A friend messaged me today with the sad news that Judy
Dyble has died aged 71. Judy was the original singer in Fairport
Convention. She is also known for the band Trader Horne and she
recorded with Giles, Giles & Fripp who later became King Crimson.
She also made some excellent solo albums. I was interviewed on Radio
Cambridgeshire a couple of years ago about the music scene in Peterborough and
they asked me to choose a song which reminded me of the Cloud 9 club in the
early 70’s. I chose Jenny May from the Morning Way album by Trader Horne because I saw that band
give a memorable performance at Cloud 9. I messaged Judy about that interview,
and she listened to it and was really pleased and thanked me. I am now
listening to Morning Way. I have written a couple of reviews of Judy’s work
previously, so I thought I would dust them off by way of a tribute to a very nice
talented lady.
Summer Dancing by Judy Dyble & Andy Lewis. I
didn’t know this album was even being released until I saw it in my local
record shop. I expected the album would be a sort of simple folky thing with
male & female vocals and acoustic guitar. I was pleasantly surprised to
find it is nothing like I imagined. It is a sophisticated lush production. Andy
would appear to be the production wizard. I liked the album from the first
track He Said / She Said. As an old hippy from way back I loved the
psychedelic sound and even the birdsong mixed into the song. Judy’s voice
reminds me a little bit of Vashti Bunyan who I also like. She has not got the
strongest voice, but she uses it very effectively and enunciates every word
beautifully. Judy’s voice is haunting
& beguiling. To my ears her voice is as good now as it was in the olden
days with Trader Horne. I loved the jazzy keyboards on Night Of A Thousand
Hours. This album is on the Acid Jazz label which seems quite appropriate.
Another track that stands out for me is A Net Of Memories (London) with
the sounds of London crowds and even radio traffic reports cleverly mixed in
very evocatively. My Electric Chauffeur is very upbeat with drums to the
fore and Treasure has a very lush production with a nice rhythmical sequence. I
enjoyed every single track on this album. The vocals are great and the
production first class. It is awash with violas, recorders, glockenspiel, hand
drums, timbale, guitars, synthesizers, & percussion. A most enjoyable album
indeed. Well done to all involved in the project.
Morning Way by Trader Horne.
A band that made a real impression on me at Cloud 9 were
Trader Horne. That was on March 15th, 1970 over 50 years ago. I know the date
because I looked it up on the internet. I was already a big fan of Fairport
Convention. Trader Horne were Judy Dyble who was the original singer with
Fairport and Jackie McAuley who had been a member of Them with Van
Morrison. After Judy left Fairport, she was a member of Giles.Giles and Fripp
who became King Crimson. After Van Morrison left Them, they carried on for a
while eventually becoming the Belfast Gypsies who were quite popular on the
continent and made three albums. When
they broke up Jackie roamed around Europe and Morocco for a while before
meeting up with Judy in Notting Hill and forming Trader Horne. The night I saw
them they were very tired, but still performed a great show. Jackie asked the
audience if anyone could put them up for the night. They had played at Van
Dyke's in Plymouth the night before and had driven all the way to Peterborough
which is a long way and Jackie had done all the driving.
They had just released their album Morning Way and
after seeing them that night I meant to buy it, but I never did. There was so
much great music about in those days somehow, I never got around to buying
that album. Forty-one long years went by until one night I stumbled across them
on YouTube and I wondered if their album was available and lo and behold it
was. I think because of the internet it is becoming worthwhile for record
companies to re-release little known gems from the past and with pay-pal you
can pay instantly and a couple of days later a CD plops through your letter
box, voila! What could be easier? so I treated myself to Trader Horne's album.
I must say it is quite magical. The opening track Jenny May is very
catchy, I think Jackie wanted to write a children's album originally. The next
two tracks are quite Tolkienesque, The Children Of Oare with the sounds
of waves crashing on the shore. and Three Rings For Elven Kings. The
next track really reminded me of The Incredible String Band's The Hangman's
Beautiful Daughter, an album Judy actually sang on. Growing Man is a
great song with Judy and Jackie sharing vocals. The next track is called Down
And Out Blues which is an old Bessie Smith song and I think although it is
sung superbly by Judy it doesn't quite fit in on this album.
The next song is The
Mixed Up Kind which has some nice harpsichord and I ought to mention
that Ray Elliot and John Wilson from Them
play on this album. Better Than
Today is the next track featuring some nice flute playing. In My
Loneliness is a wonderful song and Sheena is catchy and was released
as a single. It is great pop music. I have seen this album described as
Acid-Folk. The Mutant is very psychedelic, a brilliant piece of work. Morning
Way the title track is next with Judy and Jackie sharing vocals. Velvet
To Atone was co-written by Judy and Martin Quittinton who went on to
write Maggie May with Rod Stewart. Like That Never Was is another upbeat
song with amazing vocals. Here Comes The Rain and Goodbye Mercy Kelly
are great songs to end the album, The album is very pastoral, very English but
the last track is very Irish. Such a shame this album didn't get the
recognition it deserved when it came out. I have enjoyed listening to
this record and I'm pleased I finally got around to buying it 41 years after
seeing the band live.
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