And would Gryphon qualify as folky?
― nickn, Monday, 11 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Fairport's "Unhalfbricking" must be searched, especially "Genesis Hall", one of those songs that sounds as though it's carrying such a heavy load on its back that it's only just struggled into existence (Talk Talk's "Such A Shame" followed where it left off, 15 years later). It's hard to believe it's still alive, indeed it's only just desperately clinging onto life, maybe a metaphor for aspects of the society it was released into. Nowhere left to go, indeed, but what's all the more amazing is how utterly they refute that on the album as a whole: "A Sailor's Life", amazingly, fully deserves its reputation, such is its endless compulsive guitar grind. I was fearing a pointless imposition of rock upon the song when I first heard it, actually it's the opposite. Everything flows perfectly, no wonder that incarnation of Fairport was too good (read: had too many individual talents heading in different directions) to last.
"What We Did On Our Holidays" isn't far behind it. Other individual songs that haunt my mind from those albums: "Book Song", "No Man's Land", "Tale In Hard Time", "Autopsy", "Eastern Rain", "Nottamun Town". If you like the intros-unrelated-to-the-songs on Rod Stewart's first two number ones, you'll like "End Of A Holiday", as well.
Fotheringay over-produced? Maybe, at times, but "The Sea" remains one of the highpoints of its era, a fantastic use of environmental / physical metaphor for personal decay / dereliction. The "News From Nowhere" of pop music: once-only in every sense. You don't have to fully endorse the sentiments of "The Pond and the Stream" to identify with them, and "Nothing More" and "The Banks of the Nile" are also wonderful. The weakest moments on that album are when Trevor Lucas comes to the fore, I think.
The Pentangle's "Basket of Light": yes yes yes search out today, though the overwhelming air is the opposite of "Genesis Hall": practically zero *rock* influence but huge jazz inflections on the time signatures / arrangements creating an incredible mood of vibrancy / zest for the future / utter optimism. Highpoint thereof: probably the multi-layered flow of "Train Song" (what was it in the water c.1970 that produced such loving *detail* in production values even on basically really mouldy old records? Even on their / his best song I still want to punch J. Hayward, but the high-speed guitars on the Moody Blues' "Question" are magical). Also wonderful: the brightness of "Light Flight", the slow build of "Once I Had A Sweetheart", the way "Sally Go Round The Roses" treats early 60s girl- group pop as though it was traditional material and in doing so renders the divide between "new" and "old" utterly irrelevant and meaningless (I'm sure I remember Duane in NZ saying the very same thing ages ago). Actually everything on "Basket of Light" is great though the arrangements aren't quite as revelatory on some of the traditionals: still very pretty and all that and exactly what you need to bring the best out of the songs, but they don't blow your mind the way "Train Song" does even now.
These records are in a continuum for me: I associate them with Skitz, Roots Manuva, and even Timbaland & Magoo's "People Like Myself" closer than with anything in the "folk" field in the last ... oooh, let's say my lifetime, OK? A lot of British music, much of it totally unrelated to any notional idea of "folkiness", revolves around that 1968-70 moment and worldview, at least to my ears. I could take or leave a lot of that era, but not *this* part of it.
― Robin Carmody, Monday, 11 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
By the way, Mr. Robin, whatever happened to Elidor? Was always an interesting read, yet the "Elidor is going on holiday" notice has been up there for - jeez - how long has it been now?
― J Sutcliffe, Monday, 11 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Lord Custos, Tuesday, 12 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 12 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― duane, Wednesday, 13 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Wednesday, 14 May 2003 11:05 (twenty years ago) link
― James Ball (James Ball), Wednesday, 14 May 2003 12:03 (twenty years ago) link
― Lynskey (Lynskey), Wednesday, 14 May 2003 12:29 (twenty years ago) link
― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 14 May 2003 14:13 (twenty years ago) link
― j fail (cenotaph), Wednesday, 14 May 2003 15:40 (twenty years ago) link
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Wednesday, 14 May 2003 19:06 (twenty years ago) link
Surely!
