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50 years ago this week – Mahavishnu

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It’s been a while since I posted anything on the MO, so indulge me. 🙂 On 11 May 1973, the ‘Vish played Milwaukee Arena. Photographer Rich Zimmerman shot 17 minutes of silent 8mm film. Much of it looked to me like it had been filmed during an extended ‘Dance of Maya’, which featured pizzicato violin and a John/Billy guitar and drums duo section within it. Three years ago, I had some of Rich’s film edited to a recording of ‘Dance of Maya’ from another show in 1973 (the one from Milwaukee not having survived on the partial soundboard of that night). See below – if you have 15 minutes to spare, it’s mesmerising stuff.

The second item of note this week 50 years ago is the MO concert at New York’s Felt Forum on 16 May 1973. UK music press news items later that month referred to Columbia Records having recorded this MO concert, and planning to record another in Montreux, with a view to the next Mahavishnu Orchestra release being a live album. During research for my two McLaughlin books in the mid-2010s, Michael Panico, Archives Manager at Sony in New York, confirmed that Sony does indeed have 2” » Continue Reading.

Sandy Denny anniversary

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Today is the anniversary of English singer/songwriter Sandy Denny’s untimely demise. Here she is in 1969 as a member of Fairport Convention with a mysterious recording of ‘A Sailor’s Life’, a song that (in its released version with fiddler Dave Swarbrick) more or less started ‘British folk-rock’, the genre that never quite goes away. This version is mysterious in that the standard tale for years was that Swarbrick joined the ‘Vench in a studio and instantaneously created a magic improvised duel with lead guitarist Dicky Thompo. But then this acetate of a presumably earlier version recorded without Dave turned up 30 years later. Happily, it’s also sensational.

Bert Jansch: The holy grail turns up…

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On 15 July, Bert Jansch recorded a BBC radio session for Bob Harris’ ‘Sounds of the 70s’. It has long been the holy grail of Bert’s BBC career – songs almost all from the ‘Rosemary Lane’ LP that in several cases he would never perform again. Six songs were recorded, split over two broadcasts: Twa Corbies, Nobody’s Bar and Bird Song plus some chat with Bert on 2 August 1971; and Omie Wise, Tell Me What is True Love and A Dream, A Dream, A Dream (plus a repeat of Bird Song) on 23 August 1971.

Christopher Gardiner, who made the priceless recording of Bert’s concert at the Royal Festival Hall on 30 June 1971 (previously shared on YouTube), taped all the songs from both of these broadcasts. Unfortunately, Twa Corbies is lost but everything else was on his reel in remarkable fidelity (albeit the 23/8/71 tracks being in mono and needing more restoration work). Cormac O’Kane has digitised, restored and mastered the recording – which, of course, came to light only a few months too late for Earth’s ‘Bert Jansch at the BBC’ 8CD set.

Enjoy!

Songs & date of broadcast: 1. Nobody’s Bar (2/8/71) 2. Bird Song » Continue Reading.

Jim Lea – time for a reappraisal?

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For decades, Noddy Holder’s media profile combined with former Slade co-writer Jim Lea’s seclusion – partly for health reasons (which Jim has been open about) – has perhaps allowed the impression to build up that Noddy was the central force in Slade’s creativity. The rumour is that Jim felt it was time to address any slight skewing of appreciation for his contribution to the magic of Slade – and fair enough, say I.

He now has a Facebook page and over the last few months whoever runs it has voraciously mobilised fans to keep voting for various tracks from Jim’s 2007 album ‘Therapy’ (his only post-Slade solo release to date) in something called ‘the Heritage Chart’. During that period, Jim has filmed a couple of promos for these old tracks. It seems a lot of effort for some contrived and pointless chart, but it has undoubtedly energised his fans and given him/them a new sense of purpose – and if he isn’t in good enough health to perform in public, or at least not in any sustained capacity, then I suppose whipping up fans to vote on multiple occasions for something he did 16 years ago in a chart » Continue Reading.

