This appeared on YouTube today – a fantastic raggle-taggle version of something from Bert Jansch’s little-known country-rock period in 1974 from a shower of fellows straight out of a Coen Brothers hillbilly film. Get down!
Musings on the byways of popular culture
This appeared on YouTube today – a fantastic raggle-taggle version of something from Bert Jansch’s little-known country-rock period in 1974 from a shower of fellows straight out of a Coen Brothers hillbilly film. Get down!
Back in 2001, off the back of Market Square Records’ ‘People On The Highway: A Bert Jansch Encomium’ 2CD tribute album, the great Duffy Power – who performed a stunning version of Bert’s ‘I Am Lonely’ – was blown away by my friend Janet Holmes’ singing on a cover of Pentangle’s ‘People On The Highway’ on the album, and suggested we try some joint recordings.
The logistics between London and Belfast in that largely pre-internet era proved too much for a full album collaboration, but a few joint Janet & Duffy recordings on some of Duffy’s songs were completed before the project faltered. (These recordings, and others by Duffy from the period, were released on Market Square a few years later as his final album ‘Tigers’, which I was delighted to sleevenote – highly recommended. An outtake arrangement of one song from this period, ‘Nine Lives Gone’, appears on my recent ‘Sunset Cavaliers’, which is dedicated to Duffy.)
I don’t like failing in projects. So two things happened next back in 2001: I determined to source material for a ‘Duffy Power at the BBC’ album, for Duffy; and I determined to fund an album for Janet.
Some amazing material, » Continue Reading.
This sounds like fun – a hillbilly version of ‘Tommy’. If only they’d gone the whole hog and retitled it ‘Bubba’…
PR blurb:
THE HILLBENDERS present…. The Who’s TOMMY: A Bluegrass Opry
Hit US show comes to the UK for the first time in July
The HillBenders, from Springfield, Missouri, finally bring their legendary full-length bluegrass version of The Who’s rock opera TOMMY to the UK. Already a hit in the US, Rolling Stone described the show as ‘full of windmilling arms, intricate harmonies and creatively composed layering. The production was intriguing – in a most excellent way’. Videos here: www.whograss.com
JULY 15 Bristol Americana Weekend 17 Larmer Tree Festival 20 Milton Keynes International Festival 21 London Union Chapel (www.serious.org.uk/tommy) 23 Gateshead, The Sage SummerTyne Festival
Original creator of TOMMY, The Who’s Pete Townshend apparently loves the Hillbenders’ unique version and chatted to them about it when he invited them to see The Who live in concert in Nashville last year – the day after their own sold out performance in the city. (Full story: http://www.cybergrass.com/node/4584). And on April 28 the band will play Roger Daltrey’s Teen Cancer America presents North Carolina Cares charity event in Raleigh, NC.
“Ever since » Continue Reading.