Listening to 'Stormbringer!' (the album) again, I notice similarities between Martyn and Dave Evans: now and then they both feature two guitars playing along with female
backing vocals. I have to say though that Dave Evans is much much better:
the songs are more interesting and the guitar playing is from another world.
It's true that Martyn's playing would improve, but he went in a different
direction to the one presented in 'Stormbringer!'. I wonder what would have
happened had Evans recorded for Island Records instead of the regional
Village Thing. Probably he would have eschewed the bright lights, being too
modest for success.
Looking for a suitable picture to display, I discover that someone has done
the world a great service and uploaded to YouTube the complete cd version of
'The words inbetween' with the extra songs coming from his second (and less good)
album.
But more importantly, I found the following on the
Internet :
The story goes that Ian A. Anderson and John Turner were sat in their
habitual coffee shop, Splinters, trying to come up with a name for their new
record label. At the time (the early 70s) Greenwich Village was naturally
the mecca destination for any musician worth his 12-string, so the pair had
taken to referring to their slice of Bristol as 'Clifton Village' (long
before this was taken up by estate agents across the land, albeit in a very
different fashion). And so The Village Thing was born; home to a great many
extraordinary talents, not least of all Dave Evans, and his magnificent
debut 'The Words In Between'.
Like many albums of the era - and inclination - "Words" was
recorded straight to tape in someone's home (in this instance, Ian
Anderson's). Nothing unusual there – the DIY aspect of making records at
this time was something of a necessity, rather than an aesthetic – but one
has only to look a little further to realise that the sounds Dave Evans
relayed to a shiny new Revox were unique. Not just the songs, but the guitar
on which he played; every aspect of his sound was of his own design. No
small feat during a time when most of his peers had to beg borrow or steal
an instrument, just to fulfill their Saturday night slot at the
Troubadour.
Evans has rightfully earned cult status amongst anyone with an
ear for the fingerpicking style of guitar. Even the most cursory glance at
his 'Old Grey Whistle Test' session is enough to leave one spellbound – Lou
Reed (in the audience at the time) was said to have been completely
mesmerised by Evans' phenomenal – yet seemingly effortless – touch. As far
as comparisons go, Evans could easily sit alongside the likes of Robbie
Basho or John Fahey in terms of technical ability, but the rarity of his
talent lies in his gift for melody, which is relayed both instrumentally,
and via his sweet Welsh lilt. In a world where it seems as though every
guitar LP of the 60s and 70s has been scrutinised within an inch of its
life, 'The Words In Between' might just be that rare thing: a wonderfully
arcane gem.
"The Words in Between' feels clear and effortless.
It's a recording of just guitar and voice, and really does guide us to the
spaces in-between, where we find solace, a calm warmth. Dave’s consoling
voice comes through in his words, and his exquisite guitar playing guides us
along on this lovely journey. I'm so happy that this album will be put back
into the world -- for new ears to love, and for the old, worn out copies to
be replaced.” Steve Gunn, 2018
"After Bert, John, Ralph and Wizz,
where to next? Look further than this companionable compendium of small
wonders. One of the last great undiscovered folk guitar albums of its era.",
Pete Paphides, 2018
It's nice to know that someone else feels the same way as I do.
Today is 'Bonny black hare' day, and completely by coincidence that was one of the songs that I
heard this morning when walking the dog.
The user interface in Blogger has been changed without recognition and is
much less intiuitive IMHO. Inserting the above picture was an exercise in
cruelty and I had to look at the HTML code of a previous post to see the
necessary command to put the picture on the left with the text on the
right. BTW, it's
style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"
Edit from a few days later: I discovered that there is an almost hidden option, "Restore classic Blogger" (or similar). Choosing this restores the interface to how it used to be.
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