Wensleydale - Piers Browne

I found this in a craft fair in Skipton in Yorkshire quite a few years ago now. There was also a copy in the War on Want Bookshop in Belfast for a long while. It was available on the internet at the time but now seems to have vanished apart from a copy in Amazon Japan (I think - I can't read Japanese). So I'll risk posting it.

I really like this. I think of it as Incredible String Band type lyrics set to a Steely Dan type backing, with a good lead guitarist and a Kate Bush-like backup singer. More obvious choices for a musical reminder of the Yorkshire Dales would be English pastoral composers such as Elgar and Butterworth, or the Watersons on the folk side, but this does the job brilliantly.

Ripped @192 plus covers.

Piers is an artist living and working in the Dales (http://www.piersbrowne.com/index.asp)

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Snow Fell On My Laptop

Home recordings of Christmas music I did a year ago and uploaded to Archive.org.

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John Betjeman - Summoned By Bells

I have always had a spot spot for JB. Not my generation, but from my part of London so it takes me back. He also comes across as thoroughly human and a good chap to go for a drink with.

This is 'Summoned By Bells' which I recorded from a recent BBC broadcast. Narrated by the author with music by Jim Parker. Ripped @ 128 in two 30 minute parts.

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I am not worthy...

I've uploaded a few fiddle tunes here, but Michael Clarkson of Belfast seems to have written the book, although on the flute. Wonderful!

PlaySchool & PlayAway

A major feature of our children's childhood was these two BBC TV programs. We had a cassette copy of the music from these for a long while but it finally went missing. I saw this tape on Ebay, and though it doesn't have 'Why Does The Winkle Always Turn To The Right' or 'What I Want Is A Proper Cup Of Coffee' it has enough to roll back the years.

Ripped @128 into two CDs, plus cover artwork.

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De De Pierce's New Orleans Stompers

Ever come back home after a few drinks, heard some fantastic music on the radio, bought the record, and found that it wasn't quite what you remembered? This record, along with Nanci Griffith's 'Five And Dime', is one of those.

Track by track its marvellous, but a whole LP gets a bit tedious. If you had seen these guys live, however, it would have been one of the best nights of your (musical) life.

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Battle Of The Bands (10" LP)

I've never been convinced by big band jazz, but Stan Kenton and Dizzy Gillespie have a very good stab at things here. But what was Bobby Sherwood thinking?

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Muggsy Spanier And His Ragtime Band (10" LP)

I got this LP from Hector's House in Belfast, one of the last of the old style record stores, now closed. Its a bit crackly. Although it doesn't have "Relaxin' At The Touro" its from the same golden period of Spanier's recordings, with the music playing the musicians rather than the (more usual) other way round.

I had a bit of a thing about Bix Beiderbecke at one time, largely because others rate him so highly that he must be good. But I think I prefer Muggsy Spanier; good music doesn't have to be complicated.

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Goin' Up The Country

I got this after Mike Raven played Herb Quinn's "Casey" on his show. I was plonking about on the on the guitar at the time and had never heard the like of this - I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on as I had never come across slide guitar before.

A friend bought the album and a few of us would wander around in search of record players to play it on, on one instance getting into a stand-off with others looking for somewhere to play their Beatles "White Album". Different times.

"Casey" doesn't give me the same thrill now but its still marvellous stuff. At the time the record was touted as evidence of the healthy state of the country blues, but it sounds more to me like its swan song. Oh well.

Includes covers and four page insert.

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Muddy Waters - After The Rain

This got rather sniffy reviews when it came out - Mike Raven played a track on his "R and B Show"(UK) but thought the musicians were too modern for the job. I really like it, especially side one, and especially the blood curdling "Rollin' and Tumblin'". This was the track I heard on the radio, and the reason I bought the record.

