Thursday, May 14, 2020

John Martyn vs Dave Evans

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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