Witchseason Is Looking For Work
Sorry there's been so little stuff uploaded recently, I've been working and haven't had time to rip and post. Now I'm unemployed again - not for long I hope! - so I'll try to be a bit more productive for a little bit. Oh - and if you know anyone who's looking for a writer/technical author (that's what I do), point them my way.
First, before I start - you may notice the revised masthead. A couple of weeks ago I emailed Joe Boyd to let him know that I'd 'borrowed' the Witchseason name and to ask whether he minded. I got a very nice message back from him in which he said that basically a) I'd done nothing wrong but b) he still felt very attached to the name and he'd rather I didn't use it - especially for creative work. I have a lot of respect for him, and I think that's an entirely reasonable and understandable response. Even though Witchseason Productions is long gone, it still has an excellent reputation and I don't want to risk that in any way. Unfortunately, it's rather difficult - or even impossible - to change the URL of a blog, so this is going to stay where it is. But I can give credit where credit is due - hence the text at the top.
And if you don't know who Joe Boyd is, you really should. Honest. You should.
SO. Anyway. Today, two albums that I've been meaning to post for yonks ('yonks'? How quaint!).
The first is the album that more or less started a genre... From what I remember, Sean O Riada just put a bunch of Irish musicians together to play the music that he had arranged for the soundtrack for a film 'The Playboy Of The Western World'. The musicians got on so well together, and the arrangements were so interesting, that the musicians decided to form a band, and they called themselves The Chieftains. They went professional in about 1965 I think, and they're still going. For some reason I'm not a massive fan - really no idea why - but I *do* like this album. In a way you could say it's 'Chieftains 0'. Oh - and please don't complain if my spelling is poor, I don't speak Gaelic.
The second is a 'sampler' album, of which there were many in the late 60s and early 70s. The famous ones were for labels like Island (Nice Enough To Eat, You Can All Join In, Bumpers, El Pea), CBS (Rock Machine I Love You, The Rock Machine Turns You On, Fill Your Head With Rock) or Harvest (Picnic - A Breath Of Fresh Air), but there were some pretty good ones for more obscure labels - in this case, Georgio Gomelsky's Marmalade label. I know very little about most of these tracks, but a few comments about the ones I do know about.
If you only know Julie Driscoll as the girl who sang 'Wheels On Fire', you're missing some great music. With Brian Auger she made three excellent albums, and the three tracks here (one Jools solo, one Auge solo, and one together - all from 'Streetnoise') are a pretty good example of what they sound like. You should also check out Jools' first two solo albums - '1969' (rocky, with Blossom Toes) and 'Sunset Glow' (jazzy, credited to Julie Tippetts). If you don't know Blossom Toes, 'Listen To The Silence' is one of the better (not the best) tracks from their second album 'If Only For A Moment', which is pretty damn good proggish heavyish rock. However their first album 'We Are Ever So Clean' is a British psych masterpiece. Chase it down and check it out. And Kevin Godley and Graham Gouldman were half of 10CC and both play on each other's tracks here, along with Lol Creme and Eric Stewart.
The Playboy Of The Western World - Sean O Riada (1962)
01 - Tuscheol - Teama, Mo Mhuirnin Ban
02 - Scanraionn Shawn Keogh Roimh Christy Agus Teann As Scaipeadh An Sceil
03 - Christy Ag Eachtrai Do Pegeen Ar Uaigneas A Shoil - Agus Ar Alltacht A Athar
04 - Cailini An Bhaile Chuige ''It's A Man!''
05 - Christy Ag Eachtrai Do Na Cailini Faoi Mar Mharaigh Se A Athar...''Cuire Uait Iadsan'' Adeir Pegeen - 'chrochfaidis Thu!''
06 - Teann Christy Ar Choimu Pegeen
07 - An Torramh
08 - Ceol Teama
09 - Comhchealg Na Baintri Le Shawn Keogh...Tig Old Mahon Isteach
10 - Christy Agus Pegeen...Teann Christy Go Pairc Na Luthcleas I Dteannta Na Gcailini
11 - Ar Phairc Ne Luthchleas...Tig Old Mahon Aris
12 - Ar Phairc Ne Luthchleas
13 - An Rince
14 - Christy Agus Pegeen
15 - An Gaiscioch...''An Marbh Ba Mharbh Gur Beodo Bhi''
UPDATE: Hmm, that'll teach me. Rapidshare deleted my original upload - I guess calling a file 'playboy.zip' is asking for trouble. New download link below (hopefully this one will stay there for more than a couple of hours!).
