2006

14/8

Uncategorized

Different Strokes - Part 3

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This week guest writer Sughosh reveals a selected list of gems from folk music history.

Folk and Folk-rock - much misunderstood, and much marginalised by the mainstream market, with perhaps the notable exception of one Robert Zimmerman. Ah, if I only had a dollar for each time someone came up with the "folk = country" theory!

So what IS folk music then? Of course the boundaries have extended over the years, bringing in the personal and political to blend in with the traditional. The pioneers and innovators of folk-rock have taken it a long way from the original "roots" motif. Earthiness still exists, and the staunch traditionalists do still have their pockets of following. But today, it’s a lot more complicated to make authoritative statements about the definitions of "folk" music.

Nevertheless, the goal here is less to analyze, define and classify than to present, as is the norm with the rest of this series, a few selected gems from this genre. NOT definitive. NOT a "Greatest Hits" compilation. NOT a "gentle introduction" of the kind that a music label might offer. Just twenty great folk/ folk-rock songs.

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1. Fairport Convention - Matty Groves (‘ Liege & Lief’ - 1969)

The one that kick started the British folk-rock movement. Medieval Britain refreshed and renewed by, ironically, a bunch of Londoners whose greatest initial influences were Bob Dylan & The Band! ‘Matty Groves’ is a tale of passion, infidelity and murder set in the 1600s, rendered beautifully in the divine voice of the late great Sandy Denny, culminating in a tumultuous crescendo of dueling guitar, violin and drums that needs to be heard to be believed
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2. Steeleye Span - Long Lankin (‘Commoners’ Crown’ - 1975)

More grisly tales of gore from England of yore, delivered in Span’s marvelously polished style, with shifting sections including a slow, melancholy dirge , a powerful riff-driven middle and a near-choral finale. Enthralling.
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3. Roy Harper - Me and My Woman (‘Stormcock’ - 1971)

A twelve-minute epic from a four-song LP. You can tell this guy influenced Pink Floyd! From gentle acoustic pickings to lush string arrangements, to the suddenly explosive guitar rhythms of a certain James Patrick Page who dedicated a song to him in ‘(Hats Off To) Roy Harper), this song has it all.
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4. Richard Thompson - Roll over, Vaughan Williams (‘Henry the Human Fly’ - 1970)

Thompson’s first solo LP after quitting Fairport Convention was very nearly his last, owing to record-breakingly miserable sales figures that one would only have to attribute to temporary insanity amongst the audience. ‘Roll over, Vaughan Williams’ exhibits all of Thompson’s skills to the hilt, whether it’s his "doom and gloom" lyrics or the masterful raga-like solos from his Fender Strat.
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5. Gordon Lightfoot - Ghosts of Cape Horn (‘Dream Street Rose’ - 1980)

By the time ‘Dream Street Rose’ came out, Canadian folkie Lightfoot had honed his sound to a smooth perfection, but this song still maintains a certain atmospheric edginess, with ghostly whistles accompanying the finger-picking of Lightfoot’s guitar as he spins this tale of long-forgotten shipwrecks.
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6. Ralph McTell - The Ferryman (‘You Well-meaning Brought Me Here’ - 1971)

‘You Well-meaning..‘ was McTell’s grandest effort, perhaps his best produced work. ‘The Ferryman’ is a brooding, philosophical epic loosely based on Herman Hesse’s ‘Siddhartha’, and you can almost feel the flow of the water in McTell’s guitar as he weaves his way along this story of traveller, river, boat and ferryman.
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7. The Pentangle - Rain and Snow (‘Reflection’ - 1971)

Those who have heard the Grateful Dead sleepwalking their way through this Appalachian folk song would receive a suitable jolt from the British folk-psych quintet’s diametrically opposite version. With a distinctly Indian-sounding melody and sitar riffs to match, the eclectic mix that the Pentangle generate is truly unique.
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8. Nick Drake - Day is Done (‘Five Leaves Left’ - 1969)

However tragic it may be that Drake survived only to produce three albums, it must be said that all three remain unequalled in the history of popular music. ‘Day is Done’, off his debut LP, plays like a quiet reflection at the end of the day, weighing the gains and losses of those who either "get by" or "get old". The haunting string arrangements by Drake’s friend Robert Kirby add greatly to the atmosphere.
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9. Sandy Denny - The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood (‘ Sandy‘ - 1972)

