Thursday, January 09, 2020

Blood & Soil.


Elder Burch.
I don’t know much at all about the history of American Blues music, but I had an epiphany last night. At about 1.00 in the morning when flicking through the channels I stumbled across a documentary on BBC 4 called Blood & Soil. It was an episode of a series called American Epic about the roots of American music. It was narrated by Robert Redford. I found it quite fascinating and educational and the music was great.
It begins with the story of Elder Burch who founded a Pentecostal church in Cheraw, South Carolina. He made some recordings in about 1927. The church services were like music events with audience participation. Even the white folk in the town would listen from outside to the music. The great jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie was one of the neighbours who attended the services. You could see where the likes of James Brown got their moves from. Taj Mahal was one of the main contributors interviewed in this programme. Music from the coal mining areas of West Virginia was also featured with the likes of the Williamson Brothers & Curry. Dick Justice was one of the white musicians who recorded a handful of songs which were ignored, and he went back to the obscurity of being a coal miner in Logan. He was rediscovered when his song Henry Lee was included in the Anthology Of American Folk Music.
Honeyboy Edwards.

Charley Patton was one of the most influential Blues singers, even though no film of him exists and only one photo. Even Bruce Springsteen sang one of his songs Die With A Hammer In My Hand. The music from Dockery Farm Plantation, Mississippi was important and there was a film of a young Honeyboy Edwards from 1942 (See film below) and later an interview with him when aged 91. He was talking to Homesick James and Robert Johnson’s stepson Robert Lockwood Jnr. Son House sang Death Letter Blues. At the end of the show Mississippi John Hurt was featured singing Avalon Blues. I will certainly look out for further episodes of this great series.





Honeyboy Edwards 1942

Tuesday, January 07, 2020

The Livelong Day by Lankum.


Yesterday when I was in Warminster I thought I’d go into Raves From The Grave and treat myself to a new CD. I came across an album by Lankum called The Livelong Day. I bought it because Lankum were the very first band I saw at Glastonbury last summer when they played on the Park Stage. I described them at the time as Irish folk with a punk attitude. I thought they were great, but I wasn’t very familiar with their music at the time. There is a lot more to them than that. Lankum take Irish music to places it has never been before, or back to a place that has been forgotten in the mists of time. If you expect a happy collection of jigs and reels your illusions will be shattered. This album is not easy listening.
The opening track The Wild Rover is a prime example. Everybody knows this song, but Lankum turn it on its head. It is not a happy go lucky drunken singalong. This is a mournful bitter song of regret. It builds slowly, yet relentlessly, with Radie Peat’s vocals leading the way, building to a climatic ending with drones and acoustic guitars providing an almost aboriginal effect. The Young People by contrast has male vocals with strummed guitars among a haze of drone like sounds. Ode To Lullaby and Bear Creek provide some of the lighter moments to the album. The first tune begins with a kind of a foghorn or didgeridoo type sound which develops into an atmospheric almost Tangerine Dream sort of mellotron influenced tune. Bear Creek is more like the typical fare that people would expect from an Irish Folk band with fiddles to the fore. It has an American bluegrass flavour and they apparently first heard it at a festival in County Mayo.

I know Katie Cruel because I have it on an album by the great Karen Dalton. Lankum’s version is a lot different to Karen’s banjo picking song though. Radie’s vocals are anguished. This album sometimes reminds me slightly of The Celtic Poets by Jah Wobble. You almost expect to see ghosts rise up from the dunes and dance to this mournful tune. The Dark Eyed Gypsy is another traditional song given the Lankum treatment. I bet there has never been a version like this. I don’t know which of the lads sing it. There are so many instruments on this album as well I can’t tell which is what a lot of the time. There are harmoniums, concertinas, accordions, organs and all sorts of sounds. The overall effect is stunning. The Pride Of Petravore was written by Percy French in the 19th century. I wonder if he would recognise his song today. It begins with an industrial sound, almost like a steam train before the more familiar hornpipe tune. The final track is called Hunting The Wren and is based on the story of a community of women who lived on the Curragh Of Kildare in the 19th century. It is a bit of a coincidence because listening to this album reminded me at times of another album I have by The Gloaming which has a track on it called A Necklace Of Wrens. Anyway, this is a wonderful track to bring the album to a close. There are only eight tracks, but it lasts almost an hour. You have to admire this band's uncompromising attitude. They don't pander to what the public expect from an Irish band. I have only heard this album twice so far and it is early days yet, but I have a feeling that in years to come it might be regarded as a masterpiece and a classic album of the genre because I have never heard an Irish folk album quite like The Livelong Day by Lankum.



Bear Creek

Sunday, January 05, 2020

Just Like Greta.


Greta.
I’m having a lazy Sunday afternoon. Listening to La Question by Francoise Hardy at the moment. I have played quite a few albums today while pottering around. Welcome To Woody Creek by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Circuital by My Morning Jacket, Cowgirl’s Prayer by Emmylou Harris and The Lion's Roar by First Aid Kit. I think it’s important to add some music to your day because music has healing qualities. It puts you in a good mood which is beneficial to mind, spirit and body. I put another book in my shop earlier, Transatlantic Review 52. It contains an anthology of American Poetry by the likes of Charles Bukowski, Allen Ginsberg, Laurence Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder, Lou Reed and many more. I thought it might be of interest to fans of the Beat Generation writers. That brings books in my shop to a grand total of 113 books so far. Hopefully by the end of the year my stock will be up to about 250 books. It doesn’t really matter because it’s only a hobby.
Patti.

I ventured down the garden earlier to commune with my fishes in their little pooliverse. They seem quite happy and were probably grateful when I picked some dead leaves out of the pond. Although the sky is grey and miserable it is unusually warm for this time of the year. It is supposed to be wintertime. I wish the seasons would get back to normal. Talking of climate change, I see it was Greta Thunberg’s 17th birthday recently. Patti Smith wrote a poem for her to celebrate the day. I'm looking forward to seeing Patti in May when she plays in Bath. It would be great if Greta was invited to Glastonbury this year and addressed the crowd. That would have a worldwide impact. We shall see.



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