Bright Phoebus revisited
Well, not a bad article from the Graun
But if, like me, you lived in the same place as the Watersons at the time they did this, hated folk music, were stopped in your tracks by the sound of something new, moving and wondrous with some v strong personal resonances then this is a bit more than a cult classic.
We went to the concert last night in the wonderful Art Deco'ness of the Liverpool Philarmonic Hall - I wished I could say the rest of Liverpool was wonderful but the bits we walked around were dark, scabrous, malevolent and decrepit (not the sanitised Cavern Quarter nor the new Tate but the rest - still being punished for Derek Hatton I wondered...)
Anyway the concert was superb, - to do justice to an album (we have a vinyl copy that plays) that has been a friend and companion for over 40 years is quite a challenge - people have aged, their voices have changed but the spirit remains strong. Replacement musicians have been found - they all turned out to be super-subs; I had no idea who Richard Hawley or John Smith were, but their performances were outstanding. Clearly they loved the music as much as us. They delivered, reducing us and some of the other performers to tears at times - but isn't that what music is meant to do from time to time? And they may have been tears of joy mixed with tears for times lost.
the place was half full.
Why? They are only performing this twice more, tonight in Brighton, tomorrow in Bristol.
Please do try and go, it is as close to magic as you can get in the world of music - even if you know nothing about this album, care little for what is incorrectly categorised as 'folk music', try and go.
But if, like me, you lived in the same place as the Watersons at the time they did this, hated folk music, were stopped in your tracks by the sound of something new, moving and wondrous with some v strong personal resonances then this is a bit more than a cult classic.
We went to the concert last night in the wonderful Art Deco'ness of the Liverpool Philarmonic Hall - I wished I could say the rest of Liverpool was wonderful but the bits we walked around were dark, scabrous, malevolent and decrepit (not the sanitised Cavern Quarter nor the new Tate but the rest - still being punished for Derek Hatton I wondered...)
Anyway the concert was superb, - to do justice to an album (we have a vinyl copy that plays) that has been a friend and companion for over 40 years is quite a challenge - people have aged, their voices have changed but the spirit remains strong. Replacement musicians have been found - they all turned out to be super-subs; I had no idea who Richard Hawley or John Smith were, but their performances were outstanding. Clearly they loved the music as much as us. They delivered, reducing us and some of the other performers to tears at times - but isn't that what music is meant to do from time to time? And they may have been tears of joy mixed with tears for times lost.
the place was half full.
Why? They are only performing this twice more, tonight in Brighton, tomorrow in Bristol.
Please do try and go, it is as close to magic as you can get in the world of music - even if you know nothing about this album, care little for what is incorrectly categorised as 'folk music', try and go.
Comment