The Turning Tide by P.P. Arnold.

Saturday morning. It has rained constantly for hours. I won’t be going anywhere today. I have only left the house twice in the last 10 days. Once to go to the shops and once for a bike ride. Social media has been my only contact with the outside world apart from a couple of phone calls. At least there is no danger of getting COVID-19 whilst banged up in here. I quite like it in a way because I have saved loads of money and not drinking has done me good. I feel better for it. I have treated myself to a couple of CDs. The first one arrived yesterday, and I am listening to it at this very moment. It is called The Turning Tide by P.P. Arnold. I came across this album the night Joe Biden was projected as the next American President. After four years of the Trump nightmare it seemed like a brand-new day. I wanted to share the Van Morrison song of that title with my Facebook friends. On YouTube I stumbled across a version of Brand New Day by PP Arnold which I listened to and thought was great. As well as her soulful voice I thought the backing musicians were excellent, so that was the version I shared. I wanted to hear more of the album from whence it came and when looking on eBay found an unplayed promotional copy for sale and bought it.

I will just tell you a little bit about P.P. Arnold in case you have not heard of her. She was born in 1946 in Los Angeles. In 1965 she joined The Ikettes who were the backing singers for Ike & Tina Turner. In 1966 while in London on tour with the Rolling Stones she quit the Ikettes and stayed in London to establish a solo career. She liked the way that black musicians were treated in London as opposed to the USA. Mick Jagger was a friend and helped her get a recording contract with Immediate Records which was owned by the Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. The Small Faces were also on Immediate and they worked with her and she had a brief love affair with Steve Marriott the Faces singer and guitarist. Her first backing band were The Nice who featured Keith Emerson on keyboards. This is when I first heard of P.P. Arnold because she recorded some classic singles on Immediate. My favourite was her version of Cat Stevens’s The First Cut Is The Deepest. Angel Of The Morning was another great song.

With The Small Faces.

Sadly, Immediate Records went bust in the late 60’s. P.P. Arnold signed a deal with Robert Stigwood who was also the manager of The Bee Gees and Eric Clapton. She went into the studio with Barry Gibb as producer to record an album. Two singles were released, but the album never saw the light of day until incredibly it was released 46 years later in 2017. That is the album that popped through my letterbox yesterday. When I looked at the sleeve notes I realised why the backing musicians on Brand New Day sounded so good. This album is packed with talented musicians. They include Eric Clapton, Jim Gordon, Bobby Whitlock, Bobby Keys, Rita Coolidge and Doris Troy. A lot of these musicians would become members of Derek And The Dominos. There are also beautiful arrangements by Bill Shepherd. Six of the songs called, Born To Be Free’, ‘Bury Me Down By The River’, ‘Give A Hand, Take A Hand’, ‘Happiness’, ‘The Turning Tide and High and Windy Mountain are written by Barry Gibb. I have never been a great fan of his, but her powerful singing and the great musicians make the songs something special. 

There is a great cover of Steve Winwood’s Medicated Goo, Spinning Wheel, which was originally by Blood, Sweat & Tears, as was You’ve Made Me So Very Happy. There is also a splendid version of The Stones You Can’t Always Get What You Want. There are two songs which P.P. Arnold co-wrote with Caleb Quaye called If This Were My World’ and Children Of The Last War. It would be hard to pick a favourite song after two listens, but It is probably Brand New Day because I’m biased. What this album tells me is that P.P. Arnold is one of the great soul singers with a spiritually and emotionally uplifting voice and sadly underrated. I might be wrong, but I bet in her native USA hardly anyone has heard of her. Listening to this CD on a dark and rainy Saturday in the middle of a pandemic has lifted my spirits, so I am pleased I stumbled across The Turning Tide by P.P Arnold. PS,While I was writing this story the post lady delivered another CD which I’ll tell you about later.

The Bicycle Diaries, Chapter 1.

