King Crimson – "Earthbound" (Island Records – HELP 6) 1972

Dreadfully lacking in inspiration,one has resorted to making topical references to that rather weird Coronation event of King Charles the third. So i typed "King" into the search box on my iTunes and out of the hundreds of replies from what i assume is some kind of artificial intelligence, I have selected King Crimson's "Earthbound" as a medium to air various bitter observations about celebrity status and how a constitutional monarch is way preferable to the awful heads of state that other systems provide,even if they don't have sausage fingers.

Yes Chuck the Third has crimson sausage fingers,or King Crimson Sausage Fingers, not dissimilar to Doctor Zoidberg of Futurama's facial arrangement. Is our King......yes i say 'Our',... really an intelligent crustacean from a planet in the goldilocks zone orbiting a near-by star, or ,as other more dubious members of the so-called counter-culture would have it....a Lizard. He was anointed with the Holy-Oil(????),ironically all while 'Just Stop Oil protesters were being dragged away as if they were in Moscow;all this behind a screen to prevent us seeing his lizard form, or his pink exoskeleton.

I'll put myself out on a limb by claiming that he is 'Probably' Human,.....possibly?

Doctor Zoidberg

King Charles III

Not only was it a vast TV audience that were allowed inside The Court of the Crimson King to witness lots of inexplicable christian nuttiness from millennia ago.There oozed also, a scraping,if that's the correct collective noun,of Celebrities made up the majority of the witless witnesses.We used to have Sir Lancelot,but now we got Sir Kier Starmer. In a thousand years time ,when we will all look like Dr Zoidberg and live in undersea caves cowering from the lethal solar winds and Third World War era half-life plutonium deposits; Our ancestors will decipher what records remain, using a charred copy of Hello magazine as their rosetta stone,to gleefully discover that Lionel Ritchie was actually there and not a myth, and tales of altruistic folk heroes who gave their own blood to the poor,Ant and Dec,will be proved to be possibly true.

There's more!?.....Dame Joan Armatrading was there, as was professional royal turd fly Stephen Fry...but wait...here's the best one.....Nick Cave?????.....What was he gonna do there?.....croon Junkyard King on the Stone of Scone? Yep Punk is certainly dead.

He desperately explains himself here...if you're interested.

It gets worse....the patronising Woke by numbers flavour of the proceedings tended to stick in one's cynical throat like the inescapable glotal stop in my east midlands accent.

They Don't mean it.....of course they don't mean it....but they feel they have to mean it.....so we get Woke by numbers in words and song.Its what psychopaths do...imitate the emotions thay don't have,then carry on killing, or being the CEO of a multinational.

There was the obligatory "we're not Racist us ,Gospel choir, representatives of even sillier relgions than Christianity, with Humanism and Atheism notable by their absence,as was, indeed...GOD?

It certainly wasn't 'Starless' but it was certainly "Bible Black".......I'm soooo clever ain't I ?

I still found myself watching it though.

However, the 1972 version of King Crimson seemed to fit the bill.Similarities with the Crimson King, in a place stuffed with 21st Century Schiziod men,a 21st century Zoidberg man,....not to mention that Charles, Camilla and Diana were "Three of a Perfect Pair"......the British army,instead of preparing for the looming war,marched perfectly to the "Beat", and showed great "Discipline"..something we rarely see in these "Islands"......leaving the guests to enjoy their "Larks Tongues In Aspic" with chips and mushy peas...see where I'm going with this? Yup, king Crimson album wordplay,...play it with your mates when you're reeeeeaaaaallllly bored.. They did an album called "Lizard" as well,featuring some peerless Mellotron play,referencing the royals' Lizard DNA. Something that Harry Hewitt isn't burdened with,because his real sperm donor wasn't a royal, and his mother a Spencer of good English stock.

Despite Charles being anointed as a living God,he will have to come to terms with being Earthbound.

And we will have to come to terms with Crimson's second best official live album,that wasn't accepted for release in the "USA" because it was too raw and noisy.

There's plenty of ferocious Sax abuse, recorded well into the "Red" by Mel Collins on this one,and none of those nice gentle tunes from their early days.It seems Fripp and the chaps may have been exposed to post-1970 Soft Machine,before Bruford and Wetton joined to create the classic prog power trio they became.

God Save the King...Crimson!?

This is Fun isn't it?...which classic period Crimson album did I NOT mention in the shite I wrote above?.....answers on a postcard addressed to Mad Vlad,number 1X, Secret Siberian Bunker (The one the CIA knows allll about),unoccupied Russia.Must be postmarked before the end of the world.

TRACKLIST:

21st Century Schizoid Man 11:45
Peoria 7:30
The Sailor's Tale 4:45
Earthbound 7:08
Groon 15:30

DOWNLOAD from the court of the crimson sausages HERE!

Egg – "BBC Sessions And More (1968-1972)"

Eggs are an essential part of the modern Diet, and so are Prog Royalty Egg,served gloomy side up ,raw ,for your full English Breakfast.....No Black Pudding here however, as this stuff is as White as you can get.

The following statement of fact will make yer average Q-Anon cowboy twat vomit up his early morning Grits,but ,and once again, thank fuck for the BBC and the much maligned "Deep state" (who of course own the Beeb....not).Y'know WOT...they,yes 'They' can have it (da world).Which do you prefer? Living under the yoke of some fantastic secret world government running everything, or Egg?....I know which one i'd prefer....pssst,it begins with an 'E'.

 Despite having wiped a few medium sized warehouses of classic TV shows and Radio Sessions from a famously myopic period in popular culture before 68',they came good and preserved most of what was then becoming clear as a Golden age, even a  new Renaissance of the Arts.

Egg were one of those bands that one had heard of yet never bought their records. Obviously very talented musicians,they could play in any dodgy time signature one could care to mention....13/12 anyone?

Of course, this kinda talk is a real turn off for the ladies,or anyone non-binary,which seems to be everyone these days,so there's no great prospect of Egg making a comeback.Not that they'd want to,as the prospect of endless touring playing for static spotty longhairs,earning fuck all money, and never getting laid is a great reason for Punk Rock. However, as has now been well documented, most of the first wave of UK Punx were all into Egg,and in fact anything Prog as it turned out. The second wave were somewhat different,and stupider,so we get Sham 69, UK Subs and The Exploited.

EGG - extolling the benefits of a woolly sweater,and putting a brave face on not getting any (Adult) lady action  

You may have noticed the droning voice of a late Paedo-DJ introducing "Long Piece part 3" ,no not Jimmy Savile,the other one that got away with it by dying,whom is somewhat idolised by sad trainspotters comme moi,everywhere.He manages not to mention School Girls on this appearance,in reverence to Egg;but any proof you want can be found in his Biography,and on the cover of the Ruts "The Crack" LP; but like Glitter,one must separate the wheat from the chaff,and the man from the music. I hear the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury has now been re-named....don't wanna upset anyone who's middle-class now would we?

The last three tracks are in fact the pre and post Egg band Uriel/Arzachel, with Canterbury chum, Steve Hillage.A project put on Ice while Hillage was on University duty.The first 11 tracks are actually EGG,and markedly superior, no offence to Steven intended.

Would love to imagine a collaboration between Egg and Egg,Eggs,or even those Lovely Eggs? There being a small 50 year musical gap between the suggested incumbents. Noticing the terrible attempts at humour,on tracks 4 and 9,these more 'modern' type bands could certainly help out in that department. That's another thing the ladies,binary ones, or non-Binary ones,require in a sexual partner which,in lonely hearts app speak,a GSOH!

