Memoirs Of A Beatnik.

I had to go to Bath again today, but the weather was a far cry from last Thursday. The temperature had dropped, one minute it would be sunny and the next minute it would be hailstones. After I had completed the business which brought me to Bath I went for a walk around town. The streets were quite deserted because of the weather. There were no buskers to stop and listen to. It wasn’t a complete waste of time though. In the Julian House shop in Walcot Street I found a nice copy of Memoirs Of A Beatnik by Diane Di Prima. I like anything ‘Beat’ but I hadn’t seen this book before. It is a novel written in 1969 but this edition was published in 2002. It is a fictionalised erotic account of her own life. I first became aware of Diane through her reading a couple of her poems at The Last Waltz concert with The Band. You can find a video below of that if you want.

Also, in the Dorothy House shop I found a signed hardback copy of Frazzled by Ruby Wax. It is in a mint condition, so I was well pleased with that. Both of those books will go in my shop in the next few days. After that I headed for the station because I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I started to read my Beatnik book on the way home. Diane certainly had an interesting life. I went for a couple of drinks and a game of pool this evening and that was the end of rainy Tuesday.

Diane Di Prima at The Last Waltz.

The Gardener

Review: Gypsy Blood by Tamsin Quin.

It’s Sunday morning and I’m listening to Gypsy Blood by Tamsin Quin. Tamsin is a young singer-songwriter from just up the road from here, Devizes in Wiltshire. I first heard Tamsin when she supported Beth Orton a couple of weeks ago in Frome. I was very impressed. I’m guessing that it was the biggest audience that she had ever played to, but she didn’t seem at all fazed by it and it must have been great for her that the audience actually listened to the songs which doesn’t always happen when you are the support act. I had a quick word with Tamsin during the interval and said I would write a review of the album, but I have been so busy lately that I’ve only just got around to it.

Tamsin in Frome

The opening track is called Searching and is a very upbeat cheerful country flavoured song. I should mention the contributions of guitar bass and cello of Lucas Drinkwater are very impressive on this album. We Are Home is much simpler with just Tamsin’s acoustic guitar, bass & drums, but very effective as is the next track Fearless. Upwards For Me has a much fuller sound with mellatron strings & vibes added. It is a very positive song about getting on with life after a disappointment.

The album takes a quantum leap then with Jennifer. This is the song that first made me pay attention when I heard it in Frome. It has a haunting quality and the line ‘I will find you one of these days’ lingers in the mind. I believe it was inspired by a book called Engleby by Sebastian Faulks. The cello adds to the brooding atmosphere of this song. I have shared a nice video of this song below which also shows some of our beautiful Wiltshire countryside as well. Seventeen is also a great song that tells a sad story of empty lives and broken dreams. The title track Gypsy Blood is next and is very simple with just acoustic guitars and upright bass but less is often more as in this case. I like the mention of October Skies which reminded me of Moondance by Van Morrison. The final track is Leaving In The Night which is a nice song to end the album with. I should mention the piano and vibes playing of Jon Buckett to the album and his production as well.

I have really enjoyed listening to this album this Sunday morning. I hope we hear more from Tamsin Quin. Tamsin has her own facebook page if you want to check out the album and find out about future gigs.