Bert Jansch – live at the Festival Hall 30/6/71

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Bert Jansch performed precisely one solo concert during the original full-time Pentangle era (between March 1968 and the end of 1972). It was at the RFH in June 1971. Pentangle’s manager, Jo Lustig, had booked the place to promote a Van Morrison show. Van being Van, something went awry and Jo found himself needing an act to fill the date. Happily, Bert – on the cusp of releasing his high water-mark album ‘Rosemary Lane’ – did the honours, with Anne Briggs and COB (separately) opening the show.

Christopher Gardiner – a young fan with a Sony cassette recorder – recorded Bert’s set in mono from the front row. Chris very kindly gave me a copy of the recording in the early 2000s, which he had digitally transferred via the headphone output. I had shared my own non-pro EQ-ing of this transfer on YouTube four years ago. Pro mastering engineer Cormac O’Kane – who worked on the recent ‘Bert Jansch at the BBC’ 8CD set – has restored the untreated audio – again, from that early 2000s non-pro transfer – and given it a slight stereo picture. It seems unlikely that an official commercial release will happen for this historic performance, » Continue Reading.

The Legends of Tomorrow – The Weather at World’s End: 1997-2022

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07/04/2023

The Legends of Tomorrow The Weather at World’s End: 1997–2022 TALKING ELEPHANT RECORDS TECD482 – RELEASED: 7 APRIL 2023

‘Colin Harper writes passionately about the music of these islands. ‘The Weather at World’s End’ showcases his own remarkable contribution to that music over 25 years with “the Greatest Northern Irish Supergroup That Never Existed”. Essential!’ Barry Devlin (Horslips), 2023

‘The Weather at World’s End: 1997–2022’ anthologises 20 songs from 25 years of Colin Harper’s under-the-radar ‘studio band’ the Legends of Tomorrow. Dozens of musicians/recording artists from Northern Ireland’s rock, blues, folk, punk, jazz and traditional music communities and guests from further afield have joyously contributed to Legends’ recordings over that period – only a few of which have been nationally released – and this anthology features 50 of these collaborators.

Of the 20 tracks, 18 are Harper compositions and the others are by 60s British folk enigma Anne Briggs and 70s Australian rock god Billy Thorpe. There are two 2023 remixes of 1997 tracks, one previously unreleased track and two new tracks: ‘Better Weather’, » Continue Reading.

A Short History of ‘the BBC session’

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Colin H on BBC sessions

I wrote the following as an introduction to the booklet for the 8CD set ‘Bert Jansch at the BBC’, which was released last year (with an edited version of this text therein). I thought it might be of interest to AWers / the world at large. The photo above – purely for convenience – is Bert Jansch and Peter Kirtley rehearsing for a BBC NI TV appearance in 1992, taken be me.

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BBC Sessions: A History

In the 1950s and 60s, any pop, folk or jazz artist in Britain was more likely to be heard on BBC radio, if at all, in the form of an exclusive session recorded for the corporation than in the form of a commercially released record. For the artist, these sessions were an opportunity to get their music heard; for the BBC, their function was to fill airtime, as long as they ticked the box of at least one of the aims of BBC founder Lord Reith: to educate, inform and entertain.

An audition panel existed to decide who was ‘entertaining’ enough to get through the door. Periodically, there would be press controversy when a virtuoso act was somehow » Continue Reading.

Ruth Angell – Hlywing

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My friend, crony and associate Malcolm Holmes (mogul at Talking Elephant) is releasing this album. Here’s the PR blurb and a promotional video.

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Ruth Angell offers a refuge of calm in the beauty of her debut solo album

‘Hlywing’ the debut solo album by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ruth Angell. The album was officially released by Talking Elephant Records on Friday 3 February 2023

All ten tracks – nine of them by Ruth, and one by Joni Mitchell – convey an atmosphere of gentle beauty and calm. Her beautifully crafted lyrics are sensitive – drawing on her own experiences, circumstances and situations, her hopes and her fears. Each story is embellished by inspirations from the wonders of nature and the ever-changing landscapes around her home and encountered on her travels. Classically trained at Birmingham Conservatoire as a violinist and composer Ruth has used her composing talents to focus on using a variety of strings to build stunning landscapes to each of her songs. She explains ‘I knew from the start that using a variety of strings was » Continue Reading.