This acronym does however get trumped by a.... Ferrari of course.Sorry to be cynical (again!) but its a set in stone fact.

Notes for the very sad:

Tracks 1-3 recorded for BBC 'Sound Of The Seventies' on 22nd February 1972.
Track 4 recorded for BBC 'Sound Of The Seventies' on 13th March 1972.
Tracks 5 & 7 recorded live for BBC 'In Concert' on 4th February 1971.
Tracks 9-10 recorded for BBC 'Top Gear' on 5th September 1969.
Track 11 recorded live at Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London, 22nd February 1971.
Tracks 12-14 recorded at Studio 19, London in November 1968 as Uriel(otherwise known as Arzachel when Steve Hillage was around).

Tracklist:

1 Germ Patrol 5:30
2 Enneagram 8:45
3 Wring Out The Ground (Loosely Now) 7:57
4 There's No Business Like Show Business 3:12
5 A Visit To Newport Hospital 7:52

6 An Announcement by John Peel 0:31
7 Long Piece No. 3 (Parts 2, 3, 4) 16:38
8 While Growing My Hair 3:43
9 Seven Is A Jolly Good Time 3:05
10 McGillicuddle The Pusillanimous 4:56
11 Saturn 6:22
12 Swooping Bill 3:25
13 Ego Man 4:08
14 The Salesman Song 2:57

DOWNLOAD the egg that came before the chicken HERE!

Fleetwood Mac – "Bare Trees" (Reprise Records – K 44181) 1972

With a cover like it houses an Ambient Doom miesterwerk, this forgotten soft rock classic from a lost version of former UK Blues giants, Fleetwood Mac,finds our hero's searching,yet failing, for that elusive 'New',Saucy jack, direction that most groups from the 1960s strived for,but never found. Some were saved by having that career saving 'early death',like Jimi Hendrix for example, who was going downhill rapidly by 1970.

However, I find this a rather pleasant,if inoffensive listen ,and is my Fleetwood Mac record of choice.Showcasing, as it does ,the songwriting talent of the Late Christine McVie,to whom this is a back-handed compliment,she being one of the few members of the Mac who wasn't a complete tosser. 

The horrendous ego's of curly topped Lindsey  'I'm a Clash fan me' Buckingham and Stevie Nicks...I was always confused as to which one was which......the most dull rhythm section on planet earth,and Peter Greens narcissistic moral outrage. Also, forget yee not, that at the same time in 1972,recently former guitarist Jeremy Spencer joined the Children Of God cult,and released his ,quite mad but trad,children of God Cult Lp,as "Jeremy Spencer and The Children".There wasn't just one loony-tune in Fleetwood Mac at the end of the sixties.

All this eclipsed  Christine McVie's envious ability to be normal, and write a damn fine tune. All of the best tchoons in their successful period were hers I noticed, after watching a BBC 4 Rockumentary on said group......Of course I had nothing to do with Fleetwood Mac at all in my yoof,so it was a revelation that they had some rather tasty songs to back up the success!?

This Lp attracted my eye,for the cover basically,and playing it sometime in the 80's ,i was astonished at the mind crushing blandness of it all, reminding me of the good Captain's 'Bluejeans and Moonbeams, which I grew to love while swimming against the tide of hipster opinion......come on 'Observatory Crest' would have been a hit when Fleetwood Mac were selling their crud to the unquestioning masses, if it had been pushed.

I like the cool kid clearing qualities of stuff like this...it takes talent to be this beige,but we forget that's what was trendy back in those bland 'Singer-Songwritery' days of 1972.This is what did for the career of my other female songsmith hero,the long departed Sandy Denny,who probably didn't die early enough to save her career,and should have remained reassuringly, Folk.

In the end the only ones left standing after the brutal Adult orientated Singer-Songwriter wars of 1972/1973 were Fleetwood bloody Mac;who went on to reap the vast crops others had already sown.Above all of this is that their major rock'n'roll legacy contribution is proving that one should never,ever, work with your significant other.The same goes for Friends too incidentally. If you have to work with someone,Always,ALWAYS, work with complete strangers;or risk losing your loved ones.

The best tracks are by the outstandingly ordinary Christine,plus Mrs Scarrots "Thoughts On a Grey Day"!?,which ends proceedings,rather bizarrely with a zero Mac member monologue,narrated by someone called Mrs Scarrot...of whom i have have no idea?

Recently, all our favourite, and less favourite Pop Stars have been falling off the tree,which is looking increasingly bare as every week goes by.

I was trying,and struggling, to think of something poignant to write about my Guitar Hero, Wilko Johnson,when I heard the 'other one' from Fleetwood Mac had died too,so, as I was struggling to put John Wilkinson's brilliance into monosyllabic script(basically there are No Words!), I took a right turn to show that we're open minded on this blog in the tribute department,and say Rest In Peace Christine....the trees are certainly, almost bare.

Tracklist:

1.Child Of Mine 5:09

2.The Ghost 3:58

3.Homeward Bound 3:20

4.Sunny Side Of Heaven 3:10

5.Bare Trees 5:02

6.Sentimental Lady4:35

7.Danny's Chant3:16

8.Spare Me A Little Of Your Love 3:44

9.Dust 2:41

10.Thoughts On A Grey Day 2:03

DOWNLOAD these fallen leaves HERE!

Moving Gelatine Plates – "The World Of Genius Hans" (CBS – CBS 64146) 1972

Prog died the day the Moving Gelatine Plates signed to CBS.

Not really, but it sounds good dunnit?

Often compared to Caravan and other Canterbury scene proggers, MGP sound most like jazzy era Soft Machine,who are also lumped in with the Canterbury lot themselves;mainly because some of the members came from that sleepy tourist hotspot and UNESCO world heritage site in Kent,known as Canterbury.The one which gave us,not only The Soft Machine,Caravan and Egg,but Geoffrey Chaucer as well.

Luckily for the  bands who sprung up in small numbers in Saint Thomas a Becket's old stamping ground,where Tom took one for the team; with almost saintly impeccable timing,the M2 had just been finished by the end of 1965,coinciding with the beginning of the UK Psych era. So Soft Machine and buddies had plenty of gigs at UFO and Middle Earth awaiting them in swinging London,just at the other end of the motorway.

Sadly for the Gelatine Plates, they were stuck on the pop music desert island of France,where Soft Machine were becoming rather popular too.So there was plenty of work awaiting any Soft Machine tribute bands who turned up,when the real thing weren't off partying in London.

Despite that Ker-razzy name,and the bizarre cover art,the band don't really live up to their promise.Its all fairly standard Canterbury style jazz prog,nothing wrong with that,but, that was being done elsewhere,dare I say better? There were dozens of petit Soft Machines everywhere in Europe,especially in Germany,where it now gets called 'Krautrock'......but,you silly hipsters, its obviously Canterbury rock innit?

I ain't got two or three hundred quid at hand to buy a copy of this on vinyl,but the CD is reasonably priced,but not as reasonably priced as it is on here.

The bonus tracks are shite from 1980,but they are included just in case you're bothered?

Tracklist:

1 The World Of Genius Hans 14:00
2 Funny Doll 4:25
3 Astromonster 6:15
4 Moving Theme 3:46
5 Cauchemar 3:46
6 We Were Lovin' Her 3:28
7 Un Jour... 1:25
8 Syntheme 3:28
9 L'Alchimiste 3:20
10 Les Êtres D'Or 5:50
11 Ombres 3:30
12 Rire De Peine 7:07

DOWNLOAD this machine molleux HERE!

