I had a copy of the record Penguin Eggs …just loved the songs and arrangements. I got to see Nic perform at Cecil Sharpe House in around 1978…absolute brilliant evening. One of my favourite songs for me to perform in folk clubs in New Zealand was Miles Weatherhill. I even got to have my version played on New Zealand radio …..
Ok, so it turns out that it looks as if the answer to this is already out there: www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jul/15/nick-drake-john-martyn-complex-friendship-small-hours-extract
thanks for posting👍🏻I was a little shocked about the relationship John and Nick and the row they had at the end. Was it the last push for Nick to commit suïcide??
I've been listening to folk all my life, but being born in 1992 he wasn't performing then for obvious reasons... I just discovered him yesterday, and so glad I did. His music isn't (Surprisingly...) (NOT) on any streaming services, which is blasphimous really. I think I was born in the wrong decade, because I HATE! all this autotune (C***!!!!_ that seems to identify as music. I'm a classically trained pianist, but have listened to masses of different music from as early as I can remember. Thank you for this. Everyone's right, his voice is somewhat transendant..
@@ariel_z_ Wow! Please do tell us more, if it turns out that you can! Did you also discover who the interviewer happened to be? I imagine that this interview was broadcast?
"Little Pot Stove" is one of mine and my daughter's favourite Nic Jones songs. When that chorus appears out of the gloom. Penguin Eggs is a stunning album. What a talent and what a lovley man.
I don't think they are much like The Newry Highwayman at all. A couple of verses have some commonality, but then so do a lot of folk songs; it is a by product of how they evolved, from oral transmission by different singers.
You're quite right, neither this song, nor its lyrics, have anything whatsoever to do with The Newry Highwayman, but the fact that the narrator in each of those songs' lyrics happens to be 'speaking from beyond the grave' and is talking about the circumstances of their own death seems, at least for me, to put both of these songs into a certain special category, one that I found moving enough to point out. I don't really know that many folk songs, so if it turns out that any other songs have more in common with either of these two or with any others in this category, I'd be more than happy to listen to them, if you could let me know.
The 'sister piece' to Canadee-I-O at least as far as guitar ideas go, is probably "Billy don't you weep for me." from the album Game, Set, match: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4KQ-BzpRHQA.html
Thanks for posting! Funny that John refers to Nick being pre-Raphaelite where I'd say young John had more of that going on than Nick did (as adorable as he was). And can't imagine how it felt talking about Nick being this hidden gem being rediscovered when John never reached similar status of a wider public adoration in his lifetime, or afterwards (I don't recall any JM tunes on VW adverts or anything), and probably being asked about Drake on too many occasions (what about me??? I'm still here!!!), though I don't know if he ever showed any irritation regarding this or not. John seemed to always remain a singer's singer and a guitar player's guitar player (and I guess a songwriter's songwriter as well). Solid Air is the most beautiful, haunting song about a friend lost due to suicide that's ever existed. John must have loved Nick very much. Miss them both, and both gone too soon. ❤☮🌎
"what about me??? I'm still here!!!" Hi Suzanne, thanks for your comments! In my ignorance, I suppose I might have more to say (or rather, ask) about John's influence than Nick's, but I'm intrigued by your perspective (I was/am still more of a Bridget fan than of Nick as far as John's most direct influence on guitar went (although I'm recently working my way through Nic Jones's legacy of material and John's influence on him is much newer to me)
Never heard of Brigit St. John before, but just checked out her version of Nice and a new piece, plus an interview with her done 8 years ago on UK Rock History, both on RU-vid, and will have to listen to more and get Ask Me No Questions on CD/lp. ❤☮🌎 @@peterfriedman2830
I believe that the background is some sort of decorative fabric drape 'curtain'. Partick's guitar looks to me as if it was an independently constructed instrument, simply because it seems to have no visible maker's name, inscription or branding on the headstock. But if anyone knows better, please just post it here!
I think he was stuck between 2 times. He was a public schoolboy brought up during the end of the Empire.... Born in the colonies. His father was a diplomat and he went to Cambridge. I think he struggled with modern times and how to relate
Ooh, a guitar played by Sam Carter and made by Richard Osborne! I had the privilege of hearing Nic at Southend Folk Club, it was the first time I had seen anyone play the fiddle not under the chin, but tucked into his waist. A great talent.
I've had the privilege of knowing Molly for many yr's. as well as her family. Over the yrs. she's worked very hard, to establish herself. Nothing left to say, except, EXCELENT. God Bless U Molly.
In her age group she's the best ' professional ' no drugs' not high on stage acting like an idiot sending the wrong message to the younger fans of BG music, like' goes without having to say his name.
I know it's kind of a trade secret but I really want to know how he managed to setup his guitar to support his BbFBbFBbC tuning without buzzing strings. I bought a guitar especially for his style and it can get tricky to find the sweet spot.
There's a deliberate signature distinct kind of buzziness you can hear that he was obviously actually going for by keeping the two thickest strings tuned low, but all his thin strings always ring out perfectly clear and buzz-free all along the fretboard.
I wandered into the Arhoolie record store in '89 and they were playing Penguin Eggs. I bought it on the spot and easily the best $10 I ever spent. Simply amazing and a time machine. Such gratitude for this man and his artistry.
His guitar style is distinctive, but it's not unique. As I believe he has admitted himself, the style was first developed by Martin Carthy. He makes great use of it, though, arguably even better than Carthy.