Séamus Ennis – The Ace and Deuce of Piping (1961)

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Some people, perhaps most people, think that every bit of music ever recorded is now available ‘on the internet’. This is very far from the case. Entire catalogues from independent labels going back a century or more have fallen into limbo, because the owner/estate has disappeared or because there are ownership disputes between various parties, or because a small label was bought by a bigger label and then a bigger one again to the point that Warners, Sony and Universal (the Big 3) now own huge tracts of music that they don’t know they own or have no interest in ever reviving. And so on. The bijou Collector label, run by Charing Cross retailer Colin Pomroy – in parallel to his Jazz Collector label – between 1959-64 is one such body of work that has fallen into limbo. Pomroy disappeared from the scene amid vague talk of financial problems in the mid 60s and last turns up in a bit of court reportage in Middlesex in 1967 about drink driving.

I think the odd track from the many English, Irish and Scottish folk/trad recordings he issued has been discretely used (taken from disc, most likely) on this or that » Continue Reading.

Sarah McQuaid – January – February UK/Ireland tour

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20/01/2023

Another year, another tour from the indefatigable Sarah. If you haven’t seen her in action, give it a go – no idea how much longer cottage industry troubadours can survive, but it feels like end times…

JAN-FEB 2023 – UK / IRELAND Jan 20 Penzance: The Acorn Jan 21 Castle Hedingham Village Hall via Applause Touring Jan 22 Twickenham (London): TwickFolk Jan 26 Wexford Arts Centre Jan 28 Naul: The Séamus Ennis Arts Centre Jan 29 Portaferry: The Portico of Ards Feb 1 Ennis: glór (Studio Theatre) Feb 2 Naas: Skylarks Music Club at The Moat Theatre with special guest Sive Feb 3 Ballina Arts Centre Feb 5 Athy Community Arts Centre Feb 8 Waterville: Tech Amergin Arts & Education Centre Feb 9 Listowel: St John’s Theatre & Arts Centre Feb 10 Kenmare: Carnegie Arts Centre Kenmare Feb 11 Tramore: Coastguard Cultural Centre

Anthony Toner – The Book of Absolution

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What does it sound like?:

Who creates a masterpiece with their ninth album? Well, in my opinion, Anthony Toner has done just that. A man with a love of poetry and literary fiction, for many years Anthony combined performing – in wine-bar duos, blues bands and solo (with original songs) – with being a local newspaperman on the north coast of Northern Ireland and, later, with managing a small arts centre in the same area. A few years ago, he moved to Belfast and committed to pursuing his vocation in music. He regularly plays the arts centre scene in NI and periodically tours Britain in support of Barbara Dickson, one of his many professional admirers.

Interest declared: I’ve known Anthony casually from that newsprint era in the 90s onwards and we have mutual pals in the NI music world. He’s affable, he’s a total professional and he’s a great ‘storyteller’ in song. I’ve long admired his skills – a terrific onstage entertainer and deft musician (skills that aren’t often married that well) along with a songwriting craft that he makes seem effortless. That being said, while occasional songs will have grabbed me over the years, the core of Anthony’s » Continue Reading.

Buddy Mondlock Kickstarter campaign

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I like very, very few American singer-songwriters. One of the handful is Buddy Mondlock. In fact, my ‘studio band’ the Legends of Tomorrow recorded one of his songs only this year – but don’t let that put you off! 😀 He doesn’t record often – and these days, there’s no real real financial incentive for artists to do so. So I’m grateful that he’s doing so at all and I’ve supported his Kickstarter. If you have an idle moment, please do check him out. The blurb is below…

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It’s finally happening. I’ve been talking onstage about making a new recording for some time. I’m happy to say it’s finally happening. In fact, I’ve been working away in the studio since the end of September and we’re in the final stages now. I’m really excited by what I’m hearing! I never want to just repeat what I’ve done before and this album takes me in some new directions for sure. I’ve been working with producer Brad Jones, who has created some of my favorite records. Brad has worked with artists like Ron Sexsmith, Richard Julian, Jill Sobule, Josh Rouse, Hayes Carll, and so many others. It feels like » Continue Reading.

