British Folk (and Revival)

The problem I have is that this is like the Lomax blues recordings, where Lomax seemed to purposefully seek out amateurs and field-hands and whatever thru some notion that they were more "authentic" - adn in doing so produced a distorted picture of what was actually going on. Actually expression or "chops" play a pretty big part in living folk traditions

Definitely... take, for example, Roscoe Holcomb. Technically dazzling banjo playing. And Jeannie Robertson could have been an opera singer! I love them both - but not necessarily for their technical abilities - but for their abilities to make me feel things.

The best singers/musicians make it sound effortless, as the above-mentioned do. They're technically accomplished but not show-offy.

I've never really liked show-offs in any sphere.

And if they're doing a lot to make people source out their influences, than kudos to them.

You could maybe argue they belong to some sort of British pastoral tradition that includes poeple like Robert Wyatt, but I guess that's not as snappy as "nu-folk", "wyrd folk" or worse, "folktronica".

Or you could just dismiss them as an indie band with a Wicker Man fetish.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/06-06/07.shtml

http://www.oldhamtinkers.com/index.html

This second Sweeney's Men record really is fucking fanTASTIC.

yeah, tracks of sweeney is some haunting stuff

anyone read this Electric Eden book (guess it is not out in the states yet)? Deals with "visionary British musicians" including a lot of british folk rockers. sounds like a good read anyway.

I raved about it in this thread:

Good books about music

oh cool -- looks like it is being published in the states this May ...

Reading it (v. slowly) at the moment. Makes me want to give Vashti Bunyan another chance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs9PMky7Fj0

^ Fantastic clip of the Watersons singing 'Hal-An-Toe' in a pub in Hull in the mid-60's. Becoming slowly obsessed with this tune, gets me right in the guts every time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEwl_nvtt8A

^ And here's the Shirley Collins version with of course that great jews harp solo in it. It's the dulcimer that really gets me though.

ah that's great, thanks for posting (the watersons clip)

I've got this folky musician friend who's been struggling with really bad depression for the last couple of years. Couldn't work, couldn't play, was just virtually housebound for that whole time. Finally about six months ago he started gigging again and I went a long and he played that. And that whole theme of the summer finally coming after the winter... It's been on my mind a lot since then.

the recent album by jo bartlett (of yellow moon band/it's jo and danny) is wonderful folky stuff, v highly recommended

electric eden won't be released here til May :(

But you can get this now...

http://www.amazon.com/Seasons-They-Change-Story-Psychedelic/dp/1906002320

Looks great and there's definite crossover. Got my copy the other day.

I'm a couple of chapters into Electric Eden, need to hurry up if I'm ever to finish the thing.

My partner gave me Electric Eden for Christmas. Perhaps I'll start reading it next.

I saw that one, Ned, but I don't know how much I want to read some pseudoacademic text on Joanna Newsom's relationship to Jacqui McShee or whatever

Actually it's not like that at all! What I've read so far has been a lot of good straightforward history and anecdotes, Leech knows her stuff but also how to write about it well.

Electric Eden was available from the Book Depositary for about 1/2 price from the time it was released last August. Free delivery worldwide if you don't want to wait until May.
Largely a rewarding read, I didn't really like The wind in The willows take off bit though.

& I found Seasons They Change a little too listy. Kept changing to a new subject just as i was getting into reading about things. I think its an interesting read though.

Not sure what else to reccommend, certainly that stays on folk as opposed to including non-folk psych & prog. Seems most countries' take on prog tend to include large amounts of influence from local folk traditions. Maybe that's not so much UK/US noot sure though, certainly seems noticeable in continental European stuff.

Essential Acid Folk -not all British
I've just gone back to the original Bruton Town list after getting Shide & Acorn's Princess Of The Island, looking for more information on the band since i wasn't finding much elsewhere.
This has led me to reading through a thread there talking about records people thought wwere essential in the genre. People were making lists of essential artists, this being back in 2004. Thought I'd stick a few of them up here and see what you thought

