Hot town, summer in the city. A steamy August night and the twenty-somethings of London town sit sipping lager gloating on the roof terrace of the Royal Festival Hall enjoying their place at the centre of the universe...
Inside its a slightly more refined affair as acid fold legends Pentangle reunite for one of just three gigs (the others being the Cambridge folk and Glastonbury festivals). Fitting indeed that they choose the Royal Festival Hall given their recording of some of the album Sweet Child in this very place. The audience is less male and less beardy than you might imagine. True, there aren't many teenagers hanging around, but there is a fair smattering of all ages 30 up and the ladies are out in force too, showing the wide appeal of the recent folk revival
Things start in a fairly subdued fashion before the original line up of Bert Jansch (guitar), Danny Thompson (double bass), Terry Cox (drums), John Renbourn (guitar) and Jacqui McShee (vocals) play their 'only hit' Light Flight second song in. Its a little ramshackle to be honest but there is no doubting the quality of McShee's vocal as the second half of the song is carried by her famously ethereal wail. This begins a sublime run of material through to the interval. Mirage is the next song with the band's jazz influences coming to the fore before The Hunting Song takes things to another level again with Jacqui's exquisite voice providing the gel to bring together the disparate sounds.
Mainstream it isn't - there are few gigs for example where the mere entrance of a sitar or a bango generates warm applause. The audience is worshiping at the alter of funky folk and is sympathetic to the odd strained note here and there. Part one ends with the haunting Cruel Sister and one can't help but be impressed with the overall shape of the show - this is a band, whilst trading on past successes, that retains a spirit and sound worthy of their legacy.
Sadly the second half of the show doesn't quite match the first. The band re-emerge to play a series of blues jams which, while displaying the diversity of their influences, struggle to hold the attention - especially when Jacqui is offstage. The double bass solos in particular lack variety, pared back to single notes and we are slowly battered into submission by soporiphic soloing. Terry Cox's drum work with its jazz shuffle is better but its only when McShee re-emerges and promises us more tales 'of doom and gloom' that things pick up again. The Wedding Dress Song (learnt we are told from Peggy Seeger) is a rare moment of joy as Anderson plays his bass with a bow. As things wrap up with Pentangling the audience shows its appreciation to the extent that the band return for a brief encore of Rain and Snow bathed in red and yellow light.
Few can doubt Pentangle's influence in the world of English roots music. At their heart is a commitment to authenticity and experimentation and in Jacqui McShee they have one of the great voices of any genre. The rest of the ensemble are no slouches either despite their age. They deserve the late acclaim they are receiving for their continued commitment to music of depth and beauty.
The golden era of acid folk was the late sixties and early seventies when the folk musicians who had come to prominence earlier fused their sound with the predominant sound of the day – psychedelia. Arguably America led the way, first with Dylan going ‘electric’ then the artists of the West coast such as Moby Grape and Crosby, Stills and Nash. The UK soon followed with Donovan and then Fairport Convention’s Meet Me On The Ledge taking the traditional folk sound and injecting it with modern instrumentation to create a new fusion which appealed to a younger market. Others soon followed - The Pentangle, Mellow Candle, Trees, and Mr Fox were just a few who were happy to incorporate jazz, rock and psychedelia into their sound with varied results. There are countless examples - many acts disappearing after an album or two but here are twenty of my favourites - do leave yours in the comments boxes below. I've sought to cover both the US and the UK/Irish scenes. If you want to secure some of these tracks relatively easily pick up one of the following compilations - Folk is Not a Four Letter Word (Volumes 1 and 2)- Various Artists, A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble exploding in your mind (Volumes 1 and 2) - The Amorphous Androgynous and Feel the Spirit compiled by Mark Pritchard.
20. By the Sea - Wendy and Bonnie
Famously sampled by Super Furry Animals for the track Hello Sunshine. Californian Wendy and Bonnie released their debut (and only) album Genesis when aged 17 and 13 respectively. The album reflected dominant sounds of the time (Simon and Garfunkel, Mamas and the Papas etc) but the label they were on (Skye) went bust after the album's release and, like so many folk artists of the time, this remained buried treasure until a new generation discovered it.
19. Spin Spider Spin - Peggy Zeitlin
Johnny Trunk deserves the credit for tracking this one down. It featured on his Fuzzy Felt Folk compilation a few years ago. Half child's lullaby, half creepy horror song it certainly grabs your attention. Its actually from an American child's education recording and no-one - not even Johnny - has been able to track Peggy down.
18. Mendle - Mr Fox
Fuzzy guitar and Hammond organ combine to create a frenzied recording allegedly about the killing of a woman in an occult ritual. Mayhem somewhat reminiscent of the band's own career. They only lasted two years due to the fact that driving force Bob Pegg had an affair with his children's nanny (his wife Carole was the band's vocalist) who in turn was the girlfriend of the bassist Barry Lyons - messy. Still, this is an excellent example of the darker side of the folk sound.
17. Me and my woman - Roy Harper
One wonders if Roy Harper had died early whether he would now garner the same respect as Nick Drake. Undoubtedly an excellent songwriter and a huge influence on other musicians of the time. This track is from 1971's Stormcock album an album revered by Johnny Marr among others.
