Jane And Barton – "Jane And Barton" (Cherry Red – MRED 53) 1983

The Otway and Barrett of Twee has to be Jane (Lancaster) and Edward Barton who,like Otway and Willy scored a minor chart hit across several continents.Especially when "It's a Fine Day" got used on several TV adverts,including a very bizarre one in Japan advertising Kleenex Tissues......they're bloody weird over there!?

In the grand folk tradition of unaccompanied singing,Jane and Barton,but mainly Jane,dare to be minimal,and alone, in an unforgiving world.

A gentler Indie Pop version of Folk legend, Ann Briggs if you want?

Its like being sung to sleep by your mother.And just like the death of your maternal parent,they never return to do it again when you are a fucked up adult.

So we need records like this,where someone called Jane is your mother replacement for a very short 20 minutes,which is probably in proportion with the average lifespan to childhood ratio that we are saddled with.

So we leave the mercifully short Edward Barton vocal parts to remind us of being forcibly pulled out of the womb into this horrific existence,then......well....you know what comes next.

Thanks for that Edward!? 

Tracklist:

1.There Is A Man
2.It's A Fine Day
3.You Are Over There (Part 1)
4.Mmmm

5.Of All
6.I Want To Be With You
7.You Are Over There(part 2)
8.Ha Bloody Ha

9.Leaves were falling

DOWNLOAD your sonic surrogate mother HERE!

Edward Barton – "Here Is My Spoon" (Wooden Records – WOOD 10) 1990

 

Edward Barton looks and sounds like an artist,he may even be an Actor,for he once resembled a Drama student,or a member of Furniture (UK arty one hit wonders)...but we'll settle for 'poet'!?

Young Edward, first came to our attention attacking his acoustic guitar while writhing on the floor and screaming about his Mini on the exceedingly awful and sickeningly Hip early evening pop magazine programe ,"The Tube".The vile creature that spawned Jools Holland in his mission to make music as bland and pointless as yer Aunties cakes.A raison d'etre that this boogie woogie terrorist embraced with all the efficiency of a death camp Kommandant and the spiteful enthusiasm of his uncaged wife.

Inexplicably,YouTube has no footage of Barton's first appearance, but luckily there is a performance of his debut single,"I've Got No Chicken But I've Got Five Wooden Chairs".

Edward embraced this fifteen minutes of fame eagerly,and made it last about twelve minutes before spending the next thirty years in artsy obscurity.

His other three minutes of fame belong to the unaccompanied vocal Hit single Edward penned,With girlfriend, Jane, "It's a Fine Day", which was one of those rare 'Good' singles that hit the top ten in several countries.Other versions exist,including one by bloody Orbital!?

His songs,"It's a Fine day" excepted, have all the requisites that make Jandek's works so provocative,except I rather suspect that our Edward has the sense of Humour that The Corwood representative so patently lacks....which of course, makes it Funny.

Eddie's songs are funny too,but he actually intends this....so,he is an Artist after all, yes?

Alas, as a lifelong Mini owner,I thoroughly approve of Edward Barton. 

Tracklist:

1 Listen To Edward
2 Knob Gob
3 Sorry Dog
4 What Shall We Do Today?
5 Everyday I Try To Find The Man Who Killed My Brother
6 Barber Barber
7 Violence
8 In Dreams I Drive
9 King Of A Flat Country
10 Dear Dad
11 I've Got No Chicken But I've Got Five Wooden Chairs
12 Shover
13 Thin And Pale
14 I've Got No Chicken But I've Got Five Wooden Chairs
15 I Am A Mother
16 Two Cows
17 Me and my Mini (Bonus Track)

DOWNLOAD seventeen songs to go with your wooden chairs HERE!