Download The Playboy Of The Western World
Marmalade 100 Proof (1969)
01 - Let The Sunshine In (Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity)
02 - Kiss Of Confusion (Blossom Toes)
03 - The Journey (Gordon Jackson)
04 - Bitterness Of Death (Ottilie Patterson)
05 - Battersea Rain Dance (Chris Barber)
06 - Tropic Of Capricorn (Brian Auger and The Trinity)
07 - Pete The Poet (John McLaughlin)
08 - A Word About Colour (Julie Driscoll)
09 - Dis-Toi-Bien (Le Lievre)
10 - The Late Mr Late (Graham Gouldham)
11 - To Fly Away (Kevin Godley)
posted by Witchseason at 9:58 am
12 Comments:
Of the others on the album, Chris Barber led one of the top British jazz bands, out of which came Lonnie Donegan and the skiffle boom. Ottilie Patterson was his wife and vocalist. John McLaughlin needs no introduction (Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, etc.), but I've no idea about the other two.
Thanks for the efforts as always!
Just so you are aware, your rip of Sean ORiada has already been removed. But I'm enjoying the Marmalade record, groovy stuff.
New upload of POTWW posted this morning (25/6), with a more innocuous name than 'playboy.zip'!
Nice stuff, as always. But more importantly....good luck with the job hunting! All the best, mate.
Interesting what transpired between you and Joe Boyd. You've no doubt read his recent book, "White Bicycles", but for those who follow your blog that haven't let me note that Boyd comes across as somewhat ambivalent about the name "Witchseason" in his memoir.
He took it from Donovan's "Season of the Witch" (which Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger of course did a striking cover of), simply transposing the order of the words to come up with "Witchseason". He gives the impression that he had some regrets about the name:
“I liked the image, and by the time I thought to wince at having a company named after a Donovan song, it was too late.”
So I'm a bit surprised he feels so "attached" to it. He sounds almost apologetic in the book!
There are some truly stunning tracks here. Ottilie Patterson and Robert LeLievre in particular. This must be from perido he recorded his lost album. Of any unissued music ever recorded that albums is the one I would like to hear the most. His band Pan made one of the greatest of all records. This track is a great find.
'Playboy of the Western World' is indeed a film, however, one based on a stage drama of the same title by the brilliant Irish playwright John M. Synge.
Anyone interested in the musicians' soundtrack and its interaction with the action in the film would do well to read, or better yet, watch the play. Synge was an artist the likes of which pop up once a century.
Cheers, and thanks for the tunes!
checking out your blog after a long hiatus...
great to see you're still keeping going with all the great music.
all the best from Tokyo and best of luck jobwise...
TN
PS
thanks for the Marmelade sampler
Regarding Le Lelievre's "Dis Toi Bien" song as featured on this Marmalade sampler compilation:
About Robert Lelievre
Robert Lelievre was a singer/guitarist in the fairly folk trio, Cy, Maia & Robert, with Englishman Cy Nicklin (Culpeper's Orchard) and the Danish Maia Aarskov. Just after recording the Alliance LP with Iain Campbell, Robert went to London, England in December 1968 to sign with the Beatles Apple Records label. Unfortunately, Robert never signed with Apple, preferring instead to sign with Polydor and work with legendary producer/manager Giorgio Gomelsky. With Polydor, Robert recorded an as yet unreleased album called The Hare, which a single "Dis-Toi-Bien" was released on Polydor's subsidiary, Marmalade Records in 1969 - also feature on the 1969 Marmalade sampler Marmalade 100 Proof. Robert's last musical output was with Danish prog/psych/blues rock band, PAN, in 1970. In 1973, Robert commit suicide. With his passing, an ignorant world lost one of the most talented songwriters of his generation.
More about Robert Lelievre can be found on my Pan & Robert Lelievre fan site - www.panrobertlelievre.com
- 7devonapes
Thank youso much for the Playboy soundtrack and its history. What a surprise and what a treat.
Link is dead. Please re-post. Thank you.
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