Safe At Anchor by Kate Wolf.

When I got home from Warminster this afternoon, I was pleased to see the postman had delivered a CD. It is Safe At Anchor by Kate Wolf. I stumbled across Kate Wolf’s music late one night just before Christmas on youtube, liked what I heard and ordered an album on the spur of the moment. I didn’t know anything about her. On Wikipedia I discovered that Kate Wolf January 27, 1942 – December 10, 1986 was an American folk singer and songwriter. Though her career was relatively short, she had a significant impact on the folk music scene, and many musicians continue to cover her songs. Her best-known compositions include "Here in California," "Love Still Remains," "Across the Great Divide," "Unfinished Life," and "Give Yourself to Love."  Her songs have since been recorded by artists such as Nanci Griffith and Emmylou Harris (whose recording of "Love Still Remains" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1999). Sadly Kate  died in 1986, at age 44, after a long battle with leukemia. I listened to the album twice this afternoon and I like it a lot. She has a beautiful voice and I love the playing of the other musicians instruments such as piano, mandolin & accordion. It takes a while to get really familiar with an album but after two listens I think my favourite songs are Early Morning Melody and Two Way Waltz. If you scroll down you can hear a song by Kate Wolf. It is a real shame that she died at such a relatively young age before her fame had grown.

Kate Wolf - Two-Way Waltz

Strawbs and Sandy Denny - Sail Away To The Sea

My favourite female singer of all time Sandy Denny was born 72 years ago today. This is an early song that Sandy recorded with The Strawbs.

One Sweet Day. (When Fairport Convention Played In Peterborough.)

It's Sandy Denny's birthday today. She was born on January 6th 1947. Sadly Sandy died at the early age of 31 but her legend continues to grow. To mark the occasion I thought I would dust off this story that I wrote a while ago. ............. 

There was a time from about 1969 to 1971 when Fairport Convention were my favourite band. Up to that point my music taste was American, mainly the Beach Boys but I started going to Peterborough Folk Club in 69, went through a period of transition and entered my folk-rock era. I discovered the album What We Did On Our Holidays. This was followed by Unhalfbricking, Liege & Lief, Full House, Angel Delight and Babbacombe Lee. After that I began to lose interest in Fairport. I think that was because the two people I really admired in the band who were Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson had departed. Another reason was that I entered my Van Morrison period which has lasted to this very day. However, in the last few years my interest in Fairport has been rekindled, mainly due to seeing them live a few times and enjoying their last two albums Myths & Heroes and 50:50. They are a great live band and still producing splendid new music. Also, they are nice people who take the time to talk to the fans at the gigs as I have discovered at the Cheese & Grain In Frome in the last few years.

Recently I saw that a new biography of the band had been published so I sent off for a copy which arrived a couple of weeks ago. It was signed by the author Clinton Heylin. I don’t like him very much because he wrote a biography of Van Morrison quite a few years ago which I took exception to because of his sarcastic comments. I don’t like this Fairport book all that much either. Maybe the band should write their own autobiography to put the record straight. There was one thing though in the book which made me sit up and take notice.

On page 62 I read that Sandy’s second ever gig with Fairport Convention was supporting John Mayall’s Blues Breakers and Donovan at Whittlesey near Peterborough on June 2^nd 1968 almost exactly 50 years ago. If only I had discovered Fairport a year earlier than I did, I could have seen them on my own doorstep. Mind you, I was only 16 at the time so I probably wouldn’t have been allowed to go. Although I have seen Fairport many times over the years I never saw them when Sandy was in the band. This particular two day event was organised by the same people who a year earlier had put on an event at Spalding Nr Peterborough featuring Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Cream, and Geno Washington & His Ram Jam Band !. Imagine seeing all that lot in one day for £1. What really intrigued me reading Heylin’s book though was when he said that a tape of Fairport’s gig was in existence.

“I want a copy of that tape!”, I thought to myself. Not only was it recorded in my home town, it is also the earliest ever known live recording of Sandy Denny singing with Fairport and only two weeks after she joined the band. An important historical document. Thanks to the good old internet I was able to do some research. I discovered that the recording had been made on a Telefunken cassette recorder by a member of the audience called Anders Folke. It lay in his attic for 30 long years before it was transferred to cd and bootleg copies began to circulate. I expect this tape is well known to hardcore Fairport aficionados but not to me until today. After a bit more googling I found a site called ioffer where someone had a copy for sale.

