10 years ago, on the morning of June 24th, we all woke up to the result of the UK referendum on EU membership. And the phrase 'Brexit' embedded itself into our lives. I think I can safely say the 90s music that was labelled 'Britpop' was significantly more fun. 

So if the result from that morning came as a surprise, today's Star Track artist may also be somewhat unexpected. It's Robbie Williams ! With a single from his chart topping album 'Britpop', released earlier this year (see what I did there). 

Sounding like Liam and Oasis, the song 'All My Life' did not enter the UK Singles Chart but made No. 44 on UK downloads and No. 50 on UK sales charts ! Whatever that means ?
The single come out at the time of Robbie's ‘Britpop’ album release. Which made No.1 on the Album Chart Top 100, but then disappeared after just 3 weeks ! So you could have easily missed it. How different and transient charts are nowadays. Take it away Robbie >

   

I really like it when this happens...

A couple of weeks ago, after my Folk filled 'Star Tracks' in May, I got an email from Roy Maggs. He'd enjoyed them and asked if I'd heard of the singer Kate Wolf. I hadn't and promptly gave a listen to the songs he suggested I check out. And so here we are today.

One of those songs 'The Redtail Hawk' from a live release in 1983 is just wonderful. 

Kate Wolf, who sadly passed away in 1986 aged just 44, performed with Nina Gerber from 1979 and a number of her songs have been covered by Nanci Griffith and Emmylou Harris among others.

‘Redtail Hawk writes songs across the sky’ - is a song written by George Schroder and is the main part of the track ‘Pacheco / Redtail Kite’. As a 9 minute mood scape, it's 2 mins of 'Pacheco' then we're into Kate singing 'The Redtail Kite' with some fantastic mandolin playing from Nina Gerber, a violin solo from David Balakrishnan, while long time collaborator Bill Griffin is also on the track.
'Pacheco' refers to Pacheco Pass on Highway 152 which runs east - west between the San Joaquin Valley and Highway 1 south of Santa Cruz. Yes, we're going to sunny California ! And Sonoma gets a name check too. 

Further listening links >

There is a 'live' video performance (without the violin solo) of 'Redtail Kite': Click Play

And I'd recommend her song ‘Across the Great Divide’: Play 

Also a video of this song performed by Nanci Griffith with Nina and guests: Play

Kate Wolf also sings a great version of Jackson Brown's 'These Days': Play

  

Continuing from last Wednesday (please read the intro first):

The Bevis Frond gig in Hastings is tomorrow night. And I've been refreshing my memory and making additional notes. I can't be accused of not doing my homework !

I've some must listens and a Star Track. So here's 'Six of the Best' (click on each arrow to listen):

➤ 'He'd Be a Diamond' *(Song covered by Teenage Fanclub)

➤ 'Lights Are Changing' (Sounds like The Byrds) + a great acoustic version, search 'Aterpe Sessions'

➤ 'The Strangers Mirror' (11 minute slow track into some blistering guitar solos)

➤ 'Mr. Fred's Disco' *(great lyrics, like "Don't smile your crown shows up in ultraviolet light")

➤ 'Through the Hedge' *(organ based melody and smouldering guitars)

➤ 'Coming Round' *(Power chords, an encore track)

"Everyone has a favourite tune. Is this yours" ?

From the 2011 album release 'The Leaving of London' this is 'Johnny Kwango' - who was a professional wrestler and was on British TV when Wrestling was popular.

 

* Denotes tracks currently on the 'live' setlist.

.... there are of course lots more where these came from. 

I hope you like The Bevis Frond as much as I do. 

  

An alternative (and occasional) music posting highlighting something out of the ordinary.
Perhaps of limited appeal, unconventional, experimental or just far-out !
Call it what you like (or switch it off, if you don't like). 

Back end of last year I came upon this band. I'd never heard of them before and the track 'You’re On Your Own’ did more than just catch my attention. Then I found they were playing a gig in Hastings accompanied by the following blurb "The Bevis Frond (guitarist and songwriter Nick Saloman) have become the UK's leading underground psychedelic rock band. Their music is an iconoclastic collision of distinctly British psychedelia, space-rock, grunge, slow-burning soulful laments, even grizzled folk and more occasional moments of sublime pop genius."

All this from one band was summed up by the fact they'd released something in the regions of 29 albums since their debut in 1987. I freely admit that at first I became a bit obsessed with The Bevis Frond, trying to get to grips with such a varied and extensive catalogue of music. Not only was I liking a lot of the songs but I found that Nick Saloman, a Londoner, was now a Hastings resident, and the extensive recorded output was through his own and various other independent record labels. Going some way to explaining why I'd never heard of him and why 'underground' perhaps best categorises him if you too don't know the name.

Describing the 2018 LP 'We're Your Friends, Man' The Progressive Aspect website says of the aforementioned song - "The longest track here is the 13 minute album closer 'You’re On Your Own', one of Nick’s trademark Neil Young-duels-with-Jimi beasties" !

As I personally delved deeper into the music I was hearing influences from Elvis Costello and Tom Petty vocally to The Jam, Procol Harum, the Cure, Pink Floyd and Hendrix. Weird and wonderful, odd subjects and song titles and 'stoned-out' lengthy guitar jams all the way to sensitive folky numbers. No wonder my head was spinning - so let's play the track I came in on and go back to those liquid light show psychedelic days of yesteryear. 

