A 3CD collection that could be considered a companion piece to the recently released (and positively reviewed) compilation celebrating the birth of Folk Rock in the same year – albeit more focussed on the other side of the Atlantic, the two together show just how seismic a year 1965 was for the direction of travel in roots based music, as well as Cherry Red’s celebration of London’s infamous Les Cousins club, though focussed on performers at a location rather than a specific year.
‘A World Of Our Own (The UK and Irish Folk Explosion of 1965)’ does also include a handful of our worldwide cousins who were on hand during the year in question, some present by design, step forward Julie Felix, Paul Simon and The Seekers, who also contribute the title track. Others appear more by accident than design and are representative of the range of inclusions. The Slade Brothers, travelling to the UK to join in with the folky fun, performed to fellow passengers on the boat from their native Canada, coming to the attention of a talent scout on board and landing them a record deal soon after disembarking.
Even a cursory listen will demonstrate the range of styles contained within and thereby illustrates both the beauty and importance of this collection. Within the one defined genre we can see the diverging approaches and emerging traditions as well as a reminder of and introduction to many of the participants. While for some, the folk revival was vigorously policed by the style council of the time, and while there is more than a nod to those who gloried in the traditions as well as those who defended them, there are the artists who bring elements of both the sounds and spirit of pop, blues and jazz to the table, as well as those importing instrumentation, songs and styles from beyond our shores, to some degree reminiscent of the fabulous ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ programme of the 1980s,
We also have the stirrings of folk-rock, allied to some degree to the emergence of material focused on the issues of the day rather than reflecting on times past, which also acts as a reminder of the origins of some of our long term artists – step forward Harvey Andrews with a protest song ‘Harvest of Hate’, a distance from some of his more recent work.
As with previous, comparable releases, what we get is a mixture of artists, ranging from the already established, the proto-superstars, such as Paul Simon, represented here by a pre-Garfunkel ‘Sounds of Silence’ some distinct curiosities, the inclusion of a pre-Velvets Nico and a pre-Moodies Justin Heyward, setting out on their respectively twisted paths beyond what could be considered folk music and some true obscurities, many of whom compound the interest in the collection. For every Dubliners or Watersons, there are those who recorded once and drifted in another direction, several culled from a compilation of Bristolian artists, of whom even the usually information rich booklet notes that little is known. There is even room for a track from Benny Hill, a well-executed novelty in which he takes a sideways swipe at what would seem to be the issues raising acoustic artist some would later call Judas. Besides those who became national and even international figures, there are those who could be considered more as treasures in their own locale, but Harry Boardman, a favoured son of Lancashire being a fine example, but here are more to be found and indeed enjoyed from all parts of our Isles.
There is so much to enjoy and so much to discover that it seems unfair to raise some and not others – so the best advice is to make the journey yourself, whether the voyage is one of reminiscence or discovery, it will be a trip well taken.
Damian Liptrot.
www.cherryred.co.uk
