service, were the house band for Bill Bryden's The Mysteries at the National Theatre, and made one outstanding album in Alright Jack.

dick gaughan's 'handful of earth' seems like the obvious answer. can't link youtube's from this poxy phone, but go and listen to 'craigie hill'

OTM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP15bKvUpdw