Showing posts with label Fairport Convention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fairport Convention. Show all posts

Wednesday 19 August 2020

Bloody Windows - #AnimalAugust #13


Last night I was ready for bed, checked a couple of things on the computer, and when I went to shut down there was another update available. As usual I Ok's it and it started staying on 0% and telling me to not swith my machine off, then severak restarts and loads of times staying on the same level. You never have a clue how long these things take and the various indicators never tell you how long it's going to be.

Eddie Izzard nails the situation in his Computers and Terms and Conditions stand up routine which you can watch here. This happens time and time again. Also recently Microsoft applications stopped giving you a time line and replacing them with a blue spinning circle and you haven't a clue what is happening.

#AnimalAugust is going to be "The Bonny Black Hare" by Fairport Convention , the thing is it's a traditional folk song , and it's not really about a rabbit related mammal, but the title will do for the sequence.


Saturday 21 July 2018

Flexibly Free

Back in the sixties and seventies music was often promoted by giving away vinyl flexidiscs. These were'nt meant to last but were meant to give you a taster of something so you would buy the actual single or album and generate income for the artist and definitely the record company.

The thing is sometimes these flexidiscs contained exclusive music (at the time), I'm thinking Alice Cooper's "Slick Black Limousine" which was promoting "Billion Dollar Babies" and the interludes on the promo for the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street". These were both NME freebies as it was my music mag of choice at the time. Both these were committed to cassette as soon as I got them, but were lost way back. They may be worth something now.

I recently bought a couple of flexidiscsfor Long Play Cafe / Empire Records in The Grainger Market and was surprised that the Adam and The Ants one had no track name on , but is their take on The Village People's "YMCA" called apparently "IMCA". Because the flexidiscs slip you need to put a couple of coins to stop the vinyl slipping.  The other was by Hazel O'Connor and you can see the details here. LAter sounds actually started giving away vinyl EPs.

But in the sixties we started getting loss leader compilations. At first I thought these would be very expensive, but they were very cheap and full of amazing music. Again these often contained music you couldn't get anywhere else, I'm thinking "America", Yes' ten minute take on the Siman and Garfunkel song and Led Zeppelin's "Hey,HeyWhat Can I Do" on the "Age of Atlantic" samplers.

The first one that I bought was Island's "Nice Enough To Eat" which introduced me to Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, King Crimson and many more.

In the disgital age Amazon used to give free downloads but that seems to have stopped but often artists make music available to download for free in exchange for an email address.

I suppose music is still effectively free to listen to on the radio and Youtube, but I do like to have the music and make sure the artist gets something from me.

Well I am looking out at the blue sky and sunshine and think its time to wake the neighbours by mowing my overgrown jungle of a lawn.

Today Fiona and Helen are doing a 26 Mile walk for MacMillan which you can track here and donate here.

Have a most enjoyable day

Sunday 17 September 2017

Emerald City Binge


I never binge watch but this weekend has seen me watch seven and a bit episodes of Emerald City, which looks great and has pulled some great characters out of the hat (Toto is an Alsatian and the Tin Man is a Steam Punked Steve Austin) , the Wizard is possibly the least convincing charater but even he is more than passable. I'm surprised NBC have cancelled it but I assume it'll join  the likes of Firefly. I am looking forward to the final episode but it has been a great ride.

The iPod I found turned out to be completely dead and Apple manage to be complete arses again by asking me to make an appointment, it's a bloody shop not a surgery , so I went to CEX who checked it out and said it had been water damaged and was completely wrecked. I was going to hand it in at the Police Station on Westgate road but that has been closed down and replaced by one that only opens 9-5 Monday to Friday, that's progress isn't it.

Today's #AlbumoftheDay #1 was Vampire Weekend's "Contra" which owes a lot to Paul Simon's "Graceland" and Sounth African Jit. It is a great album but at times you think you are listening to Paul Simon.

I then put on Fairport Convention's "Babbacombe Lee" their concept album about John Lee the double murderer who survived several attempts to hang whne the gallows assembly failed to work.

Two excellent albums and now it's time for bed.



Thursday 24 August 2017

Listening To Albums

I've decided to give random play a rest and actually listen to full albums on my walks. I'm aiming to do 340K steps a month and Pacer still eems to be working. The last couple of days I've only done 8K but I'm still on tarket to hit 340K which will guarantee a million steps every three months on a rolling basis. My friend Carol is hoping to hit TEN MILLION steps this year, that 900K a month and 30K (maybe 15Km) a day. I know people's step lengths differ but that is still some very hard going over a long period of time and dwarfs my Million Step Challenge , which other people seem to think is a lot.

