Off The Beaten Tracks 26 December 2022

I'd selected two Stranglers' songs after hearing of the death of Jet Black and then on the day I was going to record the show I heard the awful news about Terry Hall so a last minute change to the playlist with a FB3 number starting things off. 

I'll be taking a break next week so the next show will be going out the second week of January. Listen to this and previous shows on Mixcloud. 

Happy New Year to one and all.

Fun Boy Three & Bananarama - T'Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It) 
Johnny Flynn - Detectorists 
Simon & Garfunkel - Hazy Shade of Winter 
Karine Polwart & Dave Milligan - The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood 
Bob Dylan - Simple Twist of Fate 
Wes Martin - The Twisted Waltz 
This is the Kit - Greasy Goose 
April Maybe May - Back To Me 
Rosanne Cash - Closer Than I Appear 
Johnny Cash - Tennessee Stud (live) 
The Stranglers - Always The Sun (live) 
The Stranglers - Cruel Garden 
Richard Thompson - Beeswing 
The Bunch - When Will I Be Loved 
Lindisfarne - Meet Me on the Corner 
Fairport Convention - Come All Ye 

Gigs 2022

I'm not back to pre-pandemic gig-going levels but this has partly been down to me catching various bugs including Covid at the end of May. Of the gigs I did go to in 2022 here are a few brief reviews...

Fairport Convention - Morecambe

Good to see the chaps again, as they are affectionately called. My first Fairport gig in a while and I enjoyed hearing songs from their latest studio album 'Shuffle and Go'. Support was from Luke Jackson who was someone I'd been wanting to hear for a while and he didn't disappoint. A great young singer.

Faustus - Helmshore

Not a band I'd seen before though a friend had given me copies of a couple of their albums. The gig took place in the textile museum which may not have seemed like an obvious place for a gig but the acoustics in the former mill were fabulous and the three of them were on very good form. I bought a cd from Paul Sartin and little did any of us know that fate would deal such a cruel blow to his family, friends and fans by taking him away from us later in the year. 

Flook - Kendal

My only gig at the Brewery Arts Centre this year and while Flook were up to their usual high standard unfortunately the gig was somewhat spoiled by the over enthusiastic (and quite unnecessary) use of a smoke machine. Seemingly it was something outwith the band's control. Maybe the venue felt it was creating an atmosphere but instead they just made people cough and basically got that one wrong big time.

Lake District Folk Weekend - Staveley

An excellent afternoon's music with Bob Fox headlining and support coming from Hannah Saunders & Ben Savage and Scolds Bridle. Not a huge number of people in the audience but plenty around the village in other cafe venues and there were even some youngsters playing and singing in the car park as we left.

Martyn Joseph's Pipefest

Another opportunity to see Hannah and Ben at the annual Pipefest at Lancaster University along with Stephen Fearing and poet Patrick Jones which I've written about elsewhere on this blog.

Martin Stephenson & The Daintees - Glasgow

My first Daintees gig in I don't know how many years though I saw Martin in Settle a few years back. We missed the support act due to getting to Glasgow later than anticipated but Martin and his latest line-up of Daintees did not disappoint. There are so many great songs from the three albums they released back in the day and they played a good selection with plenty of banter from the man himself in-between songs.  

OTBT Christmas Show

A selection of some seasonal and end-of-year songs and some others which don't really have much of a Xmas connection other than having words like holly and deer in the title. Listen now on Mixcloud. 

The Carrivick Sisters - Santa Claus is Coming to Town 
Belshazzar's Feast - Playford's Christmas Ball (live) 
Emily Smith - Little Road to Bethlehem 
Cara Dillon - The Snows They Melt The Soonest 
Philip Henry & Hannah Martin - December 
Skipinnish - December 
John Cougar Mellencamp - Empty Hands 
Dougie McLean - Gloomy Winter 
Hannah Saunders & Ben Savage - Santa Fe Trail 
Emily Smith - Santa Will Find You 
Heidi Talbot - Music Tree 
Jenny Lascelles - Song For Holly 
Honey and the Bear - Buried In Ivy 
Bella Hardy - The Driving of the Deer 

Wishing you a peaceful Winter Solstice, a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. 

Off The Beaten Tracks 12 December 2022

A second look back at folk music albums released in 2022* with selections from half a dozen of them. Listen any time on Mixcloud or tune in at 1pm or 8pm on Ginger Feather FM.

Cat Stevens - Morning Has Broken
Jackie Oates - Robin Tells of Winter \ Gracious Wings *
Lady Maisery - birdsong *
James Taylor - Sunny Skies
Fara - Merry Dancers *
Iona Lane - Western Tidal Swell *
Nick Drake - The Thoughts of Mary Jane
Michael Chapman - Which Will
Sam Sweeney - Don't Worry, Trains *
Janice Burns & Jon Doran - The Black Fox *
Pauline Alexander - Imagine
Terry Callier - Occasional Rain
Tom Waits - (Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night
Merry Hell - Leave It In The Ground 

Recommended releases of 2022

Time once again for a look at some of the folk and acoustic albums released in the last 12 months. It seems to have been quite a female-dominated year which is no bad thing though this is a reflection of the albums I've been sent by promoter Jane Brace, who is my main source of new music these days, along with my subscription to RnR magazine. 

So here is a list of 15 albums (in alphabetical order) I've enjoyed listening to this year. Thanks to Citizen K for all his hard work behind the scenes keeping things running smoothly at Ginger Feather FM.

Stuart Anthony and Larry Beckett - Mirabeau Bridge
Janice Burns & Jon Doran - No More The Green Hills 
Fara - Energy Islands 
Jo Gillot - Untitled (Summer '22) 
Heal & Harrow - Heal & Harrow
Lady Maisery - Tender 
Iona Lane - Hallival 
The Magpies - Undertow 
Siobhan Miller - Bloom
Aoife O'Donovan - Age of Apathy
Jackie Oates - Gracious Wings
Katie Spencer - The Edge of the Land
Martin Stephenson - Good Will Factory 
Sam Sweeney - Escape That
The Trials of Cato - Gog Magog

Thanks for listening to Off The Beaten Tracks either on Ginger Feather or Mixcloud. 

Off The Beaten Tracks 5 December 2022

The first of probably two shows looking back at some of the new releases I either bought or was given free downloads of during 2022* plus a new song by James J Turner. I've thrown in a few CSN&Y-related tracks as well. 

Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM at 1pm or 8pm.

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Marrakesh Express (demo) 
Stuart Anthony & Larry Beckett - Acrobats *
Stuart Anthony & Larry Beckett - Look Down, Look Down from Sacre-Coeur *
James J Turner - Cycle of Life
Jo Gillot - Tread \ Chorus *
Crosby & Nash - Taken at All
Aoife O'Donovan - Passengers *
Heal and Harrow - Judge Not *
Manran - The Loop
The ALT - The Willow Tree
Siobhan Miller - Cold Blows The Rainy Night *
Katie Spencer - Sweet and Gentle *
Crosby & Nash - To The Last Whale a) Critical Mass b) Wind On The Water
The Stills Young Band - Long May You Run
Richie Havens - Freedom