Mahogany Brain – "Smooth Sick Lights" (Pôle Records – PÔLE 0013) 1972 /1976

Mahogany Brain invented UK DIY,even though they are French, and Outsider Punk!? You know rather like how The Ramones didn't Invent Punk Rock, and the Bad Brains didn't invent Hardcore.The difference is that Mahogany Brain didn't claim to have done anything, after the fact.

This album could be passed off as a lost Jandek album,in fact, this was released,four years after it was recorded, around the time Jandek was called The Units,and made "Ready For The House". It could also be the first No Wave album,or Danny and the Dressmakers on a bad day,The Prats ,or any number of UK DIY legends......but these nutjobs are french ain't they? There's no way Mahogany Brain would get a cultural arts grant from the French government making stuff like this.They can't play!....which was especially rare in 1972 when this was recorded.The only chord these zany chaps knew is the cord that leads from the guitar to the amp,and that's exactly how it should have been.Sounding like four persons playing four different tunes,all out of tune, at approximately the same time.Outsider Prog is the best i can do to categorise this rare work of Gallic genius. Like all of the realllly great bands,they played only one gig,then it was mission accomplished.Which explains the look of confused satisfaction that adorns the face of band leader Patrick Geoffrois.They would have been huge in 1979,if only they had waited.

Tracklist:

1 Green Winter Of Revolvers 8:35
2 Cathedral's Skirts 3:09
3 Church 0:50
4 Purple Overdose N° 102 1:32
5 Silkskin Dawn 1:15
6 Tongues Movie: Docteur Cloud 2:40
7 Rose Sad Sea 2:45
8 Diamond Voices Of Stars 4:17

Bonus Track:

9 Buring The Vibes 21:22

DOWNLOAD this exotic wood HERE!

Armand Schaubroeck Steals – "A Lot Of People Would Like To See Armand Schaubroeck ... DEAD!" (Mirror Records Inc.) 1972

My father, may their lord rest his soul, could turn every subject or eventuality,no matter how mundane, back on to his favorite item of interest.....World War Two. His whole life was stuck in a short few years in his late teens and early twenties. You name it you could twist it,.....Bay Leaves? Didn't have any of those in the prison camp,we used cats ears as a substitute for the cat stew. No salt for seasoning there,we had salt substitute as provided in our Red Cross parcels.....he could go on forever.Don't mention the War!

I suspect that Armand was the same about his thieving and prison years.

Don't mention Prison whatever you do!

Yeah, we get it, he's been to prison,but is there any need to make a triple album semi-autobiographical Rock opera about it.

Cathartic yes,necessary,most indeed NOT!

This is tailor made for an Off-Broadway musical.

Musically it's Very Mothers Of Invention speech sections meets Lou Reed in a bad musical.

It does however have its amusing parts,and it certainly puts one off from going to jail.Good Cover too.

I would nonetheless, love to play the role of one of the Black convicts as featured on Disc 2.I'd do it better too!

"Sheeeet honky am gonna kick your juicy white aaaaassssss baby."

I suggest that Armand wasn't as brave as the Honky character sounds on the album;but that's artistic licence I suppose?

Apparently you can still purchase sealed copies of the original pressings from Armand's music shop,very Off Broadway in Rochester- New York - "House Of Guitars."

Tracklist:

A1 Scene 1 Armand (17 Yrs. Old) Confesses His Crimes To A Priest "King Of The Streets"
A2 Scene 2 Armand & Dan Go Down To "Rock A Bowl" To Steal Dimes From Bowling Ball Polischers (50's Live Band Plays In Middle) "I Don't Care"
A3 Scene 3 Out On Bail, Armand Is Alone With Suzie (Night Before Sentencing) "Love For The Last Time"
B1 Scene 4 Elmira Bound
B2 Scene 5 Mr. Tomato, The State Public Relations Director Addresses New Inmates
B3 Scene 6 Dr. Leiderman, State Psychologist, Interviews New Jacks Privately To Determine When They Will See The Parole Board And To What Institution The Inmates Will Be Sent "Games"
B4 Scene 7 Why Do Children Steal? (Armand And Dan's Background)
C1 Scene 8 Christmas Eve In Elmira "Cut My Friend Down"
C2 Scene 9 Dr. Leiderman Interviews Howard Q. Sappy Who Was Sent Up For Attempt Of Suicide "Streetwalker"
C3 Scene 10 A Inmate Reminds Armand Of His Girl "The Young Boy"
D1 Scene 11 A Black And White Are Aguing Over A Comic Book Because Each Wants To Look At All The Colors "I Wish To See Color"
D2 Scene 12 Mental Breakdown In Solitary Confinement "Fading Out"
D3 Scene 13 "We, Like Lost Sheep Are Drifting"
E1 Scene 14 New Young Inmate Meets Lifer
E2 Scene 15 Stage Break (Taped Live) "God Damn You"
E3 Scene 16 Friday Night Radio Plays Old Tune Reminding The Population Of The Streets "Sweet Sister Suzie"
E4 "Turn Off The Sound"
E5 Scene 17 Visiting Day
F1 Scene 18 Night Before Parole Board
F2 "One More Day, One More Night"
F3 Scene 19 Parole Board
F4 Scene 20 Hack Talks To Arm On The Way Out "Ex-Con"
F5 Scene 21 Dan & Armand Meet On The Streets While Going To See Parole Officer
F6 Scene 22 "Warden's Circus"

DOWNLOAD this vinyl alcatraz HERE!

Martin Carthy – "Shearwater" (PEG – PEG 12) 1972

It be the great daddy of the UK Folk revival's 80th birthyday today. All Hail!

So as a tribute,and with virtually zero moronic waffle from me, here's One of Martin's bestest ever albums for you all to celebrate with...bloody crap cover though!? This may be an unimaginative piece of script,but its more than most other blogs can be bothered to write.Normally its jsut a picture and a highlighted "Link" that's long dead.....unlike the great Martin.

Happy 80th Birthyday Martin Carthy.....MBE.

Tracklist:

A1 I Was A Young Man
A2 Banks Of Green Willow
A3 Handsome Polly-O
A4 Outlandish Knight
A5 He Called For A Candle
A6 John Blunt
B1 Lord Randall
B2 William Taylor
B3 Famous Flower Of Serving Men
B4 Betsy Bell And Mary Gray

DOWNLOAD the leftie with the MBE,but with reasons,HERE!

Michael Raven & Joan Mills – "Death And The Lady" (Folk Heritage Recordings – FHR 047) 1972

Well the tenuous connection between me getting Pfizered today and some twilit english folk moozick,is this sought after LP by Michael Raven and Joan Mills."Death and The Lady"

Death being the looming shadow of Co-Vid 19,and the lady being the charming young nurse who penetrated my left arm with the serum.

A liquid which, depending on which facebook post you last read instead of watching responsible news channels, or reading serious newspapers, will either render you a screaming vegetable as part some some fiendish genetic experiment, or turn you into a political zombie working for the Illuminati (Aren't we already?). There are many others that I can't be fucking bothered to list,but I do suspect,I'm crazy i know, that there wasn't any nano-bots or nano chips shot into my body, and the planet Earth is definitely elliptical rather than Flat.I know this because I can't see Australia,or at least the Himalayas from my nearest hillock.