I had not ventured out of the house for six long days. We have been back in lockdown since last Thursday. I went to the pub last Wednesday evening for two pints of cider and did not go out again until today. I haven’t seen another living soul or had a drink since. I am going to see if I can get through until December without alcohol. It will do me good and It is no fun drinking on your own indoors is it? Also, it might help get rid of my fat belly. Another reason I haven’t been out is because although the weather has been mild it has been quite rainy.

Chalford or bust!

This afternoon however, the sun came out and I motivated myself to go out for a bike ride as I desperately needed some fresh air and exercise. I gave my tyres some air and off I went. I headed up Alfred Street, crossed the main road and went up Newtown heading for the White Horse. By the time I got to the countryside I was sweating and tired. I am really out of shape. I couldn’t face the uphill struggle to the White Horse, so had a sit down on a bench and reassessed the situation. Just before the equestrian centre there is a lane to the right. I had never been along there but decided to explore it and see where I ended up. It was very muddy in places after the recent rain but quite pleasant. I said hello to a few dog walkers and people on horse back and the trees looked great in all their autumnal glory.

I eventually emerged on the main road at Chalford. I could have freewheeled back down into Westbury, but I had only been out for about half an hour, so I crossed the road and headed for Old Dilton. I had been this way a few weeks ago, so when I got to a turn off for Upton Scudamore I headed up there. It became too much like hard work though, going uphill. “I’ll save that for another day”, I thought to myself, and turned back. At a place called Hisomley I turned right and hurtled downhill to Westbury Leigh. I noticed that the church clock said it was nearly 3.00. I had been out for 90 minutes. “That will do for today”, I told myself and headed home for a well-deserved cup of tea. I felt quite pleased with myself for making the effort to get out and about. I'll try and go a bit further next time.

Laura Marling, Song For Our Daughter.

Song For Our Daughter is the seventh album by Laura Marling. I had been meaning to listen to her for years because she is always being nominated for prizes and being voted top female singer at the Brit awards and receiving great critical acclaim. I had been prejudiced against her because she is the daughter of a baronet and had a genteel upbring in Berkshire which did not appeal to my socialist sensibilities. That is very unfair though, people should have a chance in life whatever their background! It was not her fault. Anyway, finally I have bought a Laura Marling album. I suppose the first thing to say is that Laura has not actually got a daughter, she is fictitious. Wikipedia told me that the title song was inspired by a book by Maya Angelou called Letter To My Daughter.

The album has a very stripped back sound with just guitar and percussion which gives it a very intimate feel. On some tracks there are some exquisite string arrangements by Robert Moose. The opening song is the strange and haunting Alexandra. Apparently, this is based on a Leonard Cohen song called Alexandra Leaving. You wonder who Alexandra was, maybe a previous lover of her partner. ‘Where did Alexandra go? Is the mysterious refrain. Laura’s pure vocals are quite sublime. Held Down is one of my favourite tracks. It is so good that I have played it over and over. It is the shimmering layered harmonies of Laura’s own voice that make it so great, where the last word of every verse is repeated several times. It reminds me very much of Parallelograms by Linda Perhacs, another album I like. Strange Girl is an upbeat song with lots of percussion. I am not sure what it is about, but seems quite sneering of pretentious people, ‘Oh girl, don’t bullshit me’ is one line. The gentle guitar sound of Only The Strong Survive reminds me slightly of Simon & Garfunkel. Blow By Blow is a very sad song which has a beautiful string accompaniment. The title track Song For Our Daughter is next. You can see the subtle influence of  an older generation of musicians like McCartney, Cohen, Dylan and especially Joni Mitchell all over this album. I think her parents record collection must have had a big influence on Laura.