16.Stargazer - Shelagh McDonald
The story of Shelagh McDonald is fascinating. A Scottish vocalist, she recorded two albums before abruptly disappearing for the next thirty years. She eventually re-emerged in 2005 claiming that following a bad LSD trip she had been living a nomadic lifestyle living in a combination of houses and tents. This is the title track of her second album and is quite beautiful.
15. Hey who really cares - Linda Perhacs
One has to wonder if any folk star from this era achieved any degree of financial success. Linda Perhacs was yet another who recorded one album, became a dental technician for the next thirty years and then was rediscovered. This ode to loneliness was a stand out track from her Parallelograms debut. In recent years she has started recording again and describes herself as 'equal parts mystic, musician, schoolteacher, earth mother and Pollyanna....'
14. River Man - Nick Drake
Nick Drake has gone from underrated folk troubadour to national treasure in the last decade. His sound, although generally regarded as folk, took jazz stylings in particular to create work of great beauty. This is an excellent example.
13. The Sea - Fotheringay
One of a number of tracks on this list featuring the unique talents of Sandy Denny who was also vocalist for Fairport Convention. This was her own post-Fairport band and this is one of her original compositions on the album. Denny later famously sang on Led Zeppelin's Battle of Evermore as well as having a mildly successful solo career before her death in 1978 after falling down a staircase.
12. Witches Promise – Jethro Tull
A controversial choice perhaps but Jethro Tull were one of the first to combine a traditional folk sound with the pervading classic rock sound. I discovered this track at university whole going through a prog rock phase and its always been a favourite – flutes ahoy!
11. Wooden Ships – Christine Harwood
A cover of the Crosby, Stills and Nash song. This version featured on her much sought after album Nice to meet you Miss Christine which featured guest spots from members of King Crimson, Rainbow and Yes. What really appeals about this version is the arrangements which lift it from standard soul or folk so something on a much more spiritual level.
10. Magician in the Mountain – Sun Forest
Like a number of the tracks listed here this track was made widely available by Global Communication’s Mark Pritchard on his influential Feel the Spirit Compilation. It has since also featured on the Amorphous Androgynous’ Huge Psychedelic Brain compilations. A number of the other tracks on Sun Forest's only album were featured in Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork Orange.
9. Meet me on the Ledge – Fairport Convention
The track that shifted Fairport's career from west coast copyists to the forefathers of British folk Rock. Their following two albums (Unhalfbricking and Liege and Lief) are arguably two of the most important albums in British musical history.
8. Rosehip November– Vashti Bunyan
The story of Vashti Bunyan is well enough known not to have to repeat it here. This stand out track from her debut album Just Another Diamond Day has a real sense of loss and autumnul reflection.
7. Silver Song - Mellow Candle
Signed by Simon Napier Bell as teenagers, Mellow Candle's debut and only album Swaddling songs has been known to net over £500. This stand out track was covered by All About Eve among others.
6. She moved Thro' the fair – Trees
This traditional track was covered by many artists in the late 1960's/early 1970s as well as everyone from Boyzone to Rolf Harris later. It starts with a riff familiar to many fans of Led Zeppelin as White Summer and then moves into territory reminiscent of Belfast child by Simple Minds! Despite that its an excellent example of mellow folk rock and of how traditional English songs were being adapted for new audiences. The album its on (The Garden of Jane Trellawny) is one of two the band recorded and an absolute corker.
5. The Witch – Mark Fry
Like Susan Christie and Vashti Bunyan, Mark Fry had to wait for some time for recognition. He recorded his debut Dreaming with Alice in 1972 but the album was only released in Italy. Sitars and Lutes are introduced to the singer songwriter dimension of the record and its all produced in such a way that it has a really earthy but eerie quality - slightly reminiscent of Donovan perhaps. The reissued album on Sunbeam records is highly recommended.
4. Feel the spirit - Heaven and Earth
Like a number of the female artists here, Pat Gefell (now Dennison) of this duo still records. The accoustic guitar and flute really create a sense of being 'close to nature' without sounding twee. The note hit at about 2.57 hits a great peak before a funky drumbeat kicks in - folk funk at its best!
3. Winter's Going - Bonnie Dobson
Certainly one of the darkest songs on this list - essentially a story of revenge on an ex-lover. Bonnie was Canadian born but made her home in the UK, eventually working in the philosophy department of the University of London. This was a stand out track from her 1969 debut LP. The album can be picked up cheaply and also includes Morning Dew which was widely covered.
2. Paint a Lady - Susan Christie
Essentially a ‘lost’ recording until re released just a few years ago by the excellent Finders Keepers reissue label. Christie was from Philadelphia and had secured a novelty hit single with a track called I love onions before recording a superb album of folky country songs. This is the title track and it's lyrics paint a strangely colourful picture of the mundainity of the modern labour market
1. Light Flight – The Pentangle
‘Lets get away, you say...away from the city race’ As near as acid folk got to a hit single, Light Flight perfectly illustrated the desire to escape the pace and scale of urbanisation so desired by politicians of the day. Originally written to accompany TV series Take Three Girls. Jacqui McShee’s haunting wail soars over a funky rhythm section to create three and a half minutes of folk perfection.