Anyway, I've took one for the team to help free us all,even the Anti-vaxxers and conspiracy nuts, from this absurd repression......not that i've minded it at all.It kept people away from my front door,business increased by 500% due to the online boom,and i don't have to go anywhere.....look, I've got the photo's,so whats the point?

As lockdown is being lifted,and bars are opening, at least in the UK, I'm waiting for the anti-vaxxers to become the dominant breeding ground for super-covid,as the virus works out how to avoid the immune system altogether and become 100% lethal.My dearest wish is that it kills the Anti-Vaxxers in horrible slow agony before it gets to us responsible adult types.Dying will be worth it knowing that these post-truther fools got a free crash course in immunology before they realised that they just might have been....er,silly I know but.... wrong???....can't be?...nah?

"Do your Research" they said? Meaning watch some basket-case with a self-importance deficiency on YouTube,rather than doing 6 years at university studying immunology and/or virology.Duh!

Frank Farley of The Pirates as Joan Mills minder

However..... this album is rather mid-budget Pentangly, but worth the price of admission for the fact that Michael raven looked like a bald Frank Farley of the Pirates ,and sometimes like Roger Whittaker crossed with the Sweeney......sorry anyone not from the noisy island of Britain,I just can't help myself using Brit-culture references,it amuses me.

Joan mills has a nice line in delightfully dark(-ish) warbling,but tends to overdo it a bit.She so wanted to be Jacqui McShee (Pentangle),and almost pulled it off. But one cannot fault the quality of these songs.....the guitar playing, although very BBC schools program theme tune style is suitably haunting!......OUCH!...those nano-bots are starting to take over, I must kill,Kill KILL all non believers!

I predict the new 100% lethal'Super-Covid' will hit round about the end of the holiday season(sept).....and there'll be No escape....not even for Bo-Jo bless him,as he'll miss being voted the worst Prime Minister that ever got to redecorate the Downing Street Flat 'cus he'll be dead!

Tracklist:

1.Death And The Lady
2.The Jolly Highwayman
3.Lisa Lan
4.Ladies Don't Go A-Thievin'
5.Robin Hood's Dance
6.Staines Morris / La Folia Saraband / Adson's Saraband
7.Saraband
8.The Lichfield Greenhill Bower Processional
9.The Captain's Apprentice
10.Can Y Melinyd / Troseg Y Gareg
11.Sarah Collins
12.The White Gloves
13.La Russe Waltz / Paris Polka
14.The Queen Of The Night

DOWNLOAD some intravenous english folk HERE!

Barry Dransfield – "Barry Dransfield" (Polydor – 2383 160) 1972

Once voted thee most expensive Folk album on da planet,f-king hell, it costs even more than anything on elitest re-issue label Vinyl On Demand!!!? But infinitely better value for money music wise,in the fact that it is actually 'Music'. The more talented Dransfield brother, Barry, garnered himself a major label one album deal. with kraut label Polydor. Label mates with James Last was something to keep quite down at the Folk Club at the local pub.

It is,however a great piece of authentic contemporary folk art,made and played by the owner of the densest set of eyebrows this side of Chris de Burgh.I think I may have a man crush goin' on here?....no not De Burgh! Dransfield, B.

Of course it sank like the Titanic,with the Dransfields' ancestors trapped beneath decks in steerage ,such be the role of the working classes.Die in wars, die in factories, die in pits,die in luxury liner disasters. Not sure if there are any folk tunes about the Titanic....one must do some research, proper research, not the type of 'research'(ie watching you-tube video's by nutters) that anti-vaxxers and relatives always accuse your scribe of not doing.

Anyone know of any?

Tracklist:

A1 The Werewolf
A2 Be My Friend
A3 Jigs: Hyde Park Mansions / Irish Jig
A4 She's Like A Swallow
A5 Broken Barricades
A6 Girl Of Dances
B1 Lots Of Little Soldiers
B2 Lily's Ballade
B3 Reels: The Trip To Derrow / The Traveller / St. Anne's Reel
B4 Robin Hood And The Peddlar
B5 General Worthington

DOWNLOAD from steerage HERE!

Morris On - "Morris On" (Island Records – HELP 5) 1972

 

No, not a lost album by Jim Morrison as channeled by a nutter from beyond the grave. It's an album of Morris dancing jigs and reels as performed by a Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span,plus Barry Dransfield super group...that's them nutty fellows pictured in their off duty relaxation gear on the cover.

The brainchild of Ashley Hutchings,this is a funked up version of some of the tunes that the Morris Men dance to, evoking the sex gods to make these dancing lunatics fertile around human mating time.So crank up the volume, and make ready your pigs bladder,polish the bells that adorn your legs and prance around like an idiot with a handkerchief and some sticks....among other questionable acts.There's quite a few tunes that are rather rude,so you have been warned.

It sounds like the lads, plus Shirley Collins,seem to be having a jolly fine time anyway.So much so that there were several sequels to this LP over the decades,starting with "Son Of Morris On"......noooo not Jim Morrison's secret son!Although I do know someone who did actually father a child after he was dead. He finally succumbed to his fifth heart attack,but his girlfriend had insisted that his spunk should be frozen for future use...post mortem. Thankfully we won't have to suffer any surprise kids by the stiff Jim Morrison,and the potential threat of more terrible poetry springing forth from the snake king's DNA helix.Dare I suggest that death may well be preferable,unless a hell exists beyond the one we are in now,in which we are taunted by Jim Morrison's "An American Prayer" for eternity plus one.....and don't forget, Suicide is no longer an option when you are already dead.

Tracklist:

A1 Morris Call
A2 Greensleeves
A3 The Nutting Girl
A4 Old Woman Tossed Up In A Blanket / Shepherd's Hey / Trunkles
A5 Staines Morris
A6 Lads A'Bunchum / Young Collins
B1 Vandals Of Hammerwich
B2 Willow Tree / Bean Setting / Shooting
B3 I'll Go And 'List For A Sailor
B4 Princess Royal
B5 Cuckoo's Nest
B6 Morris Off

DOWNLOAD morrison's ghost HERE!

Gallery – "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" (Midas Recordings – MFHR 046) 1972

On the aptly named Midas label.Anyone who touches this turns it into gold.Fetching up to a grand for this Folk Wave long missing pastel blue progressive folk rarity.

A lot of these independent releases seemed to go for the pastel shade jacket around 1972 to '76.....obviously it was either cheap,or it was a take it or leave it situation.

Of course, I don't own an original copy.If I did it'd be straight to eBay. However, as with most bands from rediscovered genres, it got a re-released version,adding some bonus home-recordings, which are included here for all you rabid Gallery-ettes out there...of which I'm sure there are dozens?

Tracklist:

1 Seven Gypsies 2:54
2 False Bridge 4:36
3 Queen Of Hearts 3:45
4 Gilderoy/Staten Island/Harvest Home 22:36
5 Let No Man Steal Your Thyme 2:28
6 Dowie Dens Of Yarrow 4:03
7 The Wind That Shakes The Barley 4:22
8 Broomfield Wager 2:46
9 Chaconne 2:58
10 The Baron Of Brackley 4:27
11 Icy Acres 5:01
12 Home Recordings 20:06

DOWNLOAD a folk art gallery HERE!

Mellow Candle – "Swaddling Songs" (Deram – SDL 7) 1972

 Not all Irish Folk is about pixie dancing,and playing the same tunes with different titles on a penny whistle. Here in France,if you play any Folk Music, even Fairport Convention, the French cannot help themselves from exclaiming with great joy, "Ahhh! La Musique Irelandaise".