1)Comus: First Utterance
Extradition: Hush
Fairport Convention: Liege & Lief
Gallery: The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Gryphon: s/t: & Midnight Mushrumps
John Renbourn: The Lady & the Unicorn, & The Hermit
John Renbourne: A Maid in Bedlam
John Renbourne: Sir John A lot of
Linda Perhacs: Parallelograms
Mellow Candle: Swaddling Songs
Midwinter: The Waters of Sweet Sorrow
Mr Fox: Mr Fox, & The Gipsy
Oberon: A Midsummer's Night Dream
Paul Giovanni: The Wicker Man
Pentangle: Cruel Sister
Pentangle: Solomon's Seal
Perry Leopold: Christian Lucifer
Richard & Linda Thompson: I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
Shide & Acorn: The Princess of the Island
Shirley & Dolly Collins: Anthems in Eden
Shirley & Dolly Collins: Love, Death & the Lady
Shirley Collins: The Power of the True Love Knot
Shirley Collins & the Albion Band: No Roses
Silly Sisters: s/t
Spirogyra: Bells: Boots and Shambles
Steeleye Span: Below the Salt
Steeleye Span: Parcel of Rogues
Steve Ashley: Stroll On Revisited
Stone Angel: s/t
Sweeney's Men: Sweeney's Men, & The Tracks of Sweeny
The Albion Band: Rise Up Like the Sun
The Albion Country Band: Battle of the Field
The Albion Dance Band: The Prospect Before Us
The Watersons: Frost and Fire
The Woods Band: s/t
These Trails: s/t
Tim Hart & Maddy Prior: Summer Solstice
Trees: The Garden of Jane Delawney
Trees : On the Shore
Tudor Lodge: Tudor Lodge
Vashti Bunyan: Just Another Diamond Day

2)Anne Briggs 'Time Has Come'
Forest - both
Bert Jansch - Jack Orion & Rosemary Lane
Third Ear Band - Fleance (just that song)
Incredible String Band - take your pick
Clive's Own Band (COB) - both albums
Lal & Mike Waterson - Bright Phobus
Tir Na Nog - first
Dulcimer - first
Mark Fry
Pearls Before Swine - Balaklava & The Use Of Ashes
Bread Love & Dreams - all three
Donovon - Gift From A Flower To A Garden (essential!!!!)
Broselmachine
Perry Leopold - both
Eclection
Fortheringay
Tony, Caro & John

3)Sun Also Rises
Northwind
Westwind
Wooden Horse
Young Tradition
A-Austr
Agincourt
Blue epitaph
water into wine band
Heron
Decameron
Spyrogyra

4)Carol Of Harvest,
Witthuser & Westrupp,
Emtidi,
Langsyne,
some Ougenweide,
Emma Myldenberger
Hölderlin's Traum

5)Sallyangie – Children of the Sun
Jan Jukes De Grey – Sorcerer
Fuchsia – ST
The Strawbs – From the Witchwood
These Trails – ST
Water into Wine Band – Harvest Time
Mandy Morton – Magic Lady
Tickawinda - Rosemary Lane
Trader Horne - Morning Way
Jade - Fly On Strangewings

So that was mainly individual's personal choices & 4) was specifically German groups the writer would have chosen over Broselmaschine. I'm not sure if much else has emerged over the last 7 years. I don't think anybody mentioned Pat Kilroy or The New age (&the latter of these wasn't available until a couple years later anyway. Had remained unreleased until RD did it)

Stevo

Sharron Kraus, yeah? didn't look below the fold but she seems to fit in here. She had a 2010 album "The Woody Nightshade" that I just listened to the other day.

Hey guys, I normally try not to spam ILM but you guys might want to know that Michael Chapman, UK folkie-rocker and guitar wizard, will be playing on my radio show tomorrow evening. 10-midnight (eastern u.s. time) on east village radio--www.eastvillageradio.com

wheeee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e8W7cRo12Y

don't think i know this guy! he sounds great.

Tyler, his album "Fully Qualified Survivor" was just reissued on LP (and CD??) by Light In The Attic; he's really fantastic.

Yeah, FQS is pretty essential. Pretty cool, Ian! I got to engineer a radio thing for a him a while back and he's still great.

Looking forward to this!

Hmm, very cool indeed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an6EoevSSIs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT9SCKnp91A

some incredibly pretty Anne Briggs-style vocals and intertwining acoustic guitar parts on Folkal Point's self-titled album from 1971. it may not be authentically English (at least half of the songs were written but Americans), but I'm not bothered. it's odd that Joan Baez's original recording of "Sweet Sir Galahad" (written about her sister Mimi Fariña after the death of her husband Richard) for the most part leaves me cold, whereas Folkal Point's cover version makes me cry. her delivery of the line, "will I fail at every single thing I try?" just devastates.

("written by Americans," I mean)

finally picked up Electric Eden today! looking forward to digging in (and listening to a bunch of brit-folk along the way)!

I got that recently too but haven't really started it yet. Not sure why, because the few pages I read were very good.

this book is so good! i will admit that i have lost steam as i exited the early 70s, but the first 300 pages are SO SO SO WONDERFUL.
you will enjoy it. spotify will be your friend along the way.