― Cozen (Cozen), Wednesday, 14 May 2003 19:28 (twenty years ago) link
― Aaron W (Aaron W), Wednesday, 14 May 2003 19:41 (twenty years ago) link
― Cozen (Cozen), Wednesday, 14 May 2003 20:21 (twenty years ago) link
― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Wednesday, 14 May 2003 21:14 (twenty years ago) link
― James Ball (James Ball), Thursday, 15 May 2003 13:34 (twenty years ago) link
Anybody who wants to recommend to me Fairport Convention things, or cognates, here, please go ahead.
― the fairfox, Tuesday, 13 April 2004 08:01 (twenty years ago) link
― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 13 April 2004 08:03 (twenty years ago) link
― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 10:40 (twenty years ago) link
― Joe Kay (feethurt), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 11:36 (twenty years ago) link
― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Tuesday, 10 August 2004 13:11 (nineteen years ago) link
― doomie x, Tuesday, 10 August 2004 13:30 (nineteen years ago) link
― Sean Witzman (trip maker), Tuesday, 10 August 2004 14:11 (nineteen years ago) link
― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 10 August 2004 14:14 (nineteen years ago) link
― the finefox, Tuesday, 10 August 2004 15:13 (nineteen years ago) link
― |a|m|t|r|s|t| (amateurist), Tuesday, 10 August 2004 15:14 (nineteen years ago) link
It's not widely available, but you can get it here:
http://www.folkmusic.net/
― de, Tuesday, 10 August 2004 15:40 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Tuesday, 10 August 2004 15:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 10 August 2004 16:00 (nineteen years ago) link
― echoinggrove (echoinggrove), Tuesday, 10 August 2004 16:21 (nineteen years ago) link
― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Sunday, 30 January 2005 01:54 (nineteen years ago) link
― don, Sunday, 30 January 2005 02:22 (nineteen years ago) link
― don, Sunday, 30 January 2005 05:12 (nineteen years ago) link
Otherwise, there's a nice Celtic bent to some Trees stuff - I'm thinking specifically of things like 'Murdoch' with Celia Humphris doing the banshee bit (possibly over-doing it really but somehow the too-muchness only makes me crave it more) and Barry Clark's guitar swooping round the misty cairns much like a rum-addled puffin in his most impossible dreams.
― NickB (NickB), Monday, 31 January 2005 10:57 (nineteen years ago) link
The Woods' Band album that is.
― NickB (NickB), Monday, 31 January 2005 10:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Monday, 31 January 2005 12:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Monday, 31 January 2005 18:36 (nineteen years ago) link
― Snappy (sexyDancer), Monday, 31 January 2005 18:47 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 31 January 2005 18:50 (nineteen years ago) link
not sure about the 'these trails' record though
― terry lennox. (gareth), Sunday, 1 January 2006 10:14 (eighteen years ago) link
My husband put the entire Maddy Prior discog on my computer & it always makes me laugh every time I see it on my itunes.
― I X Love (Abbott), Tuesday, 29 December 2009 21:54 (fourteen years ago) link
lol I revive3d this thread before I noticed the Steeleye Span thread was already on new answers page
― I X Love (Abbott), Tuesday, 29 December 2009 21:55 (fourteen years ago) link
Fairports' BBC sessions box is just great.
― ithappens, Tuesday, 29 December 2009 22:08 (fourteen years ago) link
Was interesting to see a lot of the material The Dubliners recorded mid 60s turning up in electric versions on Steeleye Span, Fairports etc lps. Wish I could find live audio & video from Ashley Hutchings era SS, & more by him with Fairports. Got the French set with Judy Dyble but apparently it was filmed in colour.
Haven't looked to see if Electric Eden & Seasons They Change have been discussed much yet.
Think I found this site through googling Emanuelle Parrenin whose La Maison Rose I saw in a list of cds on ebay.