It's all Irish music to them,from Steeleye Span,Jethro Tull to A.L.Lloyd and the Watersons. Which is rich coming from a place that has precisely zero traditional music,except for some funny stuff from Brittany,whose very name is a big clue as to where that came from.

Mellow Candle, although not 100% Irish, were Ireland's answer to Sandy Denny's Fairport Convention, and were almost as good as The Pentangle......someone said.

They also had a few under-age teenage girlies doing the vocal duties.....whoops...nearly said oral duities then, for which I apologise profusely. Alison Williams and Clodagh Simonds,provide fair Denny and McShee impressions ,which could have ,in a more just world, won them the accolade of Fourth Best Folk-Rock group in the UK...and Ireland,and beyond.

Clodagh Simonds,was also the chief Songwriter, contributing to most of the tracks on this LP,enabling them to steer clear from that quagmire of Rocked up traditional tunes.

And, of course, Mellow Candle was snuffed out by that equally traditional Rock malady of near zero album sales.Which is a pity for one of the most consistent Progressive Folk albums ever made....100% prog with no terrible Rock'n'Roll,Bob Dylan, or jazz covers that blighted the career of Sandy and Fairport.And even better....No bloody String Sections.....just some Mellotron,a fact which is a recommendation in itself is it not?

Tracklist:

1.Heaven Heath
2.Sheep Season
3.Silver Song
4.The Poet And The Witch
5.Messenger Birds
6.Dan The Wing
7.Reverend Sisters
8.Break Your Token
9.Buy Or Beware
10.Vile Excesses
11.Lonely Man
12.Boulders On My Grave

DOWNLOAD something astonishingly mellow HERE!

Sandy Denny - "York University 14th October 1972" (Bootleg)

Yep, it's 43 years today since Sandy Denny's life support systems were turned off, following a brain hemorrhage probably incurred after falling down the stairs of a rented cottage in Cornwall while on holiday with her parents....better known as the two middle aged persons on the front cover of "Unhalfbricking" ...and hitting her head on the stone floor.Falling down some stairs was something she tended to do quite regularly apparently. She was discovered, by chance, at a friends house unconscious on the floor.She never regained consciousness,and basically died alone......Sandy would not have liked that eventuality at all.

I should write my own Candle In The Wind" for her really I suppose,as like Reg, I was just a kid when she ,the bucket, did kick. Ironically, 'twas Elton's entertaining performance at the Albert Hall in 1970,supporting Fotheringay, that was the final nail in the coffin for Sandy's ill-fated band of chums......so thanks for that Elton you fat bastard. Choosing an act whose specialty was audience pleasing entertainment as support was rather ill-advised for Sandy's preference for the add doomy lyric and a group not exactly renowned for jumping around too much.

It was also Sandy's flaccid contractual obligation recording of "Candle In The Wind" as a desperate single, that ended her tenure on Island, and likely her career.I'm sure she could have made a comeback in the nineties however,June Tabor managed it.

However detrimental the break up of her group was for her confidence and drinking problem, I prefer Sandy Solo,with minimal backing...check out her Demo's for justification.

This solo concert at York University,is classic Sandy, nervously joking between songs,but the joking stops when she starts to sing.

Its got another nicely doomy version of "Late November",my personal fave,which recounts the fatal Fairport Convention bus crash on the M1 in late november 1968,for which she never got over her survivors guilt,but at least it got channeled lyrically.

Hard to believe she would have been an old lady now,although she smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish,so that's debatable. Alas, she remains another case of die young and stay pretty.

Tracklist:

1 It'll Take A Long Time
2 Bushes And Briars
3 Sweet Rosemary
4 It Suits Me Well
5 The Sea Captain
6 Tomorrow Is A Long Time
7 The Lady
8 John The Gun
9 Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood
10 Late November
11 The Music Weaver

DOWNLOAD one the few things worth going to university for HERE!

 

Ray Fisher – "The Bonny Birdy" (Trailer – LER 2038) 1972

Staying on the theme of androgynous female first names, after Frankie, and Lindsay ,but not staying on the same musical theme, we've got Scotch Folkie lady,and bonny birdie, Miss Ray Fisher.She,who sings with a Scottie from Star Trek style scotch accent(but this one is apparently 'real'?) about Scottish stuff,but without that distasteful Scottish Nationalism that makes everyone groan as soon as North Sea fucking Oil is mentioned! The same shit happens in conversation with persons of Irish decent too.The clock is ticking as to when 'Da Potatoe Famine' is inevitably mentioned. Jeeeezuz, let it go will ya!?

But, when it comes to traditional music, Scottie from Star Trek can sum it up in one of his adapted catchphrases.

"Yae cannie change the laws of Folk Captain!" (Montgomery Scott,chief engineer, USS Enterprise)

No doubt that The Fisher family were staunch nationalists,but no real hint of that crap on this record anyway,especially as most of the English folk glitterati appear on this album,as featured on the rear cover in that folk style of heads floating in bubbles. Included in the floating bubbles are folk gods Martin Carthy and Ashley Hutchings who supply arrangements, guitars and backing voices.

As far as I can see the song selection only hints at the Glencoe massacre when scots killed scots,and no tiresome tunes about slaughtering the English at one of the few battles they actually won.

American Aussie and Jew Hater, Mel Gibson,barked the immortally fictional line "You may take our lives but you won't take our freedom!",in that rather silly film about William Wallace.

They are still a slave state of the English to this day apparently? All that devolved power and democracy, higher capita per head spending of govt funds north of the border,and other atrocities like that. Poor fuckers.

The Uyghur's in China and the Rohingya in Myanmar have got it easy compared to the repressed Scots.

I know that by mentioning the Uyghur genocide in China I am risking receiving a virus that wipes this blog completely and emptys my bank account,but I felt obliged. A western boycott of Chinese goods, like anything by Apple, would go a long way to offer some support for our Muslim chums in the Re-Education centres and forced labour Factories of China.This is probably the only time I have agreed with Iain Duncan Smith ever! Who is normally reprehensible in his obnoxiousness......this also sadly means that I agree with Trump on China too...but perhaps for different reasons.

Oh Yeah.....this albums pretty good by the way.....got rather sidetracked.....again!? 

 

Tracklist:

A1 Johnnie Sangster
A2 Mill O'Tifty's Annie
A3 Bonny At Morn
A4 Forfar Sodger
B1 Pride Of Glencoe
B2 Silkie Of Sul Skerry
B3 Shipyard Apprentice
B4 Bonny Birdy

DOWNLOAD this bonny compressed mp3 file HERE!

Frankie Armstrong – "Lovely On The Water" (Topic Records – 12TS216) 1972

"No no no! Heavens to murgatroyd Frankie, the water' s down there,that's the sky you're looking at!? Sheech!

They're not the sharpest tools in the box thems countryside folk, but when it comes to minimally accompanied singing of the old tunes they can make the most complicated of emotions seem explicable,and pop singers seem like the talentless dicks they undoubtedly are.

Apparently,now blind,which would explain a multitude of things,except that Frankie, isn't a bloke, and she comes from one of those places that no-one can find or escape from,namely, Workington...the clues in the name.A industrial town in the gloriously savage slate grey wilderness of Cumbria,the most radioactive place in England,which sits on the coast next to the most radioactive sea in Europe,The Irish Sea. Cumbria being the home to the first Nuclear Reactor in the western world at Windscale.

So the combination of Coal dust, Steel plant pollution, and radioactivity makes for a heady cocktail that produces the kind of strangeness that manifests itself in English Folk Culture,so Obviously there's gonna be a Folk singer or two that comes from Workington isn't there?