A discussion about the relationship between Carthy and Jones's playing? That's well worth exploring way beyond anything I can bring to it. Carthy says that hearing Jones made him consider having a 'lighter touch', something which is absolutely hilarious for several reasons: I can't recall hearing anything at all in Carthy's subsequent playing (which I heard live) which sounds in the least bit 'lighter' and besides, the thing Nic is most famous for, Canadee-i-o, gives a characteristic 'heavy' signature to Nic's playing, with more attack and percussiveness, combined with a deliberate employment of the natural 'buzzier' tone of the thicker strings, which he gets by using a low key tuning, (and rich 'contrastiness' of this with the higher notes) so the latter things seem so far at odds with wanting to use Nic's playing as inspiration for a 'lighter touch' seems either Martin being mischievously playful, or just a reflection upon the extent to which Nic had drawn Martin's ear to Nic's 'attention to detail' in terms of just how meticulously 'structured' Nic's use of tone was, where 'lightness' might be something that Martin was using as a metaphor for Nic's greater 'sensitivity' as far as tone structure was concerned.
The bar at the Old House folk club in Birmingham was next to the 'stage'. I remember walking back from it, looking at the audience as he sang 'Annachie Gordon', and every single female one was utterly lovelorn!
He was complicated a man of many layers like his music. I actually think it was a survival strategy growing up he lived in two places. Kids adopt mannerisms and tones to fit in. He will have been conscious of this as he had to change radically between Glasgow and Surrey where he regularly lived back and forth as a kid. I don’t think it was aspirational with John it was just part of what he learned.
Is it a sin now to be upper middle class? Nick Drake was of a different class but it was sad how quickly his health deteriorated. He was definitely a talented musician. I grew up 3 miles away from Nick and often went mushroom picking in ‘Tanworth in Arden’ area. No I didn’t see him there sadly. IBut I think I nearly did see him at Birmingham Town Hall. He wasn’t billed at all, but after the 1st band had finished their set, a single wooden chair was bought out to the stage plus an acoustic guitar. However sadly, no-one came out!! It fascinated me as to why the single chair got taken away though after minutes of waiting. Headliners were a major folk group, I wish I could still remember who now, but I’ve often wondered if Nick Drake could have been there too.
I love folk music, and I can't believe I haven't heard of this guy until now. I found out about him when searching for Canadee-i-o as performed by Dylan...arranged by Nic Jones, I find out :P
@@paolosuti-dray We all think of Bowie as being 'the great self-reinventor', but in Bowie's case the very act of self-reinvention was intended as an explicit statement, a newly minted on-stage identity, a label for his latest creation and creative efforts. But with John, I get the feeling, wrong or right, that these different accents were a sign of something far more private and far less well-appreciated by those who haven't had extensive access to a much more intimate and detailed set of shared personal experiences. You're making me think that an interview with Bridget on this topic might shed some fresh light on what he was like when they were both in their teens while he was her guitar mentor, but it's possible that the 'accent change thing' only becomes apparent when people have known him 'across different phases of his life/career'. He certainly 'sang with different accents' at different times. (his wife Beverley being someone else to ask). I'll check with my friend Dave (who was occasionally playing on the same bill at John's gigs) to see if he can remember anything about accents (I normally ask Dave about guitar stuff in John's context, Dave being a fellow guitarist of John's, but he says John was always his own worst enemy down at the bar, winding people up and ostensibly even trying to get people bigger than him to beat him up). He was ultimately quite a unique breed of chameleon.
@Peter Friedman he certainly was! Of course he was raised in Glasgow, but he had a mother who lived in the south, so probably he picked up both accents from when he was a child. Now as far as Nick is concerned, it's also remarkable that such a sensitive soul, with a very different upbringing from JM, seemed to find himself at ease at JM's place. Of course there was also Beverley who took care of Nick as I read somewhere.
@@paolosuti-dray Yes, you are definitely onto a few interesting possibilities there. John indisputably 'had an ear for accents', but to do what he did and go for long periods of time in a different accent seems like more of a conscious choice arising from a deeper predisposition than the 'imitatory tick' that most of us succumb to in moments of mockery or good humour. Yes, the 'abrasive' side of John doesn't seem to have made its presence felt in the context of Nick, maybe Nick's self-evident emotional fragility and vulnerability 'brought out John's protective side'. I didn't know until I started looking into this, but it turns out that Bridget recorded a cover of a song by Nick. All three of them constituted a close-knit trio of the most unique and creative songwriters I have ever heard. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n6b3sb_ZKwo.html
She is definitely a guitarist's guitarist, but Patrick actually does a really good job of keeping up! They are both very deserving of tribute, floral or otherwise! Cliff, I just watched some of your videos. Looks like you've got some strong material there! Tip: your guitar volume is drowning out your singing so much that a listener will struggle to make out the lyrics. This doesn't matter so much in the case of well-known songs or very chorus-based 'singalong' material, but it's a really important thing when it comes to newly-written or unfamiliar material which has verse-based, narrative-style lyrics. When the songs you sing have something that you really want to say, it's much more important than usual that the listener can easily work out exactly what you are saying, which is not the case in what I watched. Rather than you having to sing more loudly, or having to play the guitar more quietly, neither of which may be things that you feel comfortable with, the problem can be fixed by miking yourself up to pick up the vocals just a bit more closely.
Fans of Nic might like to hear the full 1975 live recording I uploaded to youtube last year: search YT for "Nic Jones at Oxford Polytechnic Folk Club, March 1975 (audio only)" (I don't think this comments section supports direct links). Does full justice to Nic's talents of the day, in my view anyway...
Thanks, Tony, I had started listening to the beginning of that recording a while back and you've just reminded me to go back and listen to some more. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3TUFgE5H9Nk.html