(This reminds me of the very first FMS Star Track 'Maggot Brain' by Funkadelic) > 

 

Today is just an introduction... 

Friday I shall list other favourites leading to a Star Track, which will be a distinct contrast to this Bevis Frond track. Nick Saloman is a man of multiple hats and the wealth of material available can be overwhelming at first. 

... to be continued

   

Last weekend in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland the 22nd 'Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival' took place. This was heavily publicised on Facebook and that's where I came across this video from a 1979 gig.

It's a BBC tv recording from a show at the Middlesex Polytechnic, Hendon in January 1979. Amazingly good quality and what a performance. "Guitar on a lead, playing and singing, no ear monitor and mixing it with the crowd" is one amazed YouTuber comment. And there's only three of them !

A fantastic rhythm section of Gerry McAvoy (bass) and Ted McKenna (drums) with William Rory Gallagher on guitar and vocals. 

NB: There's a short intro to the video from the YouTube contributor and then we're off to 'Shadow Play' 

   

A Scottish folk song involving a tale of love between a soldier and a woman. An Irish captain is rejected, because Peggy has no intention to marry a foreigner or a soldier. The captain soon dies due to either a broken heart or battle wounds, possibly both. The historical context is unclear, though the song may allude to the 1644 capture of the Fyvie Castle. 

Like many folk songs, the authorship is unattributed and there is no strict version of the lyrics, though William-O and Peggy-O are the named captain of the Irish dragoons and the beautiful Scottish girl from Fyvie, in most versions recorded. 
Often titled 'The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie' or in this case 'Peggy-O' it's been recorded by so many artists and has the knack of sounding just like a song by that artist. Check out different versions: Bob Dylan's 'Peggy-O', it's undoubtedly him, Simon & Garfunkel it's very them and likewise today's track by the Grateful Dead is totally them. 

The video helpfully has the lyrics of this tale of woe pretty Peggy-O & William-O (and some typically excellent Jerry Garcia guitar playing). And is probably an America version ?

   

An alternative (and occasional) music posting highlighting something out of the ordinary.
Perhaps of limited appeal, unconventional, experimental or just far-out !
Call it what you like (or switch it off, if you don't like). 

Back last January on Burns Night I mentioned having a few more songs to share at certain times of the year. Here then is one of the most famous love songs associated with Robert Burns, 'My Love is like a Red, Red Rose'. 

Five Hand Reel recorded their beautiful version in 1978, Dick Gaughan taking the vocals for this rendition of the classic Scottish poem. "As fair art thou, my bonnie lass"

  

Connection up the dots from the last three weeks... 

Singing many of his own compositions Jason McNiff is quick to recognise his musical influences. Often playing Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Jackson C. Frank, as mentioned last week and also the songs of Townes Van Zandt. 

I'm not overly familiar with much of his work but I heard this song almost 20 years ago now and it's stuck with me. The song was written back in the 70s and recorded by Townes Van Zandt in 1978, it was covered in 1998 by Lyle Lovett on his album of cover versions titled 'Step Inside This House'. 

Townes Van Zandt died in 1997. The video is a tribute to him.

The song is called 'Flyin' Shoes' - version by Lyle Lovett > 

Connecting - Pentangle with Bert Jansch, to Jason McNiff and now Townes Van Zandt

   

'Folk, Blues & Beyond' is the title of a 1965 album by British folk revivalist and fingerstyle acoustic guitar legend Davy Graham. 

It's also the title chosen by Jason McNiff for his regular Thursday music nights at our local pub. These have been running since last September and the format of Jason playing either side of a different guest has been really good. Needless to say I'm a regular, so I've seen him quite a lot and as a fan jokingly call myself a 'Niffy'.  

I did feature him two years ago as a Friday Star Track (click link for this), mentioning the connection to his time at the 12-Bar Club in London studying the guitar playing of Bert Jansch. Who in turn had been inspired by Davy Graham. 

I have a number of favourite songs, plenty of newer ones, but I really like this old one from 2000, recorded in a closing down tape studio in Wandsworth. 'Off the Rails’ has a nice video of images of London from back then (and somewhat curiously photos of New York). It has a catchy chorus and lyrics that deal with life on the road (or train stations in this case) as he name drops Waterloo and the Thames while paraphrasing a Jackson C. Frank song 'Blues Run the Game', that is part of his current setlist and he tells us he'll sing that song till his dying day. 

> 'Off the Rails' written by Jason McNiff - great song ! 

AND as if by magic I've just come across some archive footage [for Onlinetv by Rick Siegel] of Jason at the 12-Bar Club singing the Blues > 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpPcRUgE1r0&list=RDQpPcRUgE1r0&start_radio=1

   

Going back to our last Vinyl Night up at The Cove, my Fairlight folk compadre Steve played a track off an LP by Pentangle. 'Willy O' Winsbury' came on and I recognised the tune but all the lyrics were different. That's weird I thought. 

Unbeknown to me a very familiar Fairport Convention song off the 'Liege and Lief' album uses the same melody as the traditional folk song 'Willie O' Winsbury', Richard Thompson having written new words to 'Farewell Farewell'. You live and learn.

Here's the celebrated folk group Pentangle (Jacqui McShee on vocals, with John Renbourn, Bert Jansch guitars, Danny Thompson on bass and Terry Cox drums), with Willie or Willy O.

The video is from a live tv show in 1972 and is really good quality. 

FYI: And the Fairports Farewell version is here.