Recommended Releases 2021

Another year, another list of favourite albums which I've either bought or been sent over the last 12 months. While the majority of them can be classed as folk or similar, I have included one or two other things like The Stranglers' new release. It is the final album that keyboard player Dave Greenfield played on before his untimely death in 2020. There is also a jazz album by the Brendan Eder Ensemble, a track from which I heard on the rare occasion I tune in to the jazz show on BBC Radio 2. 

As for a favourite, Honey and the Bear would be a contender along with the Karine Polwart & Dave Milligan album and also Rhiannon and Francesco. So there's a Top 3.

It struck me that I haven't included anything from the local Lancaster and Morecambe area so as a bonus album I'll throw in Synthetic Villains' electronica release Obstacle Navigation. 

Thanks to Gordon and and Citizen K for keeping the good ship Ginger Feather FM afloat and to you good people for tuning in to Off The Beaten Tracks on there or on Mixcloud.

Hope you all had a Merry Xmas and wishing you a virus-free New Year!

CB

Mel Biggs - From Darkness Comes Light

Cara - Grounded

Cara Dillon - Live At Cooper Hall

Brendan Eder Ensemble - Cape Cod Cottage

Freedom to Roam - The Rhythms of Migration

Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home

Tim Grimm - Gone

Holmfirth Festival of Folk 2021 

Honey & The Bear - Journey Through The Roke

Simon Mayor & Hilary James - When Summer Comes Again 

Sarah McQuaid - The St Buryan Sessions 

Tim O'Brien - He Walked On

Oka Vanga - OKA VANGA

Karine Polwart & Dave Milligan - Still As Your Sleeping

Katherine Priddy - The Eternal Rocks Beneath 

The Stranglers - Dark Matter

James Yorkston & The Second Hand Orchestra - The Wide, Wide River

Broadcasting 24/7 on https://www.internet-radio.com/station/gingerfeatherfm/

Off The Beaten Tracks 29 November 2021

Playlist for Ginger Feather FM radio show to be broadcast the week starting the 29th November. Listen now on Mixcloud.

Pete Townshend - Bargain
Raphael Rudd - Contact in Solitude
Tim Grimm - Cadillac Hearse
Tim O'Brien - Pushing on Buttons (Staring at Screens)
The Be Good Tanyas - When Doves Cry 
Maura Kennedy - Be The One 
Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi - When I Was In My Prime
I'm With Her - Crescent City
Tim Grimm - Gone
Michael Chapman - Memphis in Winter
Sarah McQuaid - Autumn Leaves 
Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - Here We Go
Locust Honey String Band - Whose Shoulder Will You Cry On

Or tune in at 3pm or 8pm from Monday the 22nd

On https://www.internet-radio.com/station/gingerfeatherfm/

Levellers gig review

We finally got to see The Levellers last night at the re-arranged gig, both date (postponed from last December) and place - seems there was an issue with the plasterwork in Lancaster Town Hall. So the gig took place at the Winter Gardens in Morecambe.

First up were the Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican who did a great job of warming the crowd up. If you haven't heard them, they perform their own takes of songs by the likes of Chris de Burgh and The Wombles. I had The Lady in Greggs in my head the morning after! Well worth going to see if you get the chance.

Unfortunately there was a bit of trouble at the start of The Levellers set. We were standing at the back so couldn't see what was happening but frontman Mark Chadwick had to tell some punter to chill out. When he didn't, Mark asked security to remove him which they duly did. Apart from that, all was well and with it being the 30th anniversary of Levelling the Land we got that album in its entirety. The sound was a bit muddy for the first few numbers but had been fine for the support and was ok for the rest of the Levellers' set. After LtL they played a mix of old favourites such as Hope Street and Carry Me along with a few songs from the new album. The encore included Beautiful Day and The Devil Went Down to Georgia which I remember them playing when I first saw them back in 1991.

Unlike the Platform where Fairport are playing in March, the Winter Gardens had no Covid checks and very few people were wearing masks. A couple of friends decided not to go and I can understand their concerns but hopefully it was a risk worth taking. We were right by the entrance and there was plenty of cold air coming in so fingers crossed we'll be ok. 

Morecambe Winter Gardens
25-Nov-2021

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For those who were concerned about the lack of Covid controls, here is a statement from the Chair of the Winter Gardens Trust - 

"The venue is Covid compliant & as masks are not legally required & the air ventilation is very good in the WG the promoter did not ask for lateral flow checks as this is not a legal requirement. The Platform is smaller, has less natural ventilation & council owned."