The issues in these songs are as old as the human race.The Brown Girl especially being an early example of Black Lives Matter,or rather Brown Lives matter ,even though the Brown Girl in question does actually survive.

Things never change do they? 

"The Young Girl Cut Down In Her Prime" is a two hundred year old version of the recent anti-male protests in the UK.

Tracklist:

A1 Tarry Trousers
A2 The Green Valley
A3 Low Down On The Broom
A4 The Cruel Mother
A5 The Crafty Maid’s Policy
A6 The Maid On The Shore
A7 The Frog And The Mouse
B1 Lovely On The Water
B2 The Brown Girl
B3 The Young Girl Cut Down In Her Prime

B4 The Unquiet Grave
B5 The Saucy Sailor
B6 The Two Sisters

DOWNLOAD lovelier on your computer HERE!

Sandy Denny – "Studio Outtakes - Home Demos - Unheard Songs" (2010)

These are the "Studio Outtakes ,Home Demos ,and Unheard Songs" section of that massive 19CD box set of everything Sandy recorded ever!?..which would set you back quite a few hundred quid,mostly for stuff you already have...but not these 127 intimate versions of her future studio work,plus songs that were never heard beyond Sandy's various living rooms.Everything from Fairport to Fotheringay,from the Folk Club years to the record company compliant Adult Orientated rock of 'Rendezvous',is here in a superior, stripped down form with Sandy's perfect Voice whispering in your ears.Its like she's in the room singing you to sleep......i'm welling up now!.....just don't tell me mates!

Early Home Demos:
12-1 Sandy Denny– Blues Run The Game (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-2 Sandy Denny– Milk And Honey (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-3 Sandy Denny– Soho (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-4 Sandy Denny– It Ain't Me Babe (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-5 Sandy Denny– East Virginia (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-6 Sandy Denny– Geordie (Home Demo)
12-7 Sandy Denny– In Memory (The Tender Years) (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-8 Sandy Denny– I Love My True Love (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-9 Sandy Denny– Let No Man Steal Your Thyme (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-10 Sandy Denny– Ethusel (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-11 Sandy Denny– Carnival (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-12 Sandy Denny– Setting Of The Sun (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-13 Sandy Denny– Boxful Of Treasures (Home Demo)
12-14 Sandy Denny– They Don't Seem To Know You (Home Demo)
12-15 Sandy Denny– Gerrard Street (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-16 Sandy Denny– Fotheringay (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-17 Sandy Denny– She Moves Through The Fair (Home Demo)
12-18 Sandy Denny– The Time Has Come (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-19 Sandy Denny– Seven Virgins (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-20 Sandy Denny– A Little Bit Of Rain (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-21 Sandy Denny– Go Your Own Way My Love (Home Demo)
12-22 Sandy Denny– Cradle Song (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-23 Sandy Denny– Blue Tattoo (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-24 Sandy Denny– The Quiet Land Of Erin (Unreleased Home Demo)
12-25 Sandy Denny– Who Knows Where The Time Goes (Unreleased Home Demo)

Sandy Denny Solo And Fairport Convention:
13-1 Sandy Denny– Who Knows Where The Time Goes (Unreleased Home Demo)
13-2 Sandy Denny– Motherless Children (Unreleased Home Demo)
13-3 Sandy Denny– Milk And Honey (Unreleased BBC Session)
13-4 Sandy Denny– Been On The Road So Long
13-5 Sandy Denny– Quiet Land Of Erin
13-6 Sandy Denny– Autopsy (Demo)
13-7 Sandy Denny– Now And Then (Demo)
13-8 Sandy Denny– Fotheringay (Unreleased Version)
13-9 Sandy Denny– She Moved Through The Fair (Unreleased Version)
13-10 Fairport Convention– Mr. Lacey (Unreleased BBC Session)
13-11 Fairport Convention– Throwaway Street Puzzle
13-12 Fairport Convention– Ballad Of Easy Rider (Outtake)
13-13 Fairport Convention– Dear Landlord (Outtake)
13-14 Fairport Convention– A Sailors Life (Alternative Version)
13-15 Fairport Convention– Sir Patrick Spens (Outtake)
13-16 Fairport Convention– Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood (Take 1)
13-17 Fairport Convention– Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood (Take 4)

Fotheringay:
14-1 Fotheringay– The Sea (Unreleased Studio Demo)
14-2 Fotheringay– Winter Winds (Unreleased Studio Demo)
14-3 Fotheringay– The Pond And The Stream (Unreleased Studio Demo)
14-4 Fotheringay– The Way I Feel (Unreleased Alternative Take)
14-5 Fotheringay– Banks Of The Nile (Unreleased Alternate Take)
14-6 Fotheringay– Winter Winds (Unreleased Alternate Take)
14-7 Fotheringay– Silver Threads And Golden Needles (Outtake)
14-8 Fotheringay– The Sea (Unreleased)
14-9 Fotheringay– Two Weeks Last Summer
14-10 Fotheringay– Nothing More
14-11 Fotheringay– Banks Of The Nile
14-12 Fotheringay– Memphis Tennessee
14-13 Fotheringay– Trouble In Mind (Unreleased)
14-14 Fotheringay– Bruton Town (Unreleasedl)

Sandy Denny: The North Star Grassman And The Ravens:
15-1 Sandy Denny– The Sea Captain (Unreleased Demo)
15-2 Sandy Denny– Next Time Around (Unreleased Demo)
15-3 Sandy Denny– The Optimist (Unreleased Demo)
15-4 Sandy Denny– Wretched Wilbur (Unreleased Demo)
15-5 Sandy Denny– Crazy Lady Blues (Unreleased Demo)
15-6 Sandy Denny– Lord Bateman (Unreleased Demo)
15-7 Sandy Denny With Richard Thompson– Walking The Floor Over You (Unreleased)
15-8 Sandy Denny– Losing Game (Outtake)
15-9 Sandy Denny– The Northstar Grassman And The Ravens (Unreleased)
15-10 Sandy Denny– Crazy Lady Blues (Unreleased)
15-11 Sandy Denny– Late November
15-12 Sandy Denny With Ian Matthews– If You Saw Thru My Eyes
15-13 Sandy Denny With The London Symphony Orchestra– It's A Boy (From 'Tommy')
15-14 Sandy Denny– The Northstar Grassman And The Ravens
15-15 Sandy Denny– The 12th Of Never (Unreleased Studio Demo)
15-16 Sandy Denny– Sweet Rosemary (Demo)
15-17 Sandy Denny– The Lady (Demo)
15-18 Sandy Denny– After Halloween (Demo)

Sandy Denny: Sandy And Like An Old Fashioned Waltz:
16-1 Sandy Denny– It'll Take A Long Time (Unreleased Demo)
16-2 Sandy Denny– Sweet Rosemary (Demo)
16-3 Sandy Denny– For Nobody To Hear (Unreleased Demo)
16-4 Sandy Denny– Tomorrow Is A Long Time (Unreleased Demo)
16-5 Sandy Denny– Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood (Unreleased Demo)
16-6 Sandy Denny– Listen, Listen (Unreleased Demo)
16-7 Sandy Denny– The Lady (Unreleased Demo)
16-8 Sandy Denny– Bushes And Briars (Unreleased Demo)
16-9 Sandy Denny– It Suits Me Well (Unreleased Demo)
16-10 Sandy Denny– The Music Weaver (Demo)
16-11 Sandy Denny– No End (Unreleased Alternate Take)
16-12 Sandy Denny– Whispering Grass (Unreleased Demo)
16-13 Sandy Denny– Until The Real Thing Comes Along (Unreleased Demo)
16-14 Sandy Denny– Walking The Floor Over You (Alternative Version)
16-15 Sandy Denny– No End (Alternative Version)