― Stevolende, Saturday, 5 February 2011 22:45 (thirteen years ago) link
(Swivel-eyed right wing dingbat) Peter Hitchens on "Meet on the Ledge"
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2015/06/old-forgotten-far-off-things.html
― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Tuesday, 14 February 2017 18:16 (seven years ago) link
finally getting into those Shelagh MacDonald records (some of which features Thompson & Mattacks), pretty good post Sandy Denny action
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 February 2017 18:26 (seven years ago) link
this one has Thompson and Mattacks on it, i think... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov6BtkDANb8
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 February 2017 18:28 (seven years ago) link
Don't quite know what's going here but this 1975 country album by professional wrestler, Brian Maxine, has quite the starry line-up.
https://img.discogs.com/6OR-CSRJ4chqUXp4AEv6uot6_B4=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-4505708-1366802782-2272.jpeg.jpg
https://img.discogs.com/yn90gyWaM5IHMbaaYhe2xChsk0c=/fit-in/600x602/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-4505708-1493327266-9291.jpeg.jpg
― 'Skills' Wallace (Tom D.), Saturday, 23 November 2019 21:30 (four years ago) link
... there's lots of clips of Brian wrestling on YouTube but none of his singing.
― 'Skills' Wallace (Tom D.), Saturday, 23 November 2019 21:32 (four years ago) link
I forgot I'd made this: a big old playlist I made as I read Electric Eden. It's a mess but full of goodly things.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0dWPJzlO2fjXzWXIN2Hqhh?si=9JaiZdOSQUeScVcpJvLkUA
― Life is a meaningless nightmare of suffering...save string (Chinaski), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 21:41 (four years ago) link
Echoing the love for Bright Phoebus here, it's quite wonderful. According the liner notes on the reissue, red wine promises is about getting drunk, walking through Pearson Park and failing to leapfrog a bollard. It's 5 minutes from my house and I've probably fallen over in that spot too. Larkin's High Windows overlook the same park, and I like to think Lal and her fiance are the kids in the first verse.
― thomasintrouble, Tuesday, 26 November 2019 22:05 (four years ago) link
There is an entire book about Dr Strangely Strange now
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Wednesday, 27 November 2019 01:11 (four years ago) link
yeah got it, haven't read it yet but it looks promising.
― Stevolende, Wednesday, 27 November 2019 18:59 (four years ago) link
Got a new band to me to recommend. Welsh band called Pererin that were around in th eearly 80s but sound like they come from about a decade earlier.I think they were on the old Bruton Town list of bands of interest so I've known of their existence for several years without actually hearing them.Welsh language, acoustic stuff that was reissued by Guerssen a few years ago and may have copies left in their sale at the moment.That was where my copy came from anyway.
― Stevolende, Wednesday, 27 November 2019 21:27 (four years ago) link
cool thanks for the recommendation
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 27 November 2019 23:12 (four years ago) link
That's the 2nd lp, still has some electric input. looks like they went consciously acoustic on the next lp.https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/pererin/teithgan/
― Stevolende, Thursday, 28 November 2019 00:23 (four years ago) link
right, found it, used to be the masthead list for the yahoo group on wyrd etc folk. Does include a few names that weren't automatically fit into the category
Bruton Town listncredible string band, linda perhacs, clive's original band, alastair galbraith, comus, damien youth, pantaleimon, midwinter, bob buckingham, pentangle, parameter, current 93, red chair fadeaway, devendra banhart, iron and wine, belladonna bouquet, gnidrilog, loudest whisper, forest, peter scion, anne briggs, green crown, skip spence, popol vuh, fit & limo, acid mothers temple, roscoe holcomb, six organs of admittance, carol of harvest, pearls before swine, estampie, prydwyn, emtidi, moths, ghost, greg weeks, espers, abunai, mandible chatter, witthuser & westrupp, nature & organization, nic jones, stone angel, tyrannosaurus rex, fairport convention, duncan browne, dock boggs, john fahey, drekka, nick drake, angels of light, hammons family, john