PRESS TO PLAY - March 07

MARTIN CARTHY - Company Policy (1988)



A man who, in my humble opinion, should be knighted for his services to English music. Surely if it's good enough for Sir Paul or Sir Mick then why not Sir Martin? The cynic in me knows the answer of course - Folk music doesn't sell, it doesn't shift enough units - consequently it's an MBE only I'm afraid. But Carthy has arguably done more for the British Folk music scene than any other artist and what's more he's still out there doing it. He was there at the very beginning, influencing both Dylan and Paul Simon during their brief sojourns to the British Isles in the 1960's, giving Simon "Scarborough Fair" and Big Bob the inspiration for "The Girl From The North Country" amongst others en route. He was in the original line-up of Steeleye Span in the days when they were a pioneering folk-rock band and not the cute commercial "Top Of The Pops" novelty group they later became and when the British folk scene enjoyed an invigorating revival in the early 90's thanks mainly to a injection of youthful talent - Carthy - who turns 67 this year - was at the forefront of this scene either indirectly through his daughter Eliza or through a selection of superb albums released with Eliza and his wife Norma Waterson.

This track from 1988 shows Carthy in fine fettle though it's probably fair to say that some of the man's power, both as a singer and guitarist, has diminished in recent years especially when compared with some of the recordings from his early days. Carthy's tour de force - 1972's "The Famous Flower Of Serving Men" - is a particular highlight and is in fact very similar in style to this song, a Carthy original about the Falklands War. Oh yes, and a nicer guy you will never meet.

RY COODER & MANUEL GALBAN - Drume Negrita (2002)



SANTO & JOHNNY - Sleepwalk (1959)



Apart from being one of THE greatest guitarists that ever walked this earth, Ry Cooder's career has never been anything less than interesting, it's just a little unfortunate that the areas that he has decided to work in (and there have been many) have not been commercially successful. This is primarily becuase Cooder has always concentrated on pioneering roots music and the preservation of America's (and latterly Cuba's) musical history and - sweeping generalisation here - Americans don't seem to care as much about it's wonderful musical legacy as much as others seem to. So....as Randy Newman has done, Cooder decided - after making a succession of superb albums that didn't sell particularly well - that soundtrack albums were where it was at financially and consequently he concentrated on making a host of them for several years. Nowadays it would seem that Ry has once again decided to do just what the hell he likes and apart from single-handedly introducing the wonders of Cuban music to the rest of the world, America's finest musicologist can be currently found making complex concept records that have a sense of the past both socially as well as musically. This is from just one of the several albums that Cooder has made with his Cuban chums and as well as featuring some exemplary musicianship, the record is a whole lot of fun too.

Hearing Ry & Manuel's wonderful record reminded me generally of guitar instrumentals of the late 50's and early 60's - a period when the British music charts was full of them with at least one Shadows hit seemingly appearing in the Top 10 every week. This track was recorded by Hank Marvin's Shads in 1961 and I seem to remember Cooder performing this live way back when but the original version by Santo & Johnny Farina has always given me the proverbial goose-bumps. Have Twang Will Travel.

KEREN ANN - In Your Back (2007)



I don't know a great deal about Miss Ann, apart from the fact that on the odd occasion that I have had the pleasure to hear her music I have been mightily impressed. It is therefore up to the powers of the internet to explain all. Real Name - Keren Ann Zeidel. A truly cosmopolitan individual - born in Israel to Dutch and Russian parents and from the age of 11, a resident of Paris, France. Consequently her first two album releases were in French and she did not release her first English-speaking record until 2003. Keren has been likened to a plethora of disparate performers as diverse as Serge Gainsbourg, Portishead, Joni Mitchell, and Astrid Gilberto and even though it would be nice to say that in the long run she simply sounds like herself, there is probably a little of all of the above in Keren's performances. Apart from being blessed with a gorgeously dreamy voice, from what I've heard her material is simple and emotional but with an interesting emphasis on musical detail either in the way that the song is arranged or in the instrumentation used. This wonderful track from her forthcoming self-titled album is lifted by some nice keyboard touches and a beautifully crafted string section in the middle. Beautiful.

