Joanie

After I spoke to you yesterday the intention was to go out to the shops and later the pub, but in the end I thought there was no real reason to venture out in the cold, so I had another quiet day indoors, reading my new book (which I might finish by Sunday evening) and watching the TV. There wasn’t a lot on worth watching to be quite honest. After the second episode of The Traitors the highlight for me was a 1965 BBC concert by Joan Baez. This was to celebrate the fact that next week on January 9^th Joan (or Joanie as Bob Dylan likes to call her!) reaches the age of 85. The concert was most enjoyable. You can find it on Youtube.  

There is no denying that Joan has a wonderful, almost operatic voice, clear as a bell. Also, despite my eclectic taste in music I am at heart a folkie fan of singer-songwriters, although primarily Joan is an interpreter of other people’s songs and traditional ballads. The concert included such trad type songs as Mary Hamilton, Plasir D’Amour, Silver Dagger, We Shall Overcome. 500 Miles, and The Unquiet Grave, a sprinkling of Dylan songs, With God On Our Side, Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright, and It Ain’t Me Babe. (She didn’t sing my favourite Joanie Dylan song though which is Farewell Angelina, so to make up for the disappointment I found a video from 66 on Youtube and shared below).

I did notice a few differences to BBC concerts these days. Firstly, some of the audience were smoking. That would be a big no no in today’s world. Secondly, I have always admired Joan for her political views. As a child Joan was subjected to racial abuse due to her Mexican heritage which coupled with her Quaker upbringing made her very aware of social injustice, Civil Rights, and non-violent protest. To this very day she has never been shy of standing up for what she believes in. In between the songs of the 1965 BBC concert she made a few anti-establishment statements. The Vietnam war was at its height and Joan said those politicians who ordered the bombing were murderers. I don’t think these days the BBC would have the courage to broadcast someone like Joan. There would be calls in the right-wing press for the BBC directors to resign for showing such a lack of  impartiality. It would cause outrage. Just look at the row this year when they broadcast Bob Vylan and Kneecap at Glastonbury. I think the Beeb was more enlightened back in the 60s. Anyway, that was last night, I don’t know what today will bring. It is a Wolf Moon tonight, so I’ll try and look out for that. See you later.

PS,  I just put the BBC News on and heard that the USA has attacked Venezuela and captured the President and his wife. Hmm, I wonder what Joan would say about that.  

Joan baez - Farewell Angelina 1965

Slan Le Van

A cold but sunny morning, sun streaming through the windows warming the kitchen. The ragged Tibetan flags fluttering in the breeze outside. A CD chosen randomly plays. It is by John Hoban gifted by my late brother Paul over twenty years ago. John Hoban is a native of Castlebar County Mayo in Ireland which is where my family came from. so, I can relate to the songs which transport me back to memories of Mayo. My favourite track however was inspired when John saw Van Morrison in a concert that became one of Van’s live albums, A Night In San Francisco in 1993, and that’s the track I want to tell you about. It is called Slan Le Van which translated from Irish means Farewell To Van. Sharon Shannon also recorded a great version of this song in 2000 with John on vocals for her Diamond Mountain Sessions album (See video below). 

Looking for the lyrics on the internet I couldn’t find any, but the song mentions people like Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson, Jimmy Witherspoon and Georgie Fame. Van songs name checked include Full Force Gale, Did Ye Get Healed, Moondance, Madame George, Brand New Day, Tupelo Honey, Domino, Cyprus Avenue, Baby Please Don’t Go, and ends with John exclaiming ‘It’s too late to stop now’. I think it must be my favourite song which mentions Van. After listening to the whole album, I was shaken out of my Mayo reverie by the post lady knocking on the door who handed me a parcel containing a book.  I’ll tell you all about that when I have read it.

Slan le Van by Sharon Shannon & John Hoban

A Fresh Start.