Anyway the albums I have listened to so far are

  • Fairport Convention - Nine : Not regarded as a classic but it is one of my favourites, Trevor Lucas' vocals, Jerry Donahue's guitar and Dave Swarbrick's voice and fiddle are wonderful. Songs like "Polly On The Shore" with it's dragging bass, the beautiful "To Althea From Prison" and apocalyptic "Bring 'Em Down" have never lost their power for me.
  • Thea Gilmore  - Don't Stop Singing: This is a beautiful labour of love, Thea taking the words of te departed Sandy Denny and weaving a wonderful album. The song "London" made me have to buy it and "Glistening Bay" gives me goosebumps every time. There's a great evaution on the BBC here.
  • David Bowie - The Lodger : The one with Bowie's "League of Gentleman" nose on the cover, and like every Bowie album you put is on and then just love every song. "Fantastic Voyage" , "Boys Keep Swinging", "Yassassin"   I could list every song.
  • Blue Oyster Cult - Imaginos: This is the album that BOC were destined to make , full almost Lovecraftian libretto and when the remade "Astronomy" kicks in you really are out there with them.
I found a live from Union Chapel take on "London" by Thea Gilmore for you to enjoy, the sound is not perfect, but you can always buy the album if you follow the blue link.

So who knows what I'll be listening to this morning. Time to set off for work, and I think I will walk in. It is a sunny beautiful day and the weekend is almost here. Enjoy yourselves everyone.

Tuesday 27 June 2017

Forever


I have some contact lens fluid. A couple of weeks ago it was virtually finished so I bought some more. Each day I use it and each it seeps like it's going to run out, but doesn't, I feel that it's going to go on forever. It's funny how that happens with some things , you think they are finished but they keep going on (like a Take That record or Peter Jackson's take on Tolkein's The Return of The King)

I can't see an end to my medication (until I shuffle off my mortal coil), but my walking is helping a slight weight loss which in turn has allowed me to reduce my insulin intake by 30% (and that in turn will help me lose more weight) but I am still a massive 30Kg overweight and morbidly obese and I know if you asked me to carry 30Kg any distance I would know I had been carrying something.

Still enjoying Rob Young's Electric Eden and found a sort of sad coincidence that resulted in the gestation of two amazing albums, Fairport Convention's "Liege and Lief" and The Band's "Music From Big Pink". Fairport's album was the band's recovery after a horrific crash resulting in the death of drummer Martin Lamble, which affected the band but they spent a summer in a country retreat which gave us the album that was the flagship genesis of English Folk Rock.

The Band had been backing Bob Dylan who was involved in a serious motorcycle accident so the band retreated to a secluded pink house (hence the title to produce an album of seminal Americana by a band led by a Canadian).

However the song I am going to include is Roy Harper's "Forever" as that was the thought that inspired this post, and he is a major figure in English Folk Rock. Have a wonderful Tuesday everybody.

Saturday 4 June 2016

Goodbye Boys



I try to keep things positive on this blog but am a little sad to be thinking about the passing of two greats , Dave Swarbrick , fiddle player with Fairport Convention amongst many others as well as being an artist in his own right , and Muhammad Ali , peerless boxer and human rights activist.

My Dad
I was introduced to Muhammad Ali from an early age , as he was the nearest thing to a hero for my my dad , a boxer himself who had to give up because he cut so easily. I knew him as Cassius Clay and then went the tmedia trauma of him converting to Islam and changing his name. We had Henry Cooper but Muhammad Ali was the man, my dad was dismissive of Cooper and eulogised Ali.

I was never into boxing because I was far too not liking the pain , also I remember seeing a book about Ali called GOAT , which was on Amazon with a retail price tag of £2,000 . You can now buy it here for a more reasonable , but still expensive £99.99 , but I wondered about the title, GOAT is an acronym .... Greatest of All Time.


There are so many stories surfacing , especially about his links with Tyneside , how he got married at a mosque in South Shields , raised money for a local boxing club , and basically just go on the net and you will see loads of information about the great man.

Another great loss was Dave Swarbrick who I saw at the Tyneside Irish Centre in 2014 , performing on a stage I have (dis)graced myself , my memories are here and he was incredibly funny and talented , I think I also saw him with either Imagined Village or The Albion Band at The Sage.

