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Grex > Music1 > #27: Folk Music, both commercial and traditional |  |
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| 25 new of 68 responses total. |
krj
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response 25 of 68:
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Dec 8 08:32 UTC 1991 |
Here's an answer to a question Mary Ellen had at tonight's party.
The Joni Mitchell song "I don't know where I stand" has been recorded
twice by Fairport Convention. A stereo recording with lead singer Judy
Dyble is on the first album, FAIRPORT CONVENTION. A mono version,
recorded a year later for broadcast by the BBC, with Sandy Denny singing
lead, is on the album HEYDAY.
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katie
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response 26 of 68:
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Dec 9 18:40 UTC 1991 |
Barbra Streisand did a cover of "I Don't Know Where I Stand" also.
I like it.
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mew
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response 27 of 68:
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Dec 10 17:31 UTC 1991 |
Ah HA! THANKS KEN! I suppose you have a copy of HeyDay? Ask a silly
question mew....
I dunno katie, Barbara Striesand? I bet it is over produced!
I don't exactly cringe at the thought of Barbara covering a Joni Mitchell
song but I am sure I wouldn't like it! :-) <prejudice eh?>
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krj
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response 28 of 68:
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Dec 11 09:11 UTC 1991 |
I'll toss HEYDAY into the next set of discs for you to borrow, Mary Ellen.
It's all mono, hissy BBC tapes, almost all tracks are covers of the
American singer-songwriters who were the band's specialty before they
got around to inventing British Isles electric folk.
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katie
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response 29 of 68:
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Dec 11 15:27 UTC 1991 |
No, it wasn't overproduced. It's on a rather early album, along with
Stoney End, No Easy Way Down and other Laura Nyro tunes.
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krj
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response 30 of 68:
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Jan 11 07:11 UTC 1992 |
Somebody was a Buffy Sainte-Marie fan -- Katie? A feature about her is
the cover story of the January/February issue of FOLK ROOTS magazine,
promoting her new album. It's on the Ensign label (at least in the UK)
and is set for a January 20 release over there.
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katie
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response 31 of 68:
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Jan 11 19:11 UTC 1992 |
Can I borrow your copy of the magazine?
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krj
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response 32 of 68:
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Jan 12 17:53 UTC 1992 |
In a little bit. I just got it, haven't even started reading it thoroughly
yet.
(I'm still a little irritated with Sainte-Marie for cancelling an
appearance at the Philadelphia Folk Festival at the very last minute
about three years ago.)
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krj
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response 33 of 68:
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Apr 26 14:51 UTC 1992 |
Katie, the new Buffy Sainte-Marie album is reviewed in the latest issue of
FOLK ROOTS magazine, so it's presumably out in the UK; the question is whether
it is going to be released here. In the UK it's on the Ensign label.
I'll probably be sending an order to a folk music dealer in England in early
May, so if you are really crazed to get the Buffy album and don't mind paying
about $27 for it on CD, I can try to order a copy for you.
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sandeep
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response 34 of 68:
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Aug 23 02:33 UTC 1992 |
Well, this item has been dormant for a long time, but let me use it to
pose a question to those more knowledgeable than I....
My sister has been hearing a lot about Richard Thompson lately, and it is
apparent that there are a lot of Thompson fans here. She's coming up to visit
in a w weeks, and would like to do some CD shopping and sampling. Since
I know nothing about Richard Thompson or Fairport Convention, could
somebody (somebodies) please recommend some albums a novice listener would
enjoy?
Thanks in advance....
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krj
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response 35 of 68:
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Aug 23 07:59 UTC 1992 |
I guess this one's for me. :-) What are some other musicians whom your
sister likes, Sandeep? That will help me make some Richard Thompson
recommendations.
As for Fairport Convention: The album to start with is "Unhalfbricking."
If she's already seriously interested in traditional songs, "Liege and Lief".
If she's more interested in rock guitar, "Full House".
If she's more interested in singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell,
pick "What We Did On Our Holidays" and, if she's not an audiophile, "Heyday".
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sandeep
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response 36 of 68:
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Aug 23 16:17 UTC 1992 |
Wow, suggestions already! I think she'd probably be more interested in
"Full House" and the last two picks. Although she listens to a fair variety
of music, from classical to industrial, some rock music I know she *loves*
is Television's "Marquee Moon" and the Spacemen 3, as well as the
Replacements.
I think this will be very interesting for both of us, since neither of us
has any experience with Folkrock at all really (except for Michelle Shocked,
I suppose) but my interest in it has been tweaked of late from listening
to that show on WEMU ("Essential Troubadour"?)
Thanks to Ken, I knew he'd come through. :)
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mcnally
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response 37 of 68:
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Aug 24 01:04 UTC 1992 |
I'd recommend Thompson's solo material more highly than I would recommend
what I've heard of the Fairport Convention material he was involved in
(which isn't intended to slight the Fairport stuff, I just think the solo
stuff is better..)
As far as Richard (and sometimes Linda) Thompson albums go, as Ken pointed
out it depends on what other music you like to listen to, since Thompson has
had a relatively prolific and somewhat varied solo career. My personal
favorite is "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight". I'm also very fond
of "Small Town Romance", which is a recording put together from two solo
acoustic shows Thompson did in New York. Until she knows what Thompson
stuff she likes, she might want to stick to the studio albums, but "Small
Town Romance" does have the benefit of having interesting versions of some
of his best songs, which are otherwise spread across many albums. Also
recommended are the albums "Pour Down Like Silver", "...starring as Henry
the Human Fly", "Shoot Out the Lights", "Across a Crowded Room", "Hand
of Kindness", and "Rumor and Sigh". *I* would recommend staying away from
"Amnesia" and "Daring Adventures", though Ken might not (though I doubt
he'd actually recommend them before any of the above albums..)
