Martin Carthy – "Shearwater" (PEG – PEG 12) 1972

It be the great daddy of the UK Folk revival's 80th birthyday today. All Hail!

So as a tribute,and with virtually zero moronic waffle from me, here's One of Martin's bestest ever albums for you all to celebrate with...bloody crap cover though!? This may be an unimaginative piece of script,but its more than most other blogs can be bothered to write.Normally its jsut a picture and a highlighted "Link" that's long dead.....unlike the great Martin.

Happy 80th Birthyday Martin Carthy.....MBE.

Tracklist:

A1 I Was A Young Man
A2 Banks Of Green Willow
A3 Handsome Polly-O
A4 Outlandish Knight
A5 He Called For A Candle
A6 John Blunt
B1 Lord Randall
B2 William Taylor
B3 Famous Flower Of Serving Men
B4 Betsy Bell And Mary Gray

DOWNLOAD the leftie with the MBE,but with reasons,HERE!

Martin Carthy – "Landfall" (Philips – 6308049) 1971

Archie Fisher was not the only MBE on the folk circuit incredibly. For sooth ,Martin Carthy MBE has been a reality for more than a decade.This means I have to choose a favourite Martin Carthy album,so, having a liking for grim tunes and psychsploitative sleeve art I've plumped for this...."Landfall". A word that usually means the moment when a hurricane  hits the shore and calms down a bit.

There's good songs about infanticide,loneliness,death,injustice, and mental illness,what more could you want?

Martin is also worth his MBE for never selling out,and  for his impeccable ethics...you know, those things the Punk Rockers conveniently forgot about once they got in the charts.....I know,'but he accepted an MBE' you say....in the world of Folk this is not the same act of betrayal as Mick Jagger accepting a knighthood, as the royal family was always an accepted part of the folk world especially in the lyrics.Without the murdering, thieving, war mongering scum that made up the royal families of the past, we would have only about half of the folk songs available for the good Martin to re-interpret for us!?

Tracklist:

A1 Here's Adieu To All Judges And Juries
A2 Brown Adam
A3 O'er The Hills
A4 Cruel Mother
A5 Cold Haily Windy Night
B1 His Name Is Andrew
B2 The Bold Poachers
B3 Dust To Dust
B4 The Broomfield Hill
B5 January Man

DOWNLOAD the calming moment of the hurricane HERE!

Ray Fisher – "The Bonny Birdy" (Trailer – LER 2038) 1972

Staying on the theme of androgynous female first names, after Frankie, and Lindsay ,but not staying on the same musical theme, we've got Scotch Folkie lady,and bonny birdie, Miss Ray Fisher.She,who sings with a Scottie from Star Trek style scotch accent(but this one is apparently 'real'?) about Scottish stuff,but without that distasteful Scottish Nationalism that makes everyone groan as soon as North Sea fucking Oil is mentioned! The same shit happens in conversation with persons of Irish decent too.The clock is ticking as to when 'Da Potatoe Famine' is inevitably mentioned. Jeeeezuz, let it go will ya!?

But, when it comes to traditional music, Scottie from Star Trek can sum it up in one of his adapted catchphrases.

"Yae cannie change the laws of Folk Captain!" (Montgomery Scott,chief engineer, USS Enterprise)

No doubt that The Fisher family were staunch nationalists,but no real hint of that crap on this record anyway,especially as most of the English folk glitterati appear on this album,as featured on the rear cover in that folk style of heads floating in bubbles. Included in the floating bubbles are folk gods Martin Carthy and Ashley Hutchings who supply arrangements, guitars and backing voices.

As far as I can see the song selection only hints at the Glencoe massacre when scots killed scots,and no tiresome tunes about slaughtering the English at one of the few battles they actually won.

American Aussie and Jew Hater, Mel Gibson,barked the immortally fictional line "You may take our lives but you won't take our freedom!",in that rather silly film about William Wallace.

They are still a slave state of the English to this day apparently? All that devolved power and democracy, higher capita per head spending of govt funds north of the border,and other atrocities like that. Poor fuckers.

The Uyghur's in China and the Rohingya in Myanmar have got it easy compared to the repressed Scots.

I know that by mentioning the Uyghur genocide in China I am risking receiving a virus that wipes this blog completely and emptys my bank account,but I felt obliged. A western boycott of Chinese goods, like anything by Apple, would go a long way to offer some support for our Muslim chums in the Re-Education centres and forced labour Factories of China.This is probably the only time I have agreed with Iain Duncan Smith ever! Who is normally reprehensible in his obnoxiousness......this also sadly means that I agree with Trump on China too...but perhaps for different reasons.

Oh Yeah.....this albums pretty good by the way.....got rather sidetracked.....again!? 

 

Tracklist:

A1 Johnnie Sangster
A2 Mill O'Tifty's Annie
A3 Bonny At Morn
A4 Forfar Sodger
B1 Pride Of Glencoe
B2 Silkie Of Sul Skerry
B3 Shipyard Apprentice
B4 Bonny Birdy

DOWNLOAD this bonny compressed mp3 file HERE!