A chilling a cappella rendition of a Richard Farina lyric, set to the tune of the traditional Irish folk song ‘My Lagan Love’, lamenting the days gone by, when ‘Love was Lord of All’.
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10. Nic Jones - Canadee-I-O (‘Penguin Eggs’ - 1980)

Nic Jones’ last record before an accident rendered him incapable of playing guitar finds him in classic balladeer mode, adding his trademark acoustic guitar flourishes to adaptations of traditional folk songs. ‘Canadee-I-O’ is a fine example of his prowess

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11. The Incredible String Band - A Very Cellular Song (‘The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter’ - 1968)

One of the forerunners of what we would now call ‘world’ music, the ISB were known for blending their trippy folk sounds with exotic instruments from all over. The epic ‘Very Cellular Song’ does incorporate a couple of these over its several sections, and makes for interesting listening. Despite Mike Heron’s occasionally off-key vocals, the fact remains that there is really no other record in existence that sounds quite like ‘The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter’.
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12. The Pogues (feat. Kirsty MacColl) - Fairytale of New York (‘If I Should Fall From Grace with God’ - 1987)

A man blows his betting earnings on booze on Christmas Eve night, and returns home to bicker with his wife about their failing marriage, while "the boys from the NYPD choir still sing ‘ Galway Bay‘. No ‘Cinderella’, this! Pogue Shane MacGowan sounds suitably sozzled, and even Kirsty MacColl is uncharacteristically nasty as the arguments and accusations continue in song while the band plays Celtic tunes in the background.
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13. Dick Gaughan - The World Turned Upside-Down (‘Handful of Earth’ - 1981)

A true working-class folk song about farmers in the 17th century agitating against the landlords for the usurping of their fields, delivered with full earthy passion by Gaughan.
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14. Harry Chapin - Flowers are Red (‘Living Room Suite’ - 1978)

Best known (not!) for writing ‘Cats in the Cradle’, which became a big hit for Ugly Kid Joe years later, Chapin’s songwriting has always aimed to tackle social concerns from a simplistic personal angle, something he achieves wonderfully well through this poignant song about a child’s dreams and imagination being thwarted by an indifferent and austere education system.

15. Al Stewart - Manuscript (‘Zero She Flies’ - 1970)

The beginning of Scottish folkie Al Stewart’s eternal fascination for the two World Wars, ‘Manuscript’ juxtaposes the events leading up to the wars with those in his own family, painting vivid portraits of life during wartime.
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16. Michael Chapman - Kodak Ghosts (‘Fully Qualified Survivor’ - 1970)

Chapman was a fine guitarist in his own right, but the spotlight on this record is firmly on a young Mick Ronson, who found favour with David Bowie on the basis of his work here. Ronson’s soulful guitaring adds to the mood of this melancholy song about loneliness.
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17. Joni Mitchell - Nathan La Franeer (’Song to a Seagull’ - 1968)

Mitchell’s debut LP finds her at her most poetic, and ‘Nathan La Franeer’ is rich with imagery, describing the sights of the city as seen by a traveller riding to the airport in a taxicab with a surly driver. Mitchell’s haunting falsettos accentuate the lyrics marvelously.
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18. Tim Buckley - Aren’t You the Girl? (‘Tim Buckley’ - 1966)

Although Buckley is better remembered for his ground-breaking later work, this debut LP quite clearly indicates the arrival of a 19-year-old genius. The famed multi-octave voice in already in fine form, and the songwriting and delivery suggest a maturity well beyond his age.
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19. Mellow Candle - Dan the Wing (‘Swaddling Songs’ - 1972)

But for a recent CD reissue, the only album by prog-folk band Mellow Candle would have remained exclusively the domain of record collectors (who are known to offer about a 1000 pounds for an original pressing of the album!). ‘Dan the Wing’ is frenetic and exciting, with the otherwordly vocals of Clodagh Simonds and Alison Williams belting out a set of rather Satanic lyrics, hinting at a linkage between the worlds of folk and heavy metal.
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20. Silly Sisters - Fine Horseman (‘No More to the Dance’ - 1988)

Two of the finest folk singers Britain has ever produced, Maddy Prior and June Tabor - team up to produce a stunning record of traditional folk ballads rendered with interesting arrangements and ethereal harmonies. ‘Fine Horseman’ borders on the eerie, the harmony singing and brooding guitar parts being especially effective.

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