Music from the past - discovered (Part 1).

The history of this; it became something of a project that in essence goes back a long time and to 1977, at least for me. This is the first post on that, and it involved this album originally released in 1971:

As I mentioned then, back in early 2012, it had taken me almost thirty-five years to actually track this down. For some reason, in early December 2012, I decided upon a more ambitious project. That was (to attempt to) track down the two albums that preceded 'High Level'. The proviso was threefold:

• it would be done on a tight budget, with no particular time limit therefore
• the albums had to be playable (not mint or wrapped, as I fully intended to play them)
• the albums had to be the original vinyl releases

You might wonder about this, as did I but a little searching it proved what recordings I was actually looking for. Knowing what you are trying to find is always a good place to start.  It turned out to be this trio:

• Northumberland For Ever (1968) - Topic Records 12TS186
• The Lads of Northumbria (1969) - Trailer Records LER 2007
• Keep Your Feet Still Geordie Hinnie (1970) - Trailer Records LER 2020

I was already aware in essence of the first two of the above, which are studio albums, but not the third and that is how it turned out to being a search for three albums. The last was the final one to succumb and also the most expensive although not by much. Keep Your Feet Still Geordie Hinnie is a live album recorded in a single take at Balmbaras, an old-time music-hall pub in Newcastle.

Here are the covers of the three albums that I purchased, as taken by me just now:

  

  

So there you are. The total cost for all three, including all delivery charges, was £33.71.  In Part 2 of this post I shall try and comment on the music and also the history behind some of it, not least that of Balmbaras.

High Level - Music from the past.

This is one album that I have wanted to find for at least two decades and finally I have done so. First released by Trailer records as LER 2030 in 1971 it has, as far as I can tell never had a full re-release on vinyl, cassette or CD and neither can I find a legal download. I might have missed something but now it doesn't matter any longer...

For much the same cost as a current vinyl release I have it now, an original in excellent condition. It is not absolutely mint and certainly not unplayed but that is a good thing as I fully intend to play it - indeed I already have - and I'm disappointed neither by the quality of my purchase nor (and I hardly expected this to be so) the quality of the content or its recording.
  
I'm still undecided about my favourite tracks on it: It is all of them currently.  The High Level Ranters was the first band I ever saw live at a real gig and it clearly made an impression on me. This about 35 years ago - and it was certainly after 'Ranting Lads' was released by Topic Records in 1976 as 12TS297. As it so happens I mentioned that album here three years ago tomorrow!
That this recording, let alone much of the original and traditional music, was recorded forty years ago has become relevant again. Good music sleeps but it never dies.

Kathryn Tickell - NXNE versus SXSW!

SXSW is the largest "altenative-indie" showcase in the world and it takes place in venues across Austin, TX each March. Although called a festival it is much more an industry convention but strange in that sense. In an industry that is in many sectors on the verge of desperation, it also has the ability to bring UK artists to popular attention here as well, if not more so, than in North American markets. It has probably also done much to increase the profile of US-based folk/roots/country inspired music in the UK, something that has been a very apparent, and in my view welcome, trend in the last three years or so.

What they are wont to forget is that we also have a huge traditional canon of our own, played in a bewildering range of styles and on a vast range of instruments, that cover almost every topic from the positively ancient to the most modern in almost every way imaginable. What is not so easy to do, quite so simply, is to scan a 12" album cover as it is too large.

Ranting Lads - High Level Ranters

I mentioned this 1976 album [on the phone, in a private conversation, yesterday] and not even a half-decent image can seemingly be found on the internet. That is not a problem - or at least not round here - for this a photo of the original 12" album (TOPIC - 12TS297) taken about an hour ago. In keeping with the album there were no clever digital tricks involved, except to employ a lack of them; no flash, no tripod, and a 1/16 second exposure on my F20 using only the diffuse background lighting in my sitting room. It was originally 2048 pixels each way but, to make it more suitable for posting, I have reduced it to a more manageable 800 x 800 pixels but it seems to have lost little, if anything, in the transformation. Using flash for this kind of thing always results in undesirable brightness and burnt-out reflections. Using a tripod is fine but I decided to try without --- it is easier to centre the image this way. The challenge is to stay sill enough for 1/16 second - and this was the best of three.
I can't wait until Saturday when I'm going to see the Kathryn Tickell Band. It's been a long, long time since I have heard Northumbrian pipes (and Hardanger-tuned fiddles) played live and The Cheese & Grain has much to recommend it as a venue for such music.

Kathryn Tickell - live in 2004

The slightly rustic surroundings do nothing to spoil the atmosphere but nevertheless it also has surprisingly good acoustics for such a venue, a bar serving real ale from Frome's own 'Milk Street Brewery', and it is less than a twenty-minute unhurried walk from home.