Viburnum

Another new year has begun. I’m full of good intentions as usual. I’ll try and write something most days even if nothing particularly interesting is occurring. I didn’t get up today until about 11.00. That’s because I was up late last night watching Jools Holland’s annual Hootenanny. I didn’t think it was very good this year and gave up on it before the end and watched Rod Stewart at Glastonbury 2025 on BBC 1. I witnessed that performance at Glasto and it didn’t improve by watching it on the television either. It was a nice sunny, but cold morning when I did emerge. The News headline was terrible with a deadly fire at a Swiss ski resort. To get some fresh air I ventured down the garden to see how my fish were. They seemed quite happy in their little watery pooliverse. I topped up the pond and gave them some food. 

Snow Dance

Apart from that it looked quite desolate in the garden as you would expect in the bleak midwinter. Three plants lifted my spirits. There was a nice viburnum shrub covered in white flowers, a Helleborus called Snow Dance, and by the back door an attractive evergreen with red foliage called Skimmia. I took their photos before I came in out of the cold. I did notice when I was out there that the fence is in a shocking state of disrepair. My little shed is beginning to fall apart as well. That is a couple of jobs for me to do before Spring, if I can get motivated. At 3.00 I put on Talksport Radio because my team Peterborough United (The Posh) were playing away to Rotherham. Posh won 0-2 and moved up to 11^th in the table. There is a new series of Traitors starting tonight at 8.00, so that will be my evening’s entertainment. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Skimmia.

Down In The Valley by Charlotte Greig.

Today I thought I’d tell you about an album that I’m listening to at this very moment. The mood of it is quite fitting for this cold and cloudy December day. It is called Down In The Valley by Charlotte Greig recorded in 1999. I discovered her music while reading about another singer Anne Briggs. The article said that Anne was an influence on Charlotte, so I checked Charlotte out on YouTube and decided to order an album. I also discovered that Charlotte Greig was a bit of a polymath. As well as being a singer songwriter, she was also a playwright, novelist, and journalist.  On this recording there are eight songs written by Charlotte plus four traditional songs. As well as singing, Charlotte also plays harmonium and dulcimer which reminded me of Nico and Joni Mitchell. I did read that Charlotte also cited Nico as an influence. She is accompanied by Julian Hayman on guitar; there is also bass and drums.

The opening song Trees has a pastoral and melancholy mood and contains samples of a traditional folk song The Trees They Do Grow High sung by Walter Pardon. Trees are a recurring theme through several of these songs. The Cruel Mother is a traditional song that has been recorded by many artists over the years including Shirley Collins, Joan Baez and my personal favourite Anne Briggs. The title song Down In The Valley to my ears is the most accessible song on first listen with the title being the refrain last line of every verse. Black Name is quite a brooding song as the title would suggest. Take Me Home is an intimate love song (See video below) The next track The Wondrous Cross is a well-known hymn written by Isaac Watts in 1707. House Of Pain and Here I Stand continue the mood of underlying melancholy that pervades many of the songs. 

I much prefer To Make You Stay composed by Lal Waterson who I have written about previously on this site. The Bells Of Paradise is another trad song given a drone like arrangement by Charlotte. All Through The Night is like a sister song to Down In The Valley where high trees are again mentioned. Shadows as well as trees are a recurring image throughout these songs as in Shadows In A Dream  a short and sweet song to bring the album to a close. Sadly, Charlotte died at the relatively young age of 59 which is a tragic loss because she was obviously a very talented creative artist in many fields of expression. I was pleased to see on Wikipedia that both her sons are musicians as well. I have enjoyed listening to her music again this afternoon. 

However, I suspect that this recording doesn’t represent her best work. I wonder if listeners who are more familiar with her work than me would consider it one of the best of her six albums. I say that because when I first searched her music on youtube I liked other songs like Rosalie, I Wish, I Wish, Seven Seas, and Twin Stars (Shared Below) more than many of the songs on Down In The Valley. I don’t regret buying this album though and am very grateful to have discovered her music. Listen to the videos below and decide for yourself. Cheers.

Charlotte Greig Take Me Home