I first heard him on John Peel accompanying Martin Carthy on "Prince Heathen" , but remember the speed of his playing on "Fiddlestix" on Fairport Live which I still can't hear in my head , I have got to listen to the recording to hear is brilliance.

I do feel that 2016 is a year of incredible artistic departures but their legacy will endure, like Muhammad Ali's fights and words and deeds , we will always remember them, like Swarbrick's music. I'm going to include Johnny Wakelin's "In Zaire" about the Rumble In The Jungle with George Foreman and Swarbrick's live rendition of Fiddlestix.

Remember them this way.


Thursday 25 February 2010

Fairport Invention and Coincidence





Last night saw Fairport Convention again , this time at The Sage in Gateshead coutesy of Properganda , supported by the excellent Keith Donnelly & Flossie Malavialle, collectively known as "Dark Horses".

The first coincidence is that Flossie originates from Nimes, but has spent the last seven years in Darlington (where I work) to purportedly learn English!! In her own words "That's knackered it". According to Jasper Carrot, Keith could make a sheep laugh , and he was funny as well as an excellent guitarist. They played seelction from their current album before beiing joined on stage for a "French Song" , namely "Si Tu Dois Partir" which had been played on the Brian Matthews show on Saturday , with Flossie in excellent voice.

The first set contained a lot of familiar material such as "Rising For The Moon" with all members of the band in fine form. At some point they all got out their ukuleles for "Ukulele Central" which was great fun, here's them performing it:



The second set contained more selections from Fairport's "Babbacombe" Lee concept album similar to last year's Tyne Theatre gig, with Ric Sanders going heavy of fiddle and effects during the "Dream Sequence". "Matty Groves" was brilliant , before the band were rejoined by Keith and Flossie for "Meet On The Ledge" before the lights came up.

Thus ended a day that had started at 4 am but well worth it .

Must get Cropredy sorted....

Saturday 13 June 2009

Remake / Remodel

In his book "Last Shop Standing" Graham Jones (see here) remarks on how Greatest Hits packages and compilations are stagnating the music industry. Apparently Roxy Music have had seven such items , and over the past week there's another Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Hits, another compilation to celebrate Blur's reformation called Midlife and another Black Sabbath Greatest Hits Compilation.




Add this to the rush of "Platinum Collections", "Dad Rock" compilations for Fathers Day , and similar ones on Mothers Day, Christmas and the like and you can see just how bloated and lazy the corporate music industry has become concentrating solely on moving product rather than nurturing music . The two items should be compatible , though the fact that the industry is run by accountants shows in spades.








I put together a short video featuring recycled music , soundtracked by Roxy Music's Remake/Remodel from their eponymous debut, available for download here.



However in some ways greatest hits are not all bad, they may be a good introduction to a band , and it's good to see bands still touring even if they do rest on their laurels so to speak. Fleetwood Mac (with the genius of Lindsey Buckingham) and Fairport Convention are two that spring to mind. But the best news on this front for was that Arthur Jeffes, the son of the late great Simon Jeffes has put together a band to play the music of the truly wonderful Penguin Cafe Orchestra and will be touring with them , including old and new compositions. Now that IS worth looking forward to. Information here.

Friday 27 February 2009

Fairport Convention and....Phil Cool??

Just got back from a superb gig and a half at the Journal Tyne Theatre in Newcastle. Fairport Convention supported by Phil Cool ... or so I thought. In fact the support act was Phil Cool and Ken Nicol. Ken Nicol is an absolutely stunning guitarist doing mainly acoustic stuff , but providing some stunning electric lead in lieu of Richard Thompson for the all troupe encompassing finale of "Meet On The Ledge". Phil Cool is no less a revelation , while still being funny as hell, he can song , play acoustic rhythm and write the odd excellent song.

Fairport themselves were excellent , the current incarnation comprising Simon Nicol , Dave Pegg , Chris Lesley , Ric Sanders and Gerry Conway. The played lots of stuff I hadnt previously heard , but also did a storming version of "Matty Groves" , three songs from "Babbacombe Lee" as well as "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" and the afformentioned "Meet On The Ledge", there's some youtube footage below:



Will pad this out with links and pictures but this is it for now.
Interestingly this is the first time I've bought albums on a USB Stick / Keyring , the Nicol & Cool and Ken Nicol - Initial Variations albums. Save's a bit of space in the CD racks!!

The official Fairport site is here.

Phil Cool's site is here.

Ken Nicol's site is here.