More Blodwyn Pig

I wrote recently about renewing my acquaintance with the group Blodwyn Pig. As a result, I listened twice to their second album, "Getting to this", last night. As I probably wrote last time, when the record was released (in April 1970), I preferred this to its predecessor, but now I definitely prefer the debut record, "Ahead rings out".

There are a couple of standout tracks: "See my way" (this was originally on  "Getting to this" but rereleased on "Ahead rings out", which makes me wonder when it was recorded), "San Franciso Sketches", "The squirreling must go on" and "Send your son to die". Along with these are a couple of not-bad tracks ("Drive my car", "Variations on Nainos", "Worry") and a few others which are either out of place ("Toys") or filler ("Telephone bomb blues", "To Rassman"). My cd copy also has "Summer day" and "Walk on water" attached at the end.

The sound is fuller than on the debut album, which is not necessarily a good thing. For some reason, Jack Lancaster seems to be missing in action: he is nowhere to be heard on the out of place/filler tracks, and barely puts in an appearance on 'Worry' (his contribution is a fine solo). It should be noted that he is definitely present on the other tracks, and "San Francisco Sketches" is his showcase.

I discovered somehow that Mick Abrahams had written an autobiography ("What is a Wommet"), so I immediately ordered this. Due to the wonderful people at the Book Depository, the book arrived yesterday and I've just finished reading it. To be honest, the book was underwhelming; it was more about the fun times that Mick Abrahams has had being a musician and less about the music itself. There is a little information about Jethro Tull and Blodwyn Pig, but not very much, and the gems are mainly eclipsed by tales of drunkeness and the Territorial Army. The chapters are very short and it seems that every chapter finishes with a few lines on a new page, so the book gives the impression of being fuller than it really is.

There are some interesting words about "Getting to this": The songs on this album had a different energy and feel  and, of course, we now had the additional luxury of 16 tracks to record with. We took full advantage of the new technology and used it to layer guitars and saxes to get a generally thicker sound."

The book also relieved me of a life-long illusion: as Abrahams shares his name with my mother's maiden name, I had naturally assumed that he was Jewish. Far from it; he was adopted, brought up a Christian, was an alter boy, and underwent a religious revival in his 30s. He claims that Abrahams is a common surname in East Anglia. 

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone except the die-hard completists of Jethro Tull and/or Blodwyn Pig; whilst there are plenty of anecdotes, solid information which might inform the man's music is thin on the ground.