Off The Beaten Tracks 22 November 2021

This week's show includes 3 tracks from melodeon player Mel Biggs' new album From Darkness Comes Light. Listen now on Mixcloud

Bellowhead - London Town
Eddi Reader - Patience of Angels
Mel Biggs - Dream Big
Breabach - Western Isle Dance
The Young 'Uns - Tom Paine's Bones
Luke Jackson - Heavy
Fairport Convention - The Year of Fifty Nine
The Proclaimers - Cap in Hand
Mel Biggs - High Places
Mel Biggs - Oppland Upland
Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys - The Keeper
Miranda Sykes - Me and My Sister The Moon
Megson - Generation Rent
Richard & Linda Thompson - The Little Beggar Girl
Ross Ainslie - Change

Or tune in at 3pm or 8pm from Monday the 22nd

On https://www.internet-radio.com/station/gingerfeatherfm/

Off The Beaten Tracks 15 November 2021

This week's playlist includes a number featuring Barry Coope who passed away recently and one by John Tams who Barry toured with as part of a duo. Listen now on Mixcloud

Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia 
Carole King - So Far Away 
Jez Lowe w/ Coope Boyes & Simpson - Landfall 
John Tams - Who Will Blow The Candle Out Tonight 
Bob Fox - Life Is Not Kind to the Drinking Man 
Banter - 10 More Minutes 
Freedom to Roam - Rain Coming 
Steve Knightley - Girl From The North Country 
Paddy Garrigan & The Stroller Priests - Me and the Universe Blues 
Howard Haigh - Por Favor 
June Tabor - The Grey Funnel Line 
Karine Polwart & Dave Milligan - Ae Fond Kiss 
Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer

Listen to Off The Beaten Tracks

Every Monday to Sunday at 3pm and 8pm

https://www.internet-radio.com/station/gingerfeatherfm/ 

Off The Beaten Tracks 8 November 2021

This week's show includes three tracks from the remastered version of The Levellers' 1991 album Levelling the Land. They play at the Winter Gardens in Morecambe on November the 25th. Heidi Talbot plays The Platform in Morecambe on the 22nd March 2022. 

The Levellers - One Way 
Heidi Talbot - Cathedrals 
Salt House - She's Like The Swallow 
Seth Lakeman - The White Hare 
Simon Mayor & Hilary James - Lovely Joan
Brendan Eder Ensemble - Up
Brendan Eder Ensemble - Discovery at the Beach
The Levellers - Far From Home 
Martin Simpson - Never Any Good (live)
Harp and a Monkey - Pilgrim's Cross
Rab Noakes - Only Happy When It Rains
Big Country - Peace in our Time (live)
Kim Edgar - Any Wishing Star
The Levellers - Dance Before The Storm
The Beatles - Mother Nature's Son

Listen to Off The Beaten Tracks

Every Monday to Sunday at 3pm and 8pm

https://www.internet-radio.com/station/gingerfeatherfm/ 

Or at any time on Mixcloud 

Urge Overkill, London, 1991

Another bit from my concert memories book "Drum Solos, Bottles and Bands - Memories of a Concert-goer 1981-1999" but with some more text as the original entry was quite short. 

Urge Overkill - 9 March 1991

 Another memorable night at a small venue was seeing Urge Overkill when they supported Crazyhead at the Camden Underworld in March 1991. I'd heard the name, but none of their music but I decided to give them a listen when they came on. They were part of the noise-rock scene but looking at them they certainly didn't dress as you would expect. They came on stage wearing velvet suits with large medallions round their necks. They were to go on and write some quite melodic songs but in 1991 their sound was fairly harsh. Part of me wanted to go back to the bar but I felt compelled to watch them as they looked and sounded like nothing I'd ever seen before. I wouldn't say they necessarily upstaged Crazyhead that night, but I certainly remember them more clearly than the headliner.

The Underworld was an unusual venue. It was divided into a number of different rooms with the bar being in a separate part of the venue from where the stage was and there was another room with a pool table. On nights when there wasn’t live music I think it was open as an alternative music club. There were a couple of girls there that night with one of them wearing a Jello Biafra t-shirt and I thought, wow, wish I’d found this place sooner as I’d recently lost my job and would leave London later that month.

A couple of years later Urge Overkill released 'Saturation' which was a superb album. They toured the UK with Belly I think it was but as I wasn’t fan of theirs I didn’t go see them. Shame, as it would’ve been great to hear the songs from Saturation played live.