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krj
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response 38 of 68:
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Sep 22 00:48 UTC 1992 |
So, Sandeep, fill us in! Did your sister like any of the loaner CDs
enough to buy some of her own?
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sandeep
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response 39 of 68:
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Oct 25 15:58 UTC 1992 |
OK, it's a month late, but this is my report on my encounters with Richard
Thompson, courtesy of Ken, who was kind enough to loan me some CDs...
We (my sister and I) listened to 3 Thompson CDs and 2 from Fairport-
POUR DOWN LIKE SILVER, SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS, RUMOUR AND SIGH, LIEGE AND
LIEF, FULL HOUSE. My first reaction was to immediately favor the
Thompson solo stuff over Fairport, but later it really grew on me,
especially FULL HOUSE; I especially came to enjoy the first four songs
on that album, but the last ones seemed weak.
I was most impressed with RUMOUR AND SIGH- what a great album! 1952
Vincent Black Lightning is a 5-star song as far as I'm concerned, and there
are a bunch of 4-star songs on there as well- including (but not limited
to) Read About Love, I Feel So Good, God Loves A Drunk. Is it just me or
does Mystery Wind remind youof an old Fleetwood Mac song (the title of
which I'm blanking on)? Anyway, we both agreed that this album is a must-
have.
My second favorite was POUR DOWN LIKE SILVER; I really wasn't that impressed
with SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS. The title song did little for me, although I
love Beat The RetRight now Ken let me borrow the CD Mike
recommended above, SMALL TOWN ROMANC, so my Thompson education continues
apace.
This has also served as a nice introduction to modern folk music in
general- on the strength of having seen Cooking Vinyl mentioned on Grex
I baught their sampler compilation HOOTENANNY with extremely gratifying
results. I loved the song by Ancient Beatbox called Raining, as well as
tracks by Bruce Cockburn (I remember listening to his If I Had A Rocket
Launcher back in high school, June Tabor and the Oyster Band, Rey de
Copas and others as well. This in turn has led me (again with Ken's
help) to learn about Sheila Chandra, Blowzabella and others- all good
stuf. It's been quite pleasant to rediscover melodic music, and to hear
folksy sensibilities and instrumentations in a modern context.
Just some ruminations from an industrial/noise fiend still getting his
feet wet in this scene.....
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sandeep
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response 40 of 68:
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Oct 30 02:55 UTC 1992 |
This past week I reviewed a CD by a Scotsman named Dougie MacLean; the
title was INDIGENOUS. I was impressed both with his singing (a little
mournful at times, always with character) and with the melodies of the
songs- the last track, "Eternity," is just a gorgeous acoustic guitar
song I kept playing over and over again. Does anybody know about this
man and what else he's done? I'm especially curious as he is going to
perform at the Ark this coming Wednesday....
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cwb
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response 41 of 68:
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Dec 17 05:36 UTC 1992 |
Dougie Maclean is wonderful. Go out and buy
"Singing Land" right now, before you do anything else.
Now my question. A long time ago I owned a single
Fairport Convention album whose title I have forgotten.
It's the one whose first track starts:
Away with the buff and the blue
Away with the cap and the feather
I want to see my lass
Who lives in Hexhamshire
to the accompaniment of a drum. Which album is that? I want
to rediscover it.
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krj
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response 42 of 68:
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Dec 18 13:18 UTC 1992 |
That song would have to be "The Hexamshire Lass", which is the opening song
from Fairport's album NINE, from 1973. This is generally regarded as one
of the high points of late Fairport, though I haven't played it in years.
The Island label has reissued NINE on CD in England. Schoolkids has it in
stock but I'm sure they're charging an outrageous price for it; I think it's
a budget reissue in England, but those English budget prices tend to get
bumped up to full price as the CD crosses the Atlantic.
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cwb
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response 43 of 68:
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Dec 19 19:34 UTC 1992 |
<moan!> My poor checkbook.
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top
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response 44 of 68:
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Dec 20 20:10 UTC 1992 |
On CD....It figures. By the time I get a CD player all this will be as
passe on disc as it is on vinyl. (Moan.) But I still love NINE.
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steve
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response 45 of 68:
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Dec 21 04:54 UTC 1992 |
(Reasonable CD players, portable ones even, can be had for $90. Not
to say thats cheap, but they aren't the multi hundred dollar items they
once were).
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redwood
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response 46 of 68:
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Dec 22 16:12 UTC 1992 |
Philips now makes an awesome portable CD player. It has a 1-bit D/A
converter as well as a rechargeable battery. Sound quality is tolerable.
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krj
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response 47 of 68:
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Jan 2 17:28 UTC 1993 |
Oh, the cost of the CD player is not the problem. Keeping the CD player
*fed* is the problem, especially if you're into goodies like the imported
folk-rock items we were discussing here. Though the collapse of the UK
pound has brought import prices back down from the $28 level.
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arabella
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response 48 of 68:
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Jan 15 08:16 UTC 1993 |
Re #46: I don't understand... how does "tolerable" sound quality
make for an "awesome" cd player?
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sandeep
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response 49 of 68:
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Jan 17 07:28 UTC 1993 |
Well, once again I'm feeling foolish...I heard a song on the radio
I liked a great deal- when I called to find out who it was, I was told
that it was Christine Lavin's (sp?) "High Heeled Shoes." I've heard *of*
this artist before, but to date have only heard that one song...can anyone
tell me anything more about her? Or perhaps recommend an album worth
checking out?
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