Ten Essential Folk Songs From The British Isles That Everyone Should Be Aware Of
Ten Essential Folk Songs From Martin Carthy, Chris Wood, Fairport Convention, and Nic Jones
Introduction.
I have to thank Ken Jones from inspiring this piece on this Facebook Post.
It is in this group here, I love that image.
So here we go, ten folk songs from the British Isles released between 1960 and 1980 that you need to hear, and should ideally be in in your record collection (not on a thieving Spotify playlist).
Martin Carthy - "Scarborough Fair"
Martin Carthy is a veritable folk god, with connections to so many folk families and bands. He is also responsible for the piece that will close this list. I have seen him many times, the last time at the Tyneside Irish Centre with the sadly missed Dave Swarbrick. That was a great night and you can read my blog post about it below. It is a venue I have played myself many times but not singing folk songs.
The reason I included this wonderful rendition of this folk song is that Simon and Garfunkel lifted this arrangement for their release of it, though I am not sure if there was an acknowledgment.
Nic Jones - "The Drowned Lovers" also known as "Clyde Water"
I love Nic Jones and "Penguin Eggs" is a beautiful album. This song of two doomed lovers takes you on the journey with William and his fatal final congress with Margaret in the Clyde.
Here is my piece on Nic and a review of "Penguin Eggs".
Sandy Denny - "The North Star Grassman And The Ravens"
There are so many songs I could have chosen from Sandy, and she features in the Fairport song that follows this one. This is a beautiful live performance.
Fairport Convention - "Who Knows Where The Time Goes"
I believe that I could have filled this playlist with Fairport Convention songs but this Sandy Denny song is one of the most beautiful that you will ever hear.
Five Hand Reel - "My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose"
I saw the band around 1972 in the Charter Theatre in Preston, and by that time I was hooked on their sound, especially the vocals of Dick Gaughan.
The Dubliners - "The Sick Note"
Though maybe not essential, this is an iconic folk band and this song is both clever and extremely funny.
Kathy Walton correctly points out that Dublin is not part of the British Isles and The Dubliners are distinctly Irish/ Eiran. My apologies.
Davy Graham - "Anji"
This is not a song but an instrumental. Apparently, once you can play this, you can play guitar. I can't so I can't call myself a musician at all. It is a wonderful piece though.
Pentangle - "Light Flight"
Composed by the band, the band included Danny Thompson, John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee, and Terry Cox. This was used as the theme tune to the sixties BBC series "Take Three Girls", and was a definite influence on "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers.
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger - "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
Ewan was Kirsty's dad but you may know this from the Roberta Flack version, but this is where it came from.
Lal & Mike Waterson - "The Scarecrow" from "Bright Phoebus"
Emil Max Thompson remarked that there should be something from the wonderful "Bright Phoebus", especially as the image I have used is from that album, so I have taken one of their choices to share with you. Thanks to Colin Chester for prompting me on this.
Richard and Linda Thompson - "I Want to See The Bright Lights Tonight"
How I missed Richard and Linda on the original post I just don't know, but this is the title track of one of the most wonderful albums that you will ever hear.
Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick - "Prince Heathen"
This is one of my favourite songs ever, and I first heard it on the John Peel show and is full of violence against a drone background accompanied by Swarbrick's violin.
It is seven minutes long and the tale is almost mystical, and I love that the girl is so defiant against the evil misogynist bully "Prince Heathen", he eventually says he falls in love with her, but I severely doubt that.
Conclusion
I hope you have enjoyed these selections. These are a scratch on the surface of our folk heritage, but I do hope it tempts you to dig further.
Two other things, I was going to include something from Chris Wood but he is more contemporary so I will include this as a bonus
Chris Wood - "None The Wiser"
An incredible indictment of British modern life, as good as anything you will ever hear.
And this is an incredible folk mix which I play a lot on CD, featuring Mike Harding, Steeleye Span and many others in a single mix.
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Comments (28)
Beautiful selection, Mike. My two favorites were the two last (though three of them wouldn't play for me). Thanks for including that bonus.
Some great songs there, Mike. It's a strange thing, but I only started getting interested in British folk music after living overseas and hearing a lot of Slavic folk fusion (anything from electro to metal, with more than a little punk along the way). That was a roundabout journey towards the Unthanks, then a read through Electric Eden (more than once). Now I'm steadily trying to fill the gaps and lists like this are a big help.
Nice music taste!! 🎶♥
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This is a great playlist you have here. My favorite is "My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose".
Excellent selection (those I could play; five of them weren't available). "Sick Note" is a joke we used to tell in junior high. I wonder if someone picked it up from the song. The bonus track was stellar.