The
contents of this page were recorded after getting permission
from all of the artists concerned, and haven't been aired in
public up until this time. I asked to do it because I was so
taken with what I'd heard from them on previous gigs. They were
all prepared to take my requests at face value, and trust that
the whole thing wasn't some sort of 'bootleg' hustle.
I'd like to thank all of them
for giving me so much enduring listening pleasure over the years
- and I would also like to say how thankful I feel that all
but one of them (Isaac Guillory) is still alive, and still gigging
successfuly. |
1 - The 'RAF' Years, 1973-79
The whole 'live recording' thing
began for me with a folk club night at the
'Fox and Goose' at Brent Knoll, in Somerset. It was September
1973, and I'd just escaped from my former home town to a much
better new area (and a very much better new career) hundreds
of miles away. My social life at that time was already centred
around folk clubs and music pubs, which I found to be uniformly
congenial and pleasing: but now, here was someone I'd never
heard of before by the name of
Isaac Guillory, and the sudden and unexpected start of a
completely new chapter of social life for me, both as an 'audient'
and as a guitar player in the clubs, and as a 'live recordist'
of other people's on-stage efforts.
I'd turned up late, of course
(for the second half, in fact, as it turned out, because I'd
only just learned about the place earlier on that Saturday evening)
to discover that the pub was packed to bursting with friendly
people, and that the player was absolutely incredible. I found
out that he was playing another folk club in the area the following
night - The
Bell Inn, at Banwell - and (brazenly enough) just walked
up at the end and asked him whether I could make a live recording
of his next gig (I was young enough in those days to get away
with such effrontery, and those were far more relaxed times
anyway).
On the Sunday, I recruited the
services of an RAF friend on the same course as myself, who
just happened to own a portable cassette recorder (and who was
prepared to come along and operate it for me); and so, off we
duly trogged to Banwell that night for an earful of some folk
music and a few beers. My new sidekick was a tolerant and friendly
bloke, and (fortunately) made a good job of something that would
probably have been beyond me. Nearly forty-two years on from
that night, the results of his efforts are presented below for
your listening pleasure. Thanks, Pete!
|
- Isaac Guillory's Gigs
-
Live at 'The
Bell', Banwell, Somerset, 3rd September 1973
|
Track
List |
|
01
- 'St. Peter' & 'Rockytop, Tennessee'
02
- 'Sidewalks of America'
03
- 'Here In Your River'
04
- 'Fairfax Rag'
05
- 'Staying Awhile'
06
- 'The Carbondale Strut'
07
- 'Ice Cream Phoenix'
08
- 'Spanish Reign', 'Baltimore Oriole',
'Bad News'
& 'The Rainmaker'
09
- 'Steamboat' & 'Moving On'
10
- 'Sixteen Tons'
Full
Archive |
|
|
I discovered as time and gigs went on something that I'd never
seen or heard before: that one of the features of Isaac's sets
was his tendency to segué
one song into another, often by means of some interesting little
jazz or blues 'fill'. Rather than impose a nonsensical 'one
track at a time' strait-jacket on the live material, I've decided
to split it up and present it exactly as Isaac played it. The
material was edited with nothing excluded from the original
tape(s), and with care to make sure that cuts were made at zero-crossing
points at the boundaries of each offering. This means that they
can be recombined onto a CD without any unwanted clicks and
pops being introduced, and with no gaps in the programme.
Even now, after all this time,
I still listen occasionally to this particular recording; and
especially to the track 'Staying Awhile', which got my interest
in playing the guitar restarted. |
|
Live
at Oxford University, 1975 |
Track
List |
|
-
TBA -
|
|
Full
Archive |
|