Fortune is another of the great songs. It is an incredibly sad song which mentions her mothers running away fund which she never had the courage to use. Laura’s vocal performance is fabulous. The End Of The Affair is the name of a novel by Grahame Greene and the title of the next song. Laura is obviously a well-read lady. She mentions books in several songs. There is a character called ‘Max’ in this song. I wonder who he is based on? The penultimate song is Hope We Meet Again which for me has very enigmatic lyrics. I must confess that I don't understand the lyrics in a lot of the songs. You won't find songs about the big issues of the day. These are very introspective songs. I have read that Laura has been studying psychoanalysis. Healing inner trauma seems to be her interest. The album ends with the simple and charming For You which has Laura’s boyfriend humming along in harmony. It features some nice electric guitar and brings this album to a pleasant and positive end. This is a wonderful album. You will be rewarded by playing it several times. It grows on you. I should have mentioned that the acoustic guitar playing is excellent and Laura’s voice is the best I have heard in a long time. Congratulations to Laura Marling on this great album. I have shared Held Down from YouTube to this blogsite if you want to hear it.

Laura Marling - Held Down (Official Audio)

The Writing On The Wall.

My story begins about five days ago. A friend on Facebook posted a video of Dick Gaughan singing The World Turned Upside Down. I love this song which tells the story of The Diggers who in 1649 occupied common land on St George’s Hill in Surrey because they believed the land was a treasury for all to share. Listening to the song again made me curious about the person who wrote it in 1975. His name is Leon Rosselson. I looked up Leon on Wikipedia and listened to his songs on Youtube. There could be no doubt that Leon’s heart was in the right place. I read that he had worked and recorded with Roy Bailey so that led me to reading about Roy. He has been described as ‘the very soul of folk’s working-class ideals’ I was really impressed and decided to buy an album. When I looked on eBay to see what was available I stumbled across a live CD which Roy had recorded at the Cambridge Folk Festival in 2003 with none other than the great Tony Benn. It is called The Writing On The Wall. Not only that, but it is also signed by Tony & Roy. “This is the one for me”, I thought to myself and clicked Buy. 

Just in case you live in a faraway country and don’t know who Tony Benn is, I’ll just give you a quick few details about him. He was born in 1925 as Anthony Wedgewood Benn, a member of the aristocracy and educated at Westminster School. He became a member of the Labour Party and elected to Parliament. However, when his father died he became Viscount Stansgate which barred him from sitting in the House Of Commons because he was a lord. He fought for years to renounce his title until finally an act of parliament allowed him to become Tony Benn and become an MP. He was one of the great figures of British politics and probably the only minister to become more left wing when in office. He was a great friend of Glastonbury Festival as well and opened the Leftfield Stage in 2002. His speeches at Glastonbury were hugely popular.

As it is another rainy day, I have been in the kitchen listening to the CD. I see the previous owner has included a ticket for Tony & Roy’s concert at Beverley Folk Festival in 2008 which is where they must have got the CD signed. It is a very enjoyable listen indeed. Tony tells stories from British history such as the Peasants Revolt and The Civil War and the international struggle for democracy, human rights, freedom and peace. Roy sings songs relating to the struggle, such as the story of Abeizer Coppe  who was a prominent ranter who were a 17^th century dissenting group. Also, Roy sings The Ballad Of Vic Williams who was a conscientious objector who refused to fight in the Iraq war. There is a lot of humour in their performance as well. Tony was a very witty, intelligent, and articulate man and Roy sings with humour songs such as Corvette Stingray about a woman who sells her husbands car for next to nothing when he is unfaithful.

Tony speaking at Glastonbury.

Sadly, Tony died in 2014 aged 88 and Roy passed away aged 83 in 2018. Their legacy lives on though. When you look at the world today it can be depressing. A world where billionaire oligarchs are supported by corrupt politicians and tax avoiding press barons. There is always hope though. I was pleased to see the Labour Party sweep to power in New Zealand this week which shows that socialism can be popular. Even in this world of climate change, Covid 19, war and poverty there is hope. As Tony Benn once said, “Hope is the fuel of progress and fear is the prison in which you put yourself”. That is why I am encouraged and glad I listened to this CD today.

