Martin Carthy channels his English Folk inner Delta Bluesman in this 9 and half minute dramatic delivery of " The Famous Flower Of Serving Men "
Happy St. George's Day: Strawhead - Songs From The Book Of England Tradition Records, UK, 1980, TSR 0356 TSR 0356-A-1 Λ TSR 0356-B-1 D TSR 0356-C-1 Λ C TSR 0356-D-1 0 Λ
I'm not sure whether this is quite the right place as its not pure folk, but contains many English folk elements (I've also posted in the pinned 'obscure artists' thread, but having looked at the other posts I'm not sure it fits there so thought I'd share here anyway!) I've been listening to Howard Haigh's music recently, an excellent guitarist and composer from Lancaster UK who has worked aceoss a mumber of styles and ensembles throughout his career. He's done a lot over the years, including some quite high profile performances in London and for BBC radio. In Bandcamp his tags include classical/Spanish guitar, latino-blues, folk and world. I'll link to his most recent work, his 2020 lockdown album Tree Dance, which is quite folky. The various parts were recorded remotely then mixed together. It's all rather lovely and uplifting with fantastic guitar playing and great arrangements throughout for various combinations of guitar, flute, cello, accordion, percussion. TREE DANCE, by Howard Haigh
One record that tends to be overlooked when discussing early '70s British and Irish folk-rock is this great one from the Woods Band (formed by Terry and Gay Woods shortly after they left Steeleye Span): Also worth a mention is this, from 1976 (more folk, much less rock):
I’ve been spinning The Virgin Prophet demos from Mellow Candle. Basically it’s the demos for Swaddling Songs plus a few extra songs. It’s really great.
And from the same TV show, a one off special effects sequence soundtracked by The Unthanks - a song titled Magpie
I'm very pleased to have picked up this album as a triple LP many years ago, even though I didn't see the TV show. It is about how Irish music influenced and was influenced by other music around the world. My friends looked a the track listing and said "An Irish music compilation with out U2? How useless is that?" Details here: Bringing It All Back Home (Music From The BBC TV Series) (CD)
Paper Aeroplanes - We Are Ghosts More Images We are Ghosts - 2nd Edition, by Paper Aeroplanes - Available digitally & CD. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwRa-_kfN2U&list=OLAK5uy_kZXQwbxh9K_Az7G2L32E6-NrTjdlSjeKQ&index=1 - Days We Made (Track #1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDS_kmqSBGA&list=OLAK5uy_kZXQwbxh9K_Az7G2L32E6-NrTjdlSjeKQ&index=6 - Stones Inside Your Shoes
Written by erstwhile Red Jasper frontman, Davey Dodds whose own version is to be found on his excellent Kernowcopia album, which came out in 2017. It's a lot more raw than the Unthanks' cover.
Thanks for the pointer. When I watched the TV show with this sequence for the first time, it was a bit of a jaw dropping moment - I'm not used to seeing special effects done so beautifully, and the music was perfect. I also like the slight variations on the main theme across the three series. I hope Mackenzie Crook goes on to direct more TV shows like this.
Out of curiosity, what are you posting? I'm getting "video unavailable". Too much good music being put up here to let one slip past.
I've been listening to Nic Jones this morning. I first heard this song many years ago and it grabbed me by the heart and didn't let go. It dates from the 17th century, but I doubt Nic's version will ever be surpassed, so simple, but so beautiful, describing the human condition in 3 minutes. Nic Jones - "Ten Thousand Miles" "Oh come back, my own true love, And stay a while with me, For if I had a friend all on this earth, You've been a friend to me."
I've been on the lookout for this Cooked Oak LP for years. There's currently one for sale on Discogs for £1,077.94! I've also been trying to confirm whether the song The Ballad Of Will Joblin, about the last man to be gibbeted in the UK, is a Crooked Oak original. It's not on either of their records (assuming they only made two) but it was in connection with this song that I first heard about them.
It's a beautiful album. My friend's copy is signed by Steve Evans himself. He payed a lot less but still a couple of hundred pounds. Really interesting what you mention about The Ballad of Will Joblin. Where did you hear the song? It doesn't appear on any of their two albums as you said.
I've got it by a band called After Hours who recorded it back in the Nineties. Prompted by this thread, I had another scour on-line and I've found it on Crooked Oak's second album The Foot Of Wor Stairs, listed as Will Jobling/I'll Never Gan Tae The Dark Cellar Nae Mer and written by band member Andy Dutfield. After Hours somehow lost the second tune and the G from Jobling! Don't know how I missed it previously. I'd love for the two Crooked Oak albums to get a CD (or even vinyl) re-release. I'm sure there would be a market for a limited run.