John McLaughlin – 45/50 years since he’s been on the BBC…

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When I interviewed Jools Holland for the booklet accompanying the ‘Bert Jansch at the BBC’ anthology a few months back I mentioned, in some chat about his TV show, that it’s been 50 years since John McLaughlin – still active, creative and an undeniable titan of music worldwide, living in Europe and playing at least one show in London every year, usually the Barbican – has performed on BBC TV. (He last performed on ITV in 1978, on ‘The South Bank Show’.)

Jools was amazed at this… though pointed out that his show has been cut to only a few episodes a year (and everyone wants to be on it). Fair enough. John’s very well-served by French TV and other stations in Europe. But it seems to me disgraceful that there has been no BBC TV spot in all that time for a cultural export of such significance. Radio-wise, it’s been 45 years since he performed on that BBC medium – a Peel session and an ‘In Concert’ for Shakti in the same week in 1977.

Here is that ‘most recent’ TV appearance, in 1972. Actually, for trivia buffs, it’s the surviving 30-minute edited repeat (in 1972) of a » Continue Reading.

Advice – MP3 player / DAB radio

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Mrs H is keen to buy one of the above for long walks (music / podcasts). Online reviews are head-scrambling -hundreds of 5-star reviews plus hundreds of 1-stars for the same items. Anyone got any recommendations?

BBC Scotland’s ‘Travelling Folk’ – Colin H on Bert J

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I was asked to do an interview on Bert Jansch, on the theme of the ‘Bert at the BBC’ box set, for BBC Scotland’s ‘Travelling Folk’ a couple of weeks back. It was broadcast tonight- here it is. It was a real pleasure talking with presenter Anna Massie, and cannily edited by Emma Gryczka. They make me sound coherent… 😀 For anyone interested, the Bert bit starts at 1:17.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001fffx

Bróna McVittie

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Venue:

The American Bar, Belfast

Date: 19/11/2022

My good pal Mark Case had two tickets to see this woman on Saturday night past. Mark’s good lady couldn’t make it so I made up the numbers. Mark, a graphic designer, had been struck by the performer’s gig poster, seen at the venue – a pub upper room in a fairly desolate yet characterful part of Belfast, near the docks – a couple of weeks earlier, and investigated. ‘Cosmic folk’ was the phrase he used in selling the show to me – which might be something on Bróna’s publicity… or he might just have made it up. Either way, it’s tolerably accurate.

Living in Rostrevor, Co. Down, Bróna has just released her third album, ‘The Woman in the Moon’. I’d never heard of her before but that must say more about me than her, for she seems to have garnered great reviews in national papers (‘Word’ alumnus Jude Rogers is a fan) and has played Union Chapel, London, etc.

A delightfully quirky, warm and affable person, totally unfazed by playing to a room of 12 people, half of whom were family or friends, Bróna was spellbinding in a pleasingly unpretentious, gently » Continue Reading.

Horslips at the Ulster Hall – the Last Time… again!

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A sensational night at the NI Music Awards 2022 at the Ulster Hall, Belfast yesterday. Horslips founder and all-round good egg Barry Devlin (born in NI) was ennobled as this year’s ‘Legend’ and, amazingly, a variation on the theme of Horslips performed (for unequivocally the last time) – on the very stage on which the band had performed its original swansong 42 years previously, on 8 October 1980.

Earlier this year, on 17 March, I had the honour of compering a launch event in Dublin for the forthcoming (next month) 50th anniversary 33CD / 2DVD / 2 books Horslips box set ‘More Than You Can Chew’. Horslips guitarist Johnny Fean had decided to retire on health grounds during lockdown – so the rest of the band were adamant that performing at the event or indeed on a filmed BBC Radio Ulster (extended interview) programme around the same time wasn’t possible or appropriate.