75 Van Songs by Stuart Bailie

A new book arrived at my house yesterday called 75 Van Songs by Stuart Bailie. A nice hardback book of 178 pages with an attractive dust jacket and lavishly illustrated with great black and white photos. It celebrates the work of Van Morrison to mark this milestone year in his life. The writer Stuart Bailie has had a long career as a music journalist and is a former assistant editor at NME and author of several books. He is based in Belfast and his choice of songs is very Belfast and Northern Ireland oriented which is not surprising, but other places which have also inspired Van such as London, USA, Denmark and the west of England do get a look in as well. As it was a dark and rainy day yesterday I stayed at home and read the book in one sitting. I was pleased to learn something new straight away in Stuart’s introduction. On the original recording of Madame George that later appeared on the TB Sheets album you can hear an Irish voice (presumably Van) who says, ‘Get yer fur boots on, what about big Aggie’. I had forgotten about this for decades until recently when Bronagh Gallagher repeated it on her version of And The Healing Has Begun in a video for Hot Press magazine’s recent celebration of Van. Apparently, Aggie is a generic Belfast character made famous by a comedian called James Young. I am grateful that mystery has been solved for me.

Down the Cyprus Avenue.

This is not a countdown of Stuart’s favourite 75 Van songs. It is his choice of 75 songs which relate to him in a personal way and show how Van’s work is influenced by his surroundings. They are arranged alphabetically, from Across The Bridge Where Angels Dwell to You Know What They’re Writing About. I don’t always agree with Stuart’s interpretation of the songs and lyrics, but that is ok because the listener is entitled to find whatever meaning they want in the music and even Van himself has said that he sometimes doesn’t know where the songs came from either. However, it is interesting to read other people’s point of view, and you can learn something new. For instance, I always thought that the term fair play was an Irish expression, but apparently it can be found in Shakespeare’s plays. I  thought that Connswater was just an enjoyable instrumental track and Van merely gave it that title because he had to call it something, so named it after a local river. Stuart though sees deeper meanings and connects it to the Orange Order and the summer marching season. He might have a point, but that had never occurred to me because I like to think Van transcends all that sectarian stuff.

I especially enjoyed reading Stuart’s view of Cyprus Avenue with the references to William Blake and comparing Cyprus Avenue to Peckham Rye where Blake saw angels in trees. Angels frequently appear in Van songs as well. I also liked Stuart’s explanation of the immobile steel rims because I have often pondered the meaning of that. When I finished reading I was surprised when I realised that Stuart only chose one song from after 2005 which is Dark Night Of The Soul. I think Van has produced some great songs since then, but it is Stuart's book, not mine. The best benefit of reading this book yesterday for me was that it got me listening to Van again. While reading the book I listened to Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart, St Dominic’s Preview and Beautiful Vision. I had not played any Van for a few weeks because I have been a bit annoyed recently with Van’s views on the lockdown and his demands for capacity audiences at concerts again. As most of his fans are in a high-risk age group that would be a recipe for disaster in my opinion. The lockdown songs he has produced are a low point in his career and best forgotten. Stuart’s book is a reminder of the fabulous body of work that Van has produced during his long career, and that is what is important. Thank you, Stuart Bailie for a most enjoyable read.

What Joni Mitchell Did In Frome.

A couple of weeks ago while I was researching another story I was reading about all the people who had recorded at the Wool Hall studio which is just down the road from here. As well as Van Morrison and Tears For Fears who both owned the studio at different times, many other artists used The Wool Hall during its time as a recording studio. The Smiths recorded their final album there in 1987 and Morrissey his first solo album called Viva Hate. Other artists who used the studio included Annie Lennox, The Pretenders, David Sylvian, Sisters of Mercy, 808 State, Stereophonics, and Paul Weller. 

Wool Hall, Beckington.

