Fav. Tracks: The Story Of British Folk – Various Artists

The Story Of British Folk – Scarborough Fair(Martin Carthy).

I bought this MP3 download as a quick way of gathering some classic folk music for my music library and it is a good collection to own.  There are some names (singers) that I had forgotten about (Mr Fox for example) and some unexpected tracks (e.g. Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal).  However, picking a track was relatively easy as this classic folk song has long been a favourite of mine and Martin Carthy sings it is a classic style.  Following the recent death of Bert Jansch this album is also a good tribute and there are several of his best songs.

The guitar work is very simple, but provides a strong tune that enhances Martin’s unique singing style.

The Tracks:

Blackwater Side	Bert Jansch
Nobody’s Fault But Mine	John Renbourn
Blues Run The Game	Jackson C. Frank
Scarborough Fair	Martin Carthy
Needle Of Death	Bert Jansch
See Your Face And Know You	The Incredible String Band
Dirty Old Town	Ian Campbell Folk Group
Fairy Tale Lullaby	John Martyn
Lowlands Of Holland	Steeleye Span
Meet On The Ledge	Fairport Convention
Light Flight	Pentangle
The Gay Goshawk	Mr Fox
It’ll Take A Long Time	Sandy Denny
Tomorrow Time	John Martyn
The Lady And The Unicorn	John Renbourn
John Barleycorn (Must Die)	Traffic
The North Star Grassman And The Ravens	Sandy Denny
Flowers Of The Forest	Mike Heron
Messenger Birds	Mellow Candle
First Girl I Loved	The Incredible String Band
Queen Of Scots	Amazing Blondel
Sweet Child	Pentangle
Tam Lin	Fairport Convention
Kemp’s Jig	Gryphon
Please Sing A Song For Us	Gerry Rafferty
Fisherman’s Wife	Steeleye Span
Peace In The End	Fotheringay
Sky In My Pie	John James
Over The Hill	John Martyn
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight	Richard Thompson
A Man’s A Man	The McCalmans
Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal	Dr. Strangely Strange
Couldn’t Love You More	John Martyn
I’m A Dreamer	Sandy Denny
Moonlight Shadow	Mike Oldfield
Katie Cruel	Bert Jansch
Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground	Beth Rowley
Leftovers	Johnny Flynn

Fav. Tracks: Various Artists – Best Of The Seventies

This 6-CD album is a useful collection of popular music from the 1970s; although I have to admit that there are fewer tracks on this album, that I really like, than I had hoped for when I purchased it.  There are several tracks that I don’t have in any other form, and it was obtaining these “key tracks” that led to me buying the CD-set.

Disc 1 really has only one track that I can choose – No More Heroes – which, unfortunately, I have chosen before, but there are no other favourites.

 

Disc: 1
1. No More Heroes – The Stranglers
2. Straw Dogs – Stiff Little Fingers
3. New Rose – The Damned
4. Public Image – Public Image Ltd
5. Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t ‘ve?) – The Buzzcocks
6. Making Plans For Nigel – Xtc
7. King Rocker – Generation X
8. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (Live) – The Ramones
9. Homicide – 999
10. Babylon’s Burning – The Ruts
11. Money (That’s What I Want) – Flying Lizards
12. Into The Valley – Skids
13. The Day The World Turned Dayglo – X Ray Specs
14. Sound Of The Suburbs – The Members
15. (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) – The Stranglers
16. Shot By Both Sides – Magazine
17. Outdoor Miner – Wire
18. Valley Of The Dolls – Generation X

In contrast, disc 2 has a number of tracks that I could choose as a favourite, but also quite a few tracks that I also have elsewhere.  However, one track of classic rock music really stands out as an all time favourite – Smoke On The Water – you just have to admire the quality of this early rock hit.

Disc: 2
1. Heart Of Glass – Blondie
2. Life In A Day – Simple Minds
3. Peaches – The Stranglers
4. What Do I Get? – The Buzzcocks
5. 2-4-6-8 Motorway – The Tom Robinson Band
6. Milk And Alcohol – Dr Feelgood
7. Nutbush City Limits – Ike & Tina Turner
8. Let’s Work Together – Canned Heat
9. Smoke On The Water – Deep Purple
10. Doctor Doctor – Ufo
11. Silver Machine – Hawkwind
12. Dance With The Devil – Cozy Powell
13. Ships In The Night – Bop Deluxe
14. Whole Lotta Love – Ccs
15. Black Night – Deep Purple
16. Devil Gate Drive – Suzi Quatro
17. Motor Bikin’ – Chris Spedding
18. Denis – Blondie

Disc 3 is a wonderful collection of what I call “bop-hits”, perfect examples being Make Me Smile and Tiger Feet, but Suzi Quatro gets my vote here as, back then, a female rock artist was a rare thing indeed and Suzi was brilliant at what she did, even when it was “bop”!