Sandy Denny - Rendezvous:
18-1 Sandy Denny– Blackwaterside (Unreleased Granada TV Show 1975)
18-2 Sandy Denny– No More Sad Refrains (Unreleased Granada TV Show 1975)
18-3 Sandy Denny– By The Time It Gets Dark (Unreleased Acoustic Demo)
18-4 Sandy Denny– One Way Donkey Ride (Unreleased Acoustic Version)
18-5 Sandy Denny With Jess Roden– Losing Game
18-6 Sandy Denny– Easy To Slip (Outtake)
18-7 Sandy Denny– By The Time It Gets Dark (Demo)
18-8 Sandy Denny– No More Sad Refrains (Unreleased Alternative Version)
18-9 Sandy Denny– I'm A Dreamer (Unreleased Live In The Studio)
18-10 Sandy Denny– All Our Days (Unreleased Choral Version)
18-11 Sandy Denny– By The Time It Gets Dark (Demo)
18-12 Sandy Denny– Still Waters Run Deep (Unreleased Alternative Version)
18-13 Sandy Denny– Full Moon (Unreleased Alternative Version)
18-14 Sandy Denny– Candle In The Wind (Unreleased Alternative Version)
18-15 Sandy Denny– Moments (Outtake)
18-16 Sandy Denny– I Wish I Was A Fool For You (Unreleased Alternative Version)
18-17 Sandy Denny– Gold Dust (Unreleased Alternative Version)
18-18 Sandy Denny– Still Waters Run Deep (Unreleased Alternative Version)
18-19 Sandy Denny– Moments (Unreleased Alternative Version)

Sandy Denny: Home Demos 1974-1977:
19-1 Sandy Denny– The King And Queen Of England (Demo)
19-2 Sandy Denny– Rising For The Moon (Demo)
19-3 Sandy Denny– One More Chance (Demo)
19-4 Sandy Denny– The King And Queen Of England (Unreleased Demo)
19-5 Sandy Denny– After Halloween (Unreleased Demo)
19-6 Sandy Denny– What Is True? (Demo)
19-7 Sandy Denny– Stranger To Himself (Demo)
19-8 Sandy Denny– Take Away The Load (Demo)
19-9 Sandy Denny– By The Time It Gets Dark (Demo)
19-10 Sandy Denny– I'm A Dreamer (Demo)
19-11 Sandy Denny– Full Moon (Demo)
19-12 Sandy Denny– Take Me Away (Demo)
19-13 Sandy Denny– All Our Days (Demo)
19-14 Sandy Denny– No More Sad Refrains (Demo)
19-15 Sandy Denny– Still Waters Run Deep (Demo)
19-16 Sandy Denny– One Way Donkey Ride (Demo)
19-17 Sandy Denny– I'm A Dreamer (Unreleased Demo)
19-18 Sandy Denny– Full Moon 2(Unreleased Demo)
19-19 Sandy Denny– Makes Me Think Of You (Unreleased Demo)

DOWNLOAD to hear the unheard here Folkies!

Sandy Denny – "Live At The BBC (1966-1973)" (Island Records – 984 992-8)

Staying on the Folk singers at the Beeb kinda thing,here's a personal fav/obsession,the late,great, Sandy Denny.Of course Y'all have all her works i expect,so i'll restrict it to BBC appearances and the odd bootleg....you may be relieved to hear?

To use a maritime expression,something that Sandy often turned to in her lyrics,She sailed too close to the rocks of the Singer/Songwriter category on several occasions; but the lighthouse shone a dark light in her doomed direction, and she went under like most of the crews of the sea-faring vessels she wrote about.

The sheer nerve that Island Records have in releasing Sandy's BBC appearances after dropping her in '76,and after trying to get her to lighten up her material a bit is nothing short of despicable.They deserve all the illegal downloads we can muster.Of course they panicked because of Punk Rock,not only dropping some great acts,but ruining The Slits to boot!

"I'm Not Hearing A Single Here?", was often mentioned by the record executive twats,who were responsible for making her record a limp version of Reg's "Candle In The Wind" to release as a chart flop.Not to mention "Whispering Grass" and several terrible Rockers that spoilt all of her otherwise great albums.She should have kept those Dark and diminished chord structures. She herself thought she was gonna be a big star,and failed to realise that her material was an acquired taste,suitable for cult audiences only.That coupled with a drink problem,falling down stairs for fun, and having a boyfriend/Husband with a wildly roving eye...not that Randy Sandy was innocent of this too?...it all added up to the inevitable tragic ending that bewitched anyone that had anything to do with Joe Boyd,which reads like a list of Pop Star Do's and Don't's(Syd Barratt, Nick Drake, and the lovely Sandy). Failed fame's a killer kids,be content with anonymity and live a full life.

Tracklist:

In Session:
CD1-1 Fhir A' Bhata (BBC - Folk Song Cellar)
CD1-2 Green Grow the Laurels (BBC - Folk Song Cellar 2/12/66)
CD1-3 Hold On To Me Babe (BBC - Cellarful Of Folk 6/3/67)
CD1-4 Blues Run The Game (BBC - Cellarful Of Folk 6/3/67)
CD1-5 Late November (BBC Session - Bob Harris 24/8/71)
CD1-6 The Optimist (BBC Session - Bob Harris 24/8/71)
CD1-7 Crazy Lady Blues (BBC Session - Bob Harris 24/8/71)
CD1-8 The Lowlands Of Holland (BBC Session - Bob Harris 24/8/71)
CD1-9 It Suits Me Well (BBC Session - Bob Harris 25/10/72)
CD1-10 The Music Weaver (BBC Session - Bob Harris 25/10/72)
CD1-11 Bushes And Briars (BBC Session - Bob Harris 25/10/72)
CD1-12 It'll Take A Long Time (BBC Session - Bob Harris 25/10/72)
CD1-13 Solo (BBC Session - John Peel 11/9/73)
CD1-14 Like An Old Fashioned Waltz (BBC Session - John Peel 11/9/73)
CD1-15 Who Knows Where The Time Goes? (BBC Session - John Peel 11/9/73)
CD1-16 Until The Real Thing Comes Along (BBC Session - Bob Harris 14/11/73)
CD1-17 Whispering Grass (BBC Session - Bob Harris 14/11/73)
CD1-18 Dark The Night (BBC Session - Bob Harris 14/11/73)
CD1-19 Solo (BBC Session - Bob Harris 14/11/73)

In Concert:
CD2-1 The North Star Grassman And The Ravens (BBC In Concert - Paris Theatre 16/3/72)
CD2-2 Sweet Rosemary (BBC In Concert - Paris Theatre 16/3/72)
CD2-3 The Lady (BBC In Concert - Paris Theatre 16/3/72)
CD2-4 Bruton Town (BBC In Concert - Paris Theatre 16/3/72)
CD2-5 Next Time Around (BBC In Concert - Paris Theatre 16/3/72)
CD2-6 Blackwaterside (BBC In Concert - Paris Theatre 16/3/72)
CD2-7 John The Gun (BBC In Concert - Paris Theatre 16/3/72)
CD2-8 The Lady (BBC - Sounds On Sunday 14/11/73)
CD2-9 Bushes And Briars (BBC - Sounds On Sunday 14/11/73)
CD2-10 It Suits Me Well (BBC - Sounds On Sunday 14/11/73)
CD2-11 Blackwaterside (BBC - Sounds On Sunday 14/11/73)
CD2-12 The Music Weaver (BBc - Sounds On Sunday 14/11/73)
CD2-13 The Sea Captain (BBC - Sounds On Sunday 14/11/73)
CD2-14 John The Gun (BBC - Sounds On Sunday 14/11/73)
CD2-15 Dialogue - Interview (Tomorrow's People BBC World Service Programme 1972)

