I remember my parents saying of all modern music: "it's rubbish, you can't hear what they are saying, they look like girls, they should be put to hard labour" etc. And yes, I hear Gnarls Barkley and I am severely tempted to be like them.
But I am not saying today's music is crap. I am saying it is not what I want to listen to. So here is another review of a sixties/seventies band that seem to have sunk without trace, and that is a shame.
I write of Spirogyra. Folk Rock you might say. Funkier than Fairport, edgier than Steeleye and not so twee. In fact Spirogyra have more than enough humour and wit and do not evince the po-faced finger in the ear pose of the aformentioned. The tunes are good, the singing is very strong (I am in love with Barbara Gaskin - at least the 1970 version of Barbara Gaskin) and overall you get inventiveness and energy. If you go here: CLICKYCLICKY you will find a considerable amount of their output, available, free, for download.
I recommend you try Dangerous Dave, Captain's Log and a Canterbury Tale, and The Forest of Dean to finish, as your introduction to this very underrated group. I am amazed and appalled that I totally overlooked them in 1970.
2 comments:
Off to go look them up...
Odd thing is, I spent a good portion of my spare time today watching Fairport Convention videos on YouTube.
I hesitate to ask this, but do you like the Grateful Dead? It's okay, be honest.
Hello Camie
Thanks for dropping by. By some quirk of fate I have listened to everybody but the Grateful Dead - Byrds, CSNY, Steely Dan etc etc up to and including Iron Butterfly and Steppenwolf - and there is no reason why I never connected with the Dead, none at all!
I liked Touch of Grey but of course that was long after their heyday.
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