Disc: 3
1. Metal Guru – T Rex
2. See My Baby Jive – Wizzard
3. The Secrets That You Keep – Mud
4. Touch Too Much – Arrows
5. Goodbye My Love – The Glitter Band
6. Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) – Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
7. Can The Can – Suzi Quatro
8. 10538 Overture – Electric Light Orchestra
9. Ball Park Incident – Wizzard
10. January – Pilot
11. Love Is The Drug – Roxy Music
12. Tiger Feet – Mud
13. The Bump – Kenny
14. Some Girls – Racey
15. Tonight – The Move
16. Judy Teen – Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
17. I Hear You Knocking – Dave Edmunds
18. She’s A Wind Up – Dr Feelgood

I guess the other style of music associated with the 1970s is the classic ballet and there was no better band than Hot Chocolate for reproducing this style.  Probably their most famous song was “You Sexy Thing” and so i choose this as my favourite from this CD.

Disc: 4
1. You Sexy Thing – Hot Chocolate
2. Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now – McFaddem & Whitehead
3. That’s The Way (I Like It) – Kc & The Sunshine Band
4. Don’t Take Away The Music – Tavares
5. Dancing In The City – Marshall Hain
6. Rock Your Baby – George McCrae
7. Disco Stomp – Hamilton Bohannon
8. Do What You Wanna Do – T Connection
9. Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet – Gonzales
10. Boogie Oogie Oogie – A Taste Of Honey
11. Everyone’s A Winner – Hot Chocolate
12. More Than A Woman – Tavares
13. Queen Of Clubs – Kc & The Sunshine Band
14. Movin’ – Brass Construction
15. (You Gotta Walk) Don’t Look Back – Peter Tosh
16. Gangsters – Special Aka
17. The Prince – Madness
18. A Message To You Rudy – The Specials

There were some very interesting new bands and singers who arrived during the 70s and no one had more impact, or was more unusual in musical style, than Kate Bush.  Her most famous single by a long way was, of course, Wuthering Heights and this track takes my vote; although, I would have chosen Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street, but I chosen that track elsewhere.

Disc: 5
1. Wuthering Heights – Kate Bush
2. Loving You – Minnie Ripperton
3. When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman – Dr Hook
4. Something – Shirley Bassey
5. The Air That I Breathe – The Hollies
6. Softly Whispering I Love You – Congregation
7. Summer (The First Time) – Bobby Goldsboro
8. Baker Street – Gerry Rafferty
9. Rhinestone Cowboy – Glen Campbell
10. A Little Bit More – Dr Hook
11. Band Of Gold – Freda Payne
12. I Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top – The Hollies
13. Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue – Crystal Gayle
14. What I’ve Got In Mind – Billie Jo Spears
15. Suspicious Minds – Candi Staton
16. Tired Of Being Alone – Al Green
17. Have You Seen Her – The Chi Lites
18. I Can’t Leave You Alone – George McCrae

Some of the fun sounds of the 70s were short lived, but there is one sound that has lasted the test of time well and this sound came from Mungo Jerry, with their “jug-based” rhythm and the jolly summer sound.  In the Summertime, is probably a hot that everyone will remember and enjoy for many years to come.

Disc: 6
1. Mississippi – Pussycat
2. Pop Muzik – M
3. Magic – Pilot
4. Rumours – Hot Chocolate
5. Romeo – Mr Big
6. Under The Moon Of Love – Showaddywaddy
7. Lay Your Love On Me – Racey
8. Rich Kids – Rich Kids
9. Hypnosis – Mud
10. Spanish Stroll – Mink De Ville
11. Oh You Pretty Things – Peter Noone
12. Something Tells Me (Something’s Gonna Happen Tonight) – Cilla Black
13. Years May Come Years May Go – Herman’s Hermits
14. In The Summertime – Mungo Jerry
15. The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key) – The Wurzels
16. Year Of The Cat – Al Stewart
17. All Around My Hat – Steeleye Span
18. Tubular Bells – Mike Oldfield

Another collection of interesting sounds and music from a distant time!

Fav. Tracks: Ed Sheeran – X

X – I See Fire.

What really attracted me to buy this album (Vinyl and MP3) was hearing Ed Sheeran perform so many different styles of music, he is really a very talented person.  I also thought I would buy another vinyl record, just for a change, as I haven’t listened to vinyl for some time, but recently bought a new stylus and I found that my old vinyl sounded really good!