They say small is beautiful and that’s certainly true of Fruits De Mer records. Co-run by Andy Bracken and Keith Jones the label has released only eight 7” singles since its inception in 1715 (at least that’s what their website says) yet their sheer quality control in both musical content and in packaging is second to none.
Specialising in the sort of acid folk and psych rock which are so in vogue right now they specialise in limited edition EPs of cover versions and have recorded artists as diverse as ‘lost’ folk troubadour Mark Fry and Cranium Pie (who have featured heavily on the critically acclaimed Monsterous Psychadelic Bubble compilations by Amorphous Androgynous). Artists covered include the Small Faces, Pink Floyd and (somewhat bizarrely) Mark Fry covering himself. The combination creates genuinely forward thinking versions that build on the original compositions. Furthermore, each volume comes with special inserts including posters and free gifts and each is pressed on beautiful coloured vinyl. Too good to be true? I caught up with Andy to find out more...
Why did you set Fruits de Mer up?
Andy Bracken - I was already running a label (Bracken Records), which focuses on original material by new artists. I’d known Keith for a decade or more, and, over many pints of bitter, we’d discussed the notion of starting a joint label for a while. But we wanted an angle. The initial idea was to re-release obscure 60s and early 70s stuff on vinyl, but it became clear the copyright owners of that material were never going to let us gain access to source material. So, I came up with the concept of getting contemporary bands to cover some of our favourite tracks. Keith grasped the potential, and a monster was born…and Keith’s missus, Liz, chose the name, because it’s her favourite dish (she loves a winkle or two…). You have an eclectic approach – covering all styles from psych to folk to kraut – what is your label philosophy and how do you decide what to put out?
Andy Bracken - Yeah, I suppose we do. It comes about via the dynamic involved – ideas bounced around between Keith, the band and myself. Keith and I have a meeting of minds and tastes on psych stuff, really, and Kraut (anything on the Green Brain label gets us salivating). But beyond that, Keith is more the Prog side, and I’m more folk.
Take the US & THEM EP we’ve just done: the band suggested ‘Julia Dream’, and Keith loves his post-Syd Floyd. I recalled reading how Roger Waters had ‘borrowed’ the melody for ‘Julia Dream’ from the traditional lullaby ‘All The Pretty Little Horses’, so suggested the two tracks could be merged. Thankfully, Us & Them like the fuzzy-felt nursery-rhyme angle on records, so the concept was born…and they nailed it – a really beautiful record, that one. The point is - it was the dynamic that made it possible, if that makes sense. Kind of like that thing about ‘the whole being greater than the sum of its parts’.
The philosophy, I suppose, is to cover tracks from the era 66-73, but identify potential between the artist and the track. There’s no sense in banging out a reverential cover – it has to bring something to the party. Thus, the song has to be malleable, and the band has to be somewhat visionary. No real restrictions, though – who knows, maybe we’ll cover some old Blues stuff, or some obscure rockabilly tracks in the future…I’d like to.
Your packaging is always excellent – is that something you like to focus on?
Andy Bracken - Ha! Thank you. It simply came about because we had no budget for artwork. That always forces you to be creative. And we like to slip extra stuff in, such as posters and daft inserts and whathavya – anything we can get for next to nothing, seems to be the philosophy. The magic fish in Volume 3 were down to Jonesy – genius, that was! We get help on design where we can – if a member of the band has an artistic thing, we encourage them to use it, and, if not, I pull something together. The artwork is the thing I worry about the most, so it’s nice to hear that. I do the labels most of the time, as well.
You focus heavily on cover versions – is this simply because they are songs the artists love or is it to create an entry point for artists other material?
Andy Bracken - Yep, that’s the idea behind the label. It was a bit nerve-racking at first. We’re like everyone else out there, and it’s almost sacrilegious to try to cover Nick Drake, for example. The only reason I let that track (Day Is Done) be done was because it was Alison O’Donnell (Mellow Candle), who was on the scene at the same time as Drake, and similarly struggled to find the recognition she deserved back then. It almost seemed kind of apt, in the end.
And yes, the hope is that customers might delve into the bands on the back of the covers they do for us. Also, I’ve noticed we have a healthy group of younger customers, who it would be nice to think are discovering exciting music from the past via these more contemporary bands.
What’s next for Fruits de Mer?
Andy Bracken - More releases, and we’re stepping up to albums soon, with some concept to them. Always vinyl. Always coloured. And I’m determined not to let things get out of hand. We’re getting bigger and bigger with every release, and have pretty much sold out of everything, but finding a balance between popular, and keeping it like a club or family, is paramount. We have some wonderful customers, and I’d hate to lose that interaction with them. You know, we’re not in this for money, quite frankly, and as long as we just about recover cost, we’re happy to carry on. Hope you’ll continue joining us on our merry trip…
So that’s it – except to say – if you want to check the label out, they have a great website at www.fruitsdemerrecords.com
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