martyn, mourning cloak, jan dukes degray, mellow candle, donovan, in gowan ring, third ear band, nigel mazlyn jones, chris thompson, ring, dr strangely strange, martyn bates, animal collective, albion band, langsyne, wizz jones, spriguns, the carter family, fuschia, moonkyte, iditarod, shide and acorn, spirogyra, chris cologne, water into wine band, fotheringay, vashti bunyan, mormos, campfire songs, alasdair roberts, cocorosie, floating flower, peter grudzien, diana obscura, vetiver, danielson family, algarnas tradgard, faun fables, bread love & dreams, malicorne, charalambides, tinsel, davey graham, duncan browne, terry earl taylor, simon finn, book of am, extradition, mac macleod, dulcimer, tea & symphony, moth masque, tir na nog, maitreya kali, joanna newsom, shelagh macdonald, bhagavan das, mark fry, tim buckley, magic carpet, sun also rises, tudor lodge, will oldham, b'eirth, exuma, the trees, the farinas, shide & acorn, steeleye span, principal edward's magic theatre, shirley collins, stone breath, mourning phase, old-time music, new weird, neo-folk, acid-folk, psychedelic folk, strange folk, world serpent, dark holler, hand/eye, the forest people
― Stevolende, Thursday, 28 November 2019 10:33 (four years ago) link
Just heard from a friend that Judy Dyble has passed away from lung cancer :(
https://www.loudersound.com/news/original-fairport-convention-singer-judy-dyble-dead-at-71
― Maresn3st, Sunday, 12 July 2020 13:12 (three years ago) link
:(
i really like her singing on that first album
― Mein Skampf (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 12 July 2020 13:15 (three years ago) link
OTM + RIP Judy. Her misfortune was to be overshadowed by her successor, but I can't think of many vocalists who wouldn't be overshadowed by Sandy Denny.
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Sunday, 12 July 2020 13:23 (three years ago) link
RIP. Her album with Trader Horne is wonderful:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTQ3JrT4LNo
― J. Sam, Sunday, 12 July 2020 14:10 (three years ago) link
Thanks, didn't know about that! Bummer that she's gone---did get to do this---from my Nashville Scene ballot comments re 2018:Richard Thompson is an ever-riveting, never-showboating featured team player ("Sloth" gets really dead-to-zombstring strange: is it about wages of sloth, of a sloth? Both?) on Fairport Convention's roiling, autumn-leaves-shanking What We Did On Our Saturday, documenting a sometimes alarmingly energetic hive of all surviving Conventioneers who came to play--- which is most, incl. the founding line-up entire, I think---their 50th Anniversary Concert (taking things a little easier on Disc 2, but understandably so, given the earlier waves).
― dow, Sunday, 12 July 2020 17:31 (three years ago) link
Never really listened to the entirety of the first Fairport Convention album with Judy Dyble until today. Maybe not quite as good as the next few but still nothing to sneer at.
― Eric B. Mash Up the Resident (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 17:48 (one year ago) link
Or sneeze at even.
otm, that was a pleasant discovery for me a while back. iirc it has a kind of californian, byrds-y quality that I rather enjoyed
― rob, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 17:57 (one year ago) link
Yes, exactly. Also another album with Iain Matthews- Martin Lamble too! And Richard's playing is amazing right out of the gate.
― Eric B. Mash Up the Resident (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 18:03 (one year ago) link
Yeah, it's a nice little gem. Understandably it gets overshadowed by the next four albums, but it's a good one.
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 18:14 (one year ago) link
Bonus tracks good too.
― Eric B. Mash Up the Resident (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 18:40 (one year ago) link
It's curious but notable that the originals on this record are more memorable than the cover versions, with the exception of the two throwaway instrumentals (the only ones with no Thompson credits). Poor Judy Dyble is just adequate, though.
― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 21:23 (one year ago) link
I feel like she may be better than that. Gotta be hard for anyone to be compared to Sandy Denny.
― Eric B. Mash Up the Resident (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 21:35 (one year ago) link
Well, she may have been the best singer in Giles, Giles and Fripp...
― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 21:39 (one year ago) link
It's curious but notable that the originals on this record are more memorable than the cover versions
"Time Will Show the Wiser" is great, better than the original.
― Was Hitler a Hobbit? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 21:59 (one year ago) link
OTM. Also I believe some of the Joni Mitchell material appeared here before she released herself so maybe that counts as cover+.
― Eric B. Mash Up the Resident (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 22:03 (one year ago) link
Same with "Eastern Rain" on the next album.
― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 22:13 (one year ago) link
Believe they came as demos via Joe Boyd iirc.
― Eric B. Mash Up the Resident (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 22:15 (one year ago) link
Was about to say the same.
― Was Hitler a Hobbit? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 22:16 (one year ago) link
Recommending his book White Bicycles to those who haven't read it. Recommending Beeswing to myself since I only just started nosing around in it.
― Eric B. Mash Up the Resident (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 22:20 (one year ago) link
Beeswing is excellent, especially if your main interest is in Fairport Convention. Thompson focuses on his upbringing through Fairport Convention to his conversion to Islam, but after that, he writes about his life in much less detail.
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 23:07 (one year ago) link
That's usually the opposite of how those bios go, so that's a plus for me. I guess because the recent events and work are usually at the front of the writers' minds, they are recalled with more clarity. The Bob Mould book is a great example. It was like he just couldn't wait to blaze through the Husker and Sugar stuff so he could write about working for the WCW and getting into techno. Neither of which was as interesting to read about as it sounds.
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 23:19 (one year ago) link
Ugh, I guess I'll skip Mould's book. That's really disappointing, because he seemed like someone who could write a great memoir.
The only thing I would have liked was an equivalent amount of detail on Richard's work with Linda, and given how it was entwined with his personal life, I can see how he would be reluctant to do that. Plus quite a few people still insist that Shoot Out the Lights was autobiographical when he's already explained many times why that isn't so. I think he's already had enough talking or writing about those years as a result.
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 23:32 (one year ago) link
Feel like maybe more often than not there is also usually some big block of negative emotion– anger, resentment or just plain old bad blood– that has to be addressed somehow before even beginning to tell the old stories of the original band without it turning into simple score-settling and backbiting. “I’m not going to give those bastards any credit! They’ve already taken more than their fair share and bled me dry for all those years. Turnabout is fair play.” Richard seems like a reasonably retrospective person that could get to some kind of place to deliver a balanced enough story. I also imagine that telling too much about his relationship with Linda would be fairly painful for all involved. Now picturing Teddy on the phone to Rufus Wainwright if not Martha: “Can you believe what he wrote? Listen to this!”
― Eric B. Mash Up the Resident (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 27 April 2022 00:02 (one year ago) link
From what I know about the Lol Tolhurst book (which I own and have delved into but…) he was able to get to the good storytelling place as well.
― Eric B. Mash Up the Resident (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 27 April 2022 00:03 (one year ago) link
Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys
― Eric B. Mash Up the Resident (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 27 April 2022 00:17 (one year ago) link
Huh.
Can't believe no one told me that Richard Thompson & Dave Mattacks rejoined Fairport Convention last weekend to play Full House in its entirety. https://t.co/9yAe0PuSzi— Tyler Wilcox (@tywilc) August 17, 2022
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 17 August 2022 03:15 (one year ago) link
Good find. Those Fairport folks still seem to be pretty good friends. And props for the frontline rocking shorts.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 17 August 2022 13:29 (one year ago) link
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137254526#/?channel=RES_BUY
Experience the vibes in the original Fairport house! Yours for £4,300,000. Includes duplex annex with a self contained flat and garage space for multiple cars. Listing doesn't mention it but the property is also within walking distance of both Muswell Hill Sainsbury's and a fairly decent Chinese.
― You have already voted in this poll and cannot vote again (Matt #2), Friday, 15 December 2023 17:41 (four months ago) link
its better to buy something that hasn't been done up than something done up badly
― plax (ico), Friday, 15 December 2023 23:26 (four months ago) link