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Julia Clifford

Selected tracks from the Topic LPs, "The Star Of Munster Trio" and "The Humours Of Lisheen", pictures from covers. No harm to husband John, but I am interested in fiddle playing and its hard to hear what's happening when the accordian is playing, so he has been edited out.


Julia Clifford may well be my favourite fiddle player - for all sorts of reasons I can't quite articulate.


List Of Tunes

The Humours Of Lisheen - Art O'Keeffe's
Biddy Crowley's Ball
The Bold Trainor O - Slide Gan Ainm
Cailin An Ti Mor
Padraig O'Keeffe's
John Mahinny's No. 2 - The Ducks And The Oats
I Looked East And I Looked West
Gan Ainm - The Worn Torn Petticoat
Taimse i M'Chodladh
Slide Gan Ainm
Julia Clifford's - Bill The Waiver's
Jig Gan Ainm
Johnny Cope
The Mountain Road - Paddy Cronin's
Ballydesmond - Knocknaboul
The Red Haired Boy
Lucy's Reel - The Clare Reel
John Mahinny's No. 1 - Jig Gan Ainm
Grandfather's Thought - Madam If You Please
Chicago
Napoleon's Retreat



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One By One - Stomu Yamash'ta

The soundtrack to a film about car racing. I borrowed this off friends when it first came out. I didn't have many records then so the ones I had were played thoroughly and I got very fond of this. I still like it, its cleverly done and has plenty of variety, and I cannot see why I hasn't had a CD re-issue.

Ripped @ 192 - includes covers.

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Winterreise

Not Schubert, but guitar duo Hajo Weber and Ulrich Ingenbold. I heard a few tracks from this on an ECM mix-tape Gordon Turnbull did for me years ago. It hasn't been released on CD but I got a S/H copy off Ebay. I've seen it dismissively described as 'New-Age Guitar rambling' but its a bit better than that.

Some crackle on the flute on the last track.

Includes covers.

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Ulster's Flowery Vale

The old BBC Northern Ireland compilation, now almost from a forgotten age. I taped bits and pieces years ago, but only recently got a copy (from Dianna Boullier of Bangor, who had one to spare).

Its a mono recording, and a bit scratchy but every track is a gem in its own way. Highlights are the mellow playing of McConnell, Gunn and McAloon, and an incandescent Sean Maguire. Includes covers.

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Smokey Hogg - Original Folk Blues

I found this in the market in Waterlooplein, Amsterdam a few years ago. Lovely ramshackle music.

Ripped @ 192 with no attempt to clean up (I actually like the noise of vinyl).

Includes covers. These are scanned using a Mustek A3 scanner, which is not quite wide enough for a 12" LP cover, so there's about a centimetre missing. Resolution of 75dpi. I could do a double-scan and join-up-with-Photoshop, but I don't really have time for this, and the results here are more than adequate for a home-made CD sleeve. These who need more would be better hunting out a real copy on Ebay.

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Music of Sligo - Fred Finn & Peter Horan

Classic Irish fiddle and flute duet, for some reason never released on CD.

I've had a poor copy of this for years on cassette, but recently got a pristine vinyl copy, only to find that the poorness is in the recording! So its ripped @ 128. Includes covers.

There is a video of this pair on YouTube - search for 'Finn Horan'.

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Previte - Hunter - Logic

A test to see if all this works.......for technical reasons (ahem) this is a mono recording.

Jazz on 3 (BBC)

8 April 2005
Friday 8 April 2005 23:30-1:00 (Radio 3)


Featured Concert:
Bobby Previte - drums
Charlie Hunter - 8 string guitar
DJ Logic - turntables
Recorded at CBSO, Birmingham 6th February 2004

Previte gets funky with two of New York's most outstanding musicians; eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter and DJ Logic.

Hunter's unique instrument (a hybrid of bass and guitar) and his rock-influenced style have attracted a cult following whilst DJ Logic has recorded and toured intensively with artists such as Don Byron and Medeski, Martin and Wood.

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