DVD.....you can see these on you tube by clicking below:
DVD3-1 The North Star Grassman And The Ravens (BBC - One In Ten 15/09/71 - Stereo)
DVD3-2 Crazy Lady Blues (BBC - One In Ten 15/09/71 - Stereo)
DVD3-3 Late November (BBC - One In Ten 15/09/71 - Stereo)

"Off-Air" Recordings:
CD4-1 This Train (BBC World Service - June 1967)
CD4-2 Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor (BBC World Service - June 1967)
CD4-3 The Last Thing On My Mind (BBC World Service - June 1967)
CD4-4 You Never Wanted Me (BBC World Service - June 1967)
CD4-5 Been On The Road So Long (BBC - My Kind Of Folk 26/6/68)
CD4-6 The Quiet Land Of Erin (BBC - My Kind Of Folk 26/6/68)
CD4-7 Sweet Nightingale (BBC - Spinners TV Show 22/4/71)
CD4-8 Blackwaterside (BBC - Spinners TV Show 22/4/71)
CD4-9 The North Star Grassman And The Ravens (BBC - Sounds Of The 70s)

DOWNLOAD Sandy at the Beeb HERE!

Bridget St. John – "BBC Radio 1968-1976" (Hux Records – HUX114) 2010

Like I said in the "Ask Me No Questions" review,Peel made sure Bridget would get plenty sessions and radio appearances he having a glad eye for the ladies. So here's the small matter of 40 -odd 'odd' tunes as preserved by the venerable British Broadcasting Corporation;and it's not gone beyond my notice that the final track has a reference to Peel and Wife (the Pig).There's also an amusing anecdote spewed forth by the laconic Peel about how they 'slept' together once.

What strikes me most about these tunes, and especially her spoken explanations of her songs, that is uncannily like Sandy Denny.If i didn't know better, her speaking voice is almost exactly that of the late Alexandra Denny,although her earlier excursions have that splash of Nico's lower register about them that would haunt any review in the music press.She was a better guitar player than Denny (That Bert Jansch influence?),and far less depressing than Nico,but her songwriting has that same seldom used diminished 5th chord so favored by Sandy Denny in her more unpopular songs for it's distinctive dark timbre,as well as that vibrato free folkie singing style that was the ex-Fairport chanteuse's trademark;although obviously not copyrighted.

And, yes, Kevin Ayers makes a guest appearance on a few tracks too.Also interesting to note that Ms St.John is the only one of these names to remain alive,and gigging, to this day.

Tracklist:

1-1 I Don't Know If I Can Take It
1-2 Some Kind Of Beautiful
1-3 Jumblequeen
1-4 Fly High
1-5 Sparrowpit
1-6 Want To Be With You
1-7 Curious And Woolly
1-8 Head And Heart
1-9 Long Long Time
1-10 Come Up And See Me Sometime
1-11 Catch A Falling Star
1-12 Love Lie Easy
1-13 The River
1-14 Song To Keep You Company
1-15 Night In The City
1-16 Lazarus
1-17 Curl Your Toes
1-18 Thank You For...
2-1 Sparrowpit
2-2 Nancy Alice
2-3 Plain And Pearl
2-4 Make Me Whole
2-5 She Used To Play Harmonium
2-6 Crazy, Have You Eton
2-7 Peel 'sleeping Anecdote'
2-8 Bumper To Bumper
2-9 Leaves Of Lime
2-10 City Crazy
2-11 The Pebble And The Man
2-12 Back To Stay
2-13 Song For The Laird Of Connaught Hall - Part 2
2-14 Jolie Madame
2-15 The Spider And The Fly
2-16 The Oyster And The Flying Fish
2-17 To B Without A Hitch
2-18 Ask Me No Questions
2-19 Many Happy Returns
2-20 Hello Again (of Course)
2-21 Rochefort
2-22 Lizard Long Tongue Boy
2-23 The Present Song/Pig & Peel

CD1 1-9 Radio 1 In Concert 1st August 1974; CD1 10-12 Top Gear Session 6th January 1976 CD1 13-16 John Peel Presents Top Gear 1969; CD1 17 Peter Sarstedt Session 1969; CD1 18 Bob Harris Session 22nd March 1972; CD2 1-8 Radio 1 In Concert 3rd May 1975; CD2 9-16 Radio 1 In Concert 31st January 1971; CD2 17-22 Night Ride Session 21st August 1968; CD2 23 Top Gear Session 12th August 1974

DOWNLOAD the bastard offspring of Sandy and Nico HERE!

Kaoru Abe (阿部薫) – "Winter 1972" (P.S.F. Records – PSFD-158) 1972/2004

My introduction to the wild world of Abe Kaoru was this, remastered from vinyl, release on P.S.F.; Aided by the bleak Industrial style cover art one suspected this might be quite good. 

It was three tracks of a bloke going apeshit on a saxophone in a small room for fifty minutes. It certainly misses drums or guitar to add a bit of colour to the proceedings,but, this does give one a chance to accompany Kaoru oneself. As he allegedly never listened to anyone he improvised with,you should end up with a bona-fide improvisation of yourself and the legend going ape in your front room.....with the added bonus of sparse applause for your efforts. It's also good for sampling a nuts saxophone solo for your own work without having the misfortune in having a real saxophonist visit your home studio.Luckily,or otherwise,for me I have a brother who's a more than willing contributor of reed jiggery-pokery to any of my recordings.....like this one.

Tracklist:

1 No.1 24:17
2 No.2 4:27
3 No.3 17:54

DOWNLOAD the winter of '72 to the winter of 2021...I know which winter i prefer...HERE!

Wolfgang Dauner's Et Cetera Feat. Jon Hiseman, Larry Coryell ‎– "Knirsch" (MPS Records ‎– 21 21432-2) 1972

One thing I likey not within the 'Jazz' idiom is 'Jazz Guitar' (Derek Bailey exempted), which Larry Coryell extols the virtues of excessively in his guest spot on this Wolfgang Dauner Rock-fusion album. Nowhere near as 'Out-there' as "Output", this could potentially reel in countless Colloseum fans just by the presence of Jon Hiseman, never mind the attempt to recreate 'The Kettle' from 'The Valentyne Suite' as album opener.This could be as far-out as 'Rock' fans could dare to get to achieve the next rung up the ladder of Intellectuality yet still enjoy the simple Joys of Thin Lizzy and Status Quo.
This and Colloseum would be ,thee, 'Jazz' records in a dysfunctional rockers' record collection,which although he doesn't like them much, he will whip out whenever he want to display his 'interesting' side.
Krautrock Fusion with a bit of bite, "Knirsch"..... ("Crunch" in English)


Tracklist:

A1 The Really Great Escape 4:20
A2 Sun 5:00
A3 Yan 12:50
B1 Tuning Spread 11:05
B2 Yin 9:50

DOWNLOAD the false teeth of progressive Jazz Rock HERE!