Since then, the approach has been more nuanced, with a handful of sort-of-Horslips performances of 3-4 numbers within larger events, a couple of various-artist public concerts in Ireland and Greece curated by Ireland’s poet laureate (in effect) Paul Muldoon, a private party for a long-term roadie and » Continue Reading.

Rendell-Carr Quintet – Warm Up: The Complete Live at the Highwayman 1965

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Exciting stuff – a *new* Rendell-Carr Quintet album. Not words one can often use. Hats off to not-for-profit label impresario John Thurlow for this. PR blurb here:

The never-before-released complete performance of the Rendell-Carr Quintet at The Highwayman in November 1965. Includes an essay written by Simon Spillett.

“Live. Up close and personal. Palpable. Almost within reach. There’s no argument about the best environment in which to witness the magic that is jazz invention. It simply has to be a club setting, the kind of place where an audience isn’t filed neatly into rows like so many sardines and the band isn’t forced to battle cavernous acoustics certain to defeat any attempt at subtlety. Somewhere as singly focused as the musicians themselves, somewhere, more often than not, as self-contained at the music on offer; somewhere in which those performing can take chances, stretch, feel at home… When Trevor Tomkins entrusted his own recorded archive to Jazz in Britain in 2021, the year before his death, it was found to include the full unedited Highwayman gig (a previous issue cherry-picked its contents), in more than passable sound, thus enabling a full restoration process to begin, resulting in this new ‘complete’ » Continue Reading.

Bert Jansch at the BBC now on streaming platforms

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I would encourage anyone interested in Bert to buy the physical box set (either compressed 4LP vinyl + full download or full 8CD version) – a beautifully presented artefact with a substantial booklet and long interviews with/testimonials from 20 radio/TV presenters and musical collaborators…. but if you’re short of cash, the audio has appeared today on streaming platforms:

Henry Parker – Live After Lammas

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Released almost one year to the day since the 2021 studio album Lammas Fair, ‘Live After Lammas’ is a one night snapshot of Henry Parker performing with his electric trio in the student quarter of Leeds at the Hyde Park Book Club, with Rob McNicholas on electric bass and Louis Berthoud on drums. The title of the live album, which marks as a nod to the much loved heavy-metal live albums of his teenage years (Iron Maiden, Motorhead) seems ever more appropriate as the set progresses, with performances of Drive East, and the The Brisk Lad transcending notions of what a folk artist should sound like in 2022 with wailing guitar leads and cascading drums.

The varied set takes in cuts from Parker’s two studio albums, the aforementioned Lammas Fair, as well as 2019’s Silent Spring, albums both long out of print on vinyl and much celebrated across the music press and the echelons of the psych and folk music forums that lurk in the overlooked, dusty corners of the web.

2022 saw Henry Parker play shows across the country, London, The Isle of Wight, Margate and North Shields, but this performance amongst his Yorkshire peers in Leeds stands » Continue Reading.

October Song

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A song for the present month, Robin Williamson’s ‘October Song’, and the portentous era in which we seem to be, written around 1965 by Robin Williamson. I saw Henry Parker perform it (i.e. this very clip) last week in Halifax. As Henry reminded us, it was its author’s first crack at writing a song. For Robin, it was all downhill from there, but then it would have been for any of us.

I’ll sing you this October song, Oh, there is no song before it. The words and tune are none of my own, for my joys and sorrows bore it.

Beside the sea The brambly briars, in the still of evening, Birds fly out behind the sun, and with them I’ll be leaving.

The fallen leaves that jewel the ground, They know the art of dying, And leave with joy their glad gold hearts, In the scarlet shadows lying.

When hunger calls my footsteps home, The morning follows after, I swim the seas within my mind, And the pine-trees laugh green laughter.

I used to search for happiness, And I used to follow pleasure, But I found a door behind my mind, And that’s the greatest treasure.

For » Continue Reading.