The cd popped through my letterbox this morning and I immediately slammed it into the music machine. The sound quality is quite poor, but I was expecting that. To save his batteries Anders had also stopped recording between songs so there is no talk or introductions by the band. Listening to the music you wouldn’t think that this group in less than two years would invent a whole new genre of music, namely British Folk-Rock. On this recording which is only seven songs in just over twenty minutes the band sound like a bluesy loud rock band. Richard Thompson’s excellent guitar playing is apparent though and Sandy’s wonderful vocals. There are no original Fairport songs. It is almost all covers of American singer-songwriters. I can see why someone described them in their early days as the British Jefferson Airplane. If I had to choose, my favourite song is Sandy singing You Never Wanted Me, written by her boyfriend Jackson C. Frank.

Although the CD is very short with poor quality sound I am really pleased that I discovered it and finally heard Fairport Convention fifty years after they played in my home town of Peterborough. Thank you very much Anders Folke for making this historic recording back in the mists of time all those years ago.

THE END.

Neil & Pegi Young - Comes a Time - Neil Young's Bridge School 2013

Very sorry to hear that Neil Young's former wife Pegi has died aged 66.

Pretty Things & Van Morrison: Baby Please Don't Go/ I Can Tell. Indigo, ...

Pretty Things Final Bow.

I wouldn’t claim to be a huge fan of The Pretty Things although I remember their few hit songs in the 60’s and when I bought my ticket for this concert a few months ago I also got their legendary album S.F.Sorrow intending to get really acquainted with it as it came out exactly 50 years ago and I knew it would be a large part of the night’s performance. I think the main reason I bought my ticket was that Van Morrison was to be a special guest and I thought it would be fun to see Van play with a different band. Also, Bill Nighy was supposed to be the M.C. for the evening. As it turned out Bill had filming commitments and couldn’t attend. His place was taken by Arthur Brown. I don’t think I have seen Arthur Brown since Peterborough Cloud 9 club in 1970. The last time I went to the O2 in London I swore I would never go back because it was too big and soulless, but tonight’s concert was in a smaller venue inside the dome called Indigo which I hoped would be a lot better.

In the queue outside I spotted Ivan from Northern Ireland  who I hadn’t seen since a concert at the RAH a few years ago. He told me that Alan was in the bar opposite, so I went in the Slug & Lettuce where I found Alan & Simon & Sandra. Later on in the venue I met Brendan from Dublin and Pamela & Chris whose faces I recognised from previous Van gigs in London. I was pleased that I met a few Van fans. I was glad that I had a seat as well because it turned out to be a long evening of three sets. The first set was the present Pretty Things line-up and I really enjoyed it because I think I knew several of the songs. I particularly liked the playing of Dick Taylor who was actually an original member of the Rolling Stones before he formed the Pretty Things with vocalist Phil May. This was Set One- Honey I Need, Don't Bring Me Down, Buzz the Jerk, Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut, Get the Picture?, The Same Sun, Alexander, Defecting Grey, Big Boss Man, Midnight To Six Man, Mr Evasion.

In Set Two they were joined by Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame on guitar. This set also had previous members of the band to perform tracks from S.F. Sorrow.  This was Set 2, Scene One, S.F. Sorrow Is Born, She Says Good Morning, Baron Saturday, Trust, I See You, Cries From the Midnight Circus. I was getting tired and impatient by the end of that set although most of the audience were loving it, so I shouldn’t complain. Finally, during the third set they were joined by Van Morrison for three songs. This was the highlight of the evening for me and rarely has Baby Please Don’t Go sounded so good. Seeing Van play live with a top British R&B band from the 60’s gives you some idea of what it must have been like to see Van’s band Them all those years ago. This was Set Three, I Can't Be Satisfied, Come On in My Kitchen, Baby, Please Don't Go, I Can Tell, You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover, Come See Me, Mona, Pretty Thing, Who Do You Love, L.S.D.

Towards the end of that set I went downstairs to see if I could find any of my friends. There seemed to be about eight people on stage by now including two drummers. There was a  long drum solo that I really didn’t need by now. After that the band came back for an encore. I enjoyed Rosalyn but then decided I’d had enough and they were closing the bar so I left. That turned out to be a big mistake because later in the pub where I met Alan for a last drink, he told me that Van returned to sing Road Runner with the band & Dave Gilmour. Encore, Rosalyn, Road Runner, Loneliest Person.

When the pub closed I wandered off to find my hotel on some desolate corner of the Greenwich peninsula and I was pleased that I made the effort to go and see The Pretty Things take their final bow.

                                                                THE END.