Then, I watched the second Hobbit movie and heard this track and that was me finally sold on buying this album.  Someone who can switch style from folk to rap has just got too much talent.

Fav. Tracks: Seth Lakeman – Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth – The Wanderer.

I first heard Seth Lakeman at The Bristol Folk Festival a few years ago and I enjoyed the stomping rhythms he employed for his music, but I did not get around to buying any of his music until quite recently.  It was while trawling albums at Amazon that I came across this album and I thought it was an excellent collection of music by a very talented musician.

This track was easy to pick as a favourite (apart from being the first on the album) as the introduction immediately captures the imagination with an almost ghostly violin, before leading to a typical up-beat rhythm as the story is told.  A powerful chorus add depth to the song and builds the rhythm as the song develops – a great piece of folk/rock.

Fav. Tracks: Fairport Convention – What We Did on Our Holidays

What We Did on Our Holidays – Eastern Rain.

It is really hard to believe that this album was first released in 1968, is it really that long ago?  Although I never bought the vinyl album at the time, I listened to it a lot as a friend owned it and I now have the MP3 version!  It is slightly diffe5rent in sound from the usual Fairport Convention material and has a few interesting tracks that I really like.

This track is one very good example and is a piece of music written by Joni Mitchell that is interpreted, in an interesting rock-folk manner, by Fairport.  Sandy Denny’s voice is very suited to this gentle ballad and I sometimes hear a hint of Joni’s style in her singing.  This is an unusual rock-music record, but a very good collection of music from a very professional band.

Fav. Tracks: Wanderer – Joel Grainger

Wanderer  – Another home.

We chanced upon this young man playing in the High Street in Winchester, attracted by a fairly large crowd and some interesting sounding music.  As he explained to his audience he samples his own sounds live and plays these back, through a pedal loop system, as an accompaniment, in the style that I first saw with KT Tunstall, except using a violin.  The sound, live, was exceptionally good and very entertaining, which led me to purchase one of his CDs.

The musical style is quite varied, sometimes melancholic (but maybe that is the violin), sometimes quite folky (especially on Cooleys Reel), even producing a faintly Indian theme on Gypsy Raag, but always well played and expressive.  He is a natural street performer, but this studio album is very good and shows off his talent very well.

I have chosen this track because it clearly shows how he uses the sampling loop station, but also provides a good illustration of his violin playing.  I like the slightly melancholic feel of the music as it seems to be telling a story in music.

Fav. Tracks: Show of Hands – Wake The Union

Wake The Union – Haunt You.

As we work through this music collection of mine we now reach “W” and find the first non-classical and non-sampler album is folk-rock from one of my favourite West Country bands Show of Hands.  It is only recently I have started to collect their music, but the sound has really grown on me and this album is one I really like and having met the band on a couple of occasions I think they are well worth following.

This track is probably the one that most typifies their musical style and is a strong rock-folk sound as well as an excellent opening to the album.  However, much of the rest of the album has a gentler folky sound.

Fav. Tracks: Melanie – The Very Best of….

The Very Best of Melanie – Ruby Tuesday (Not this actual album).

Melanie had a number of hits back in the 60s and I bought this album (vinyl) as I used the tracks for the occasional party music!  Melanie has an unusual, innocent-sounding voice that I quite like and I think this version of this well known track is a good example of her singing style.  Not everyone’s favourite, but an interesting sound!

Fav. Tracks: Judy Collins – The Very Best of……

The Very Best of Judy Collins – Both Sides Now.

When I was a student I first came across the sound of Joni Mitchell and really took to her singing style and music, but at the same time there was a general feeling that Judy Collins was better singer; although, in my view a very different style.  Consequently her music and her singing was also popular at the time.

This track illustrates the different style that Judy provides to one of Joni’s better known tracks with a very melodious sound and a well articulated style.  She does have a wonderful voice though!

Fav. Tracks: Fairport Convention – Unhalfbricking

Unhalfbricking – A Sailor’s Life.

My 780th posting takes me, once again, back to my student days and is also (currently) my final album by Fairport Convention.  This album (CD) was one owned by a flat mate when I was a first year student and one I really enjoyed listening to.  I eventually bought the CD many years later, but the music seeded my interest in folk-rock and led to a lot of concerts by this band over the years.

There are several tracks that I really love off this album, and Sandy Denny’s voice makes many of them what they are, but this track has always moved me and pricks the hairs on my arms!  I love the way the music builds during the song, after a quiet introduction with mostly Sandy’s voice and the lyrics that are superb, but what is really brilliant is the fusion of folk and rock, which makes this song so wonderful.  When the beat changes and the rhythm of the song lifts this is a classic folk-rock sound from so many years ago it is quite scary!