The one that really made me sit up and take notice though was Joni Mitchell. I wondered why would an international superstar like Joni Mitchell who would have had the finest state of the art studios in Los Angeles or New York at her disposal come to a rural backwater like the village of Beckington to work? I did a bit more digging and discovered that the reason for Joni being here was that her husband at the time was bass player & producer Larry Klein who came here to work on an album with Ben Orr formerly of the band The Cars. Joni took advantage of the situation and began work on songs for an album that was released in 1988 called Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm. Only part of the album was recorded at the Wool Hall. I also found a radio interview that Joni gave to David Jensen in which she said that she lived in Frome near Beckington from January to June 1987. I decided to order the CD which arrived yesterday. I was a huge Joni Mitchell fan at one time. It is almost exactly fifty years ago in the summer of 70 that I bought Ladies Of The Canyon which remains a favourite album, as does Blue which is one of the greatest albums ever, in my opinion. I gradually started to lose interest after that. I think before this week the last time I bought a Joni Mitchell album was 1977 with Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter which I soon tired of. I think my problem was that I liked the simple folky sound of just Joni, her songs and her guitar or piano. A great artist though needs to grow, Joni got interested more in exploring rhythms and drum sounds and what modern technology could offer, such as synthesisers. She became more jazz influenced as well, which I was not ready for at the time. 

Ashcombe House, Bath.

When I played Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm for the first time yesterday I recognised the first song My Secret Place because I remember the video she made with Peter Gabriel. Joni became friendly with Peter because her husband and Ben Orr both worked on Peter’s album called So. Peter had just finished recording that album and offered Joni the use of his home studio. This was nearby at Ashcombe House on the outskirts of Bath. This was in the days before Peter built his famous Real World Studios in the village of Box. I know Ashcombe House because I went there one afternoon. I had a friend in Bradford On Avon who knew Peter and did occasional work for him. One day Pete wanted some furniture moving and we went over there in a van to do the job. Sadly, I did not get to meet Peter that day, but I had a look in the studio. Anyway, it is a nice quite sensuous love song duet to open the album. 

The second song is called Number One and is all about the pressures of fame. Ben Orr plays on this track which suggests to me it is a Wool Hall recording. I like Lakota because it tells a story. It is about the Lakota Native American tribe and the Wounded Knee & Pine Ridge incidents which I just read about on Wikipedia. There are a lot of guest musicians on this album, Don Henley features here. You can also hear chanting by Iron Eyes Cody. When I read about him, it was quite interesting because all his life he had claimed to be Native American and always dressed in the native garb, but when he died it was revealed that he was Italian. His parents came from Sicily. The Tea Leaf Prophecy, Lay Down your Arms is a song about Joni’s parents and how they met. Wendy & Lisa from Prince’s band The Revolution sing on this track. The unlikely figure of Billy Idol sings on Dancin’ Clown. Tom Petty and Thomas Dolby also play on this track which mentions Rowdy Yates who was played by Clint Eastwood in Rawhide on the telly. I like it, and I also like Cool Water in which Joni reworks an old cowboy song to great effect. What I really like about it is a cameo appearance by the great voice of Willie Nelson. The Beat Of Black Wings is a great anti-war song which tell the story of a damaged soldier called Killer Kyle who can’t get the sound of helicopter rotor blades out of his head. Don Henley shares the vocals on Snakes & Ladders which is a kind of his and her type song. The Reoccurring Dream is a scathing attack on the consumer society in which Joni cleverly samples TV adverts which promise happiness if you buy stupid products. A Bird That Whistles is Joni rewriting the traditional song Corrina Corrina.

I have listened to the album twice now and I really like it. I am pleased that Joni put the time she spent here to such good use. I am glad I bought it. I think it has renewed my interest in Joni Mitchell’s music. I feel sorry for Joni because she has suffered with ill health in recent years, so I hope she is recovered, and I will certainly listen to more of her albums in the future.