BACKINI - Cream (2003)



Yet another artist who remains something of an unknown quantity to me other than this one track. Backini's real name is Rob Quickenden and he hails from sunny Brighton, Norman Cook territory. But his My Space site offers the following; "Brighton's Backini, takes samples and sonic inspiration from 1940s big bands, '50s bebop '60s easy listening, '70s pop divas (not to mention Adam & The Ants and UK TV show The Saint) and blends them with tough beats, cinematic arrangements and some choice turntable cuts." So there we are then, yet another scratch n'mix DJ no doubt influenced by the one artist who designed much of the template from which the likes of Backini still operate, the mighty DJ Shadow. One of the joys of listening to this stuff is trying to work out what or who the samples are. I can hear British jazz chanteuse Cleo Laine in there somewhere and there's a vaguely familiar Joe Turner-like blues singer thrown in for good measure but as far as the rest is concerned, it's anyone's guess. My sincere thanks to Rockin Steve Coram for this item.

M.WARD - Silverline (2001)



A peculiar little ditty from one Mr.Matthew Ward, another individual originating from the hotbed that is the Portland Oregon music scene (The Decemberists, The Shins, Everclear.) Ward wears his influences on his sleeve but uses them in a very distinctive and slightly unusual way. His self-confessed template is apparently American music of the 40's & 50's though the "train" sample on this track is from Jimmie Rodgers 1929 recording of "Waiting For A Train" whilst the song stylistically pays specific homage to John Fahey, the influential but slightly bonkers American guitar picker who also hailed from Portland. Ward is a fine guitarist but also possesses a strangely hushed and husky vocal technique. Sonically Quirky.

JONATHAN RICHMAN & THE MODERN LOVERS - Rockin' Rockin' Leprechauns (1977)



A man who began his career firmly at the forefront of American punk but whom, by 1977, was writing songs that sound like a scientific experiment to cross the pop craft of Buddy Holly with the brain of a 10 year old child. Songs about Ice Cream Men, Mosquitos, Martians and Abominable Snowmen in supermarkets peppered Richman's output during the period 1976 to 1980 and even though one could be forgiven for suggesting that Jonathan was in fact completely crackers, there are some great pop songs on these albums and a sense of humour too, albeit an extremely childish one. This song is, of course, about Rockin' Leprechauns and sounds as if the band are playing at the bottom of a dustbin. It ain't no "Roadrunner" but your kids will love it.

JACKSON BROWNE - Song For Adam (1972)



Jackson Browne is one of those artists who has apparently suffered from "great first album" syndrome as critics are generally united in their praise of "Saturate Before Using" (from which "Song For Adam" is taken) but are convinced that Browne has struggled to match the record ever since. A precocious youngster, he had been writing material since his mid-teens and was already well-known by the time his debut album appeared in 1972. Browne was 24 at the time of it’s issue and apart from the fact that he was able to call upon his impressive stockpile of songs on subsequent releases critics believe his debut to be his one and only masterpiece and that he has never bettered it (though 1974's “Late For The Sky” runs it a close second.) Certainly his career has become a little more erratic from 1976's “The Pretender” onwards and despite a brief sojourn into political brow-beating during the 80's it's his early "confessional" period that is still the most satisfying. This song appears to be about suicide.... Definitely not "knees-up" material.

THE EAGLES - Tryin To Get To You (1954)



And talking of West Coast artists, no it's not Messrs Henley, Frey & Walsh at kindergarden - this is a somewhat obscure American vocal group with the original version of a song that Presley covered during his Sun Studio days. Presley's early covers were almost, if not better than the originals, then certainly different such was the level of experimentation that Sam Phillips encouraged. But this track shows that Elvis kept his version pretty close to the source of the original which, to my knowledge, is the only thing The Eagles produced of any substance - until they broke up in 1982 of course.

BLIND WILLIE McTELL - Dyin' Crapshooter's Blues (1940)



A track from a man who holds the distinction of having had a Bob Dylan song named after him. William Samuel McTell was born blind in 1901 and his reputation as one of blues music's most innovative performers remains to this day. This astonishing performance, recorded I believe for a "Library of Congress" session, not only reveals McTell's abilities as a singer and 12-string guitar player but also highlights the man's storytelling prowess which is enhanced by the opening explanation of how the song was written and some stunning word imagery

McTell also wrote the original version of the much recorded "Statesboro Blues" whilst this song has not only been covered by a number of contemporary artists, but was also recently added to The White Stripes live repertoire. "I want 9 men going to the graveyard bubba and 8 men coming back"......Willie sings. Ralph McTell is definitely NOT a member of this family.