Steve Gardner wrote:
>Nic Jones is really cool. Nic Jones' records are really cool, too. It's
>criminal that they haven't been reissued on CD.
>
>John Wesley Harding is really cool. His records are really cool, too.
>
>The combination of these two on Wes' latest CD "Trad Arr Jones" is amazing.
>Wes takes 11 stabs at material from Nic Jones' mostly traditional repetoire.
>Wes is accompanied by Robert Lloyd only on the recording. The CD is out on
>Zero Hour which is home of Varnaline. Varnaline is really cool, too.
>
>One of the best things about this CD is that although it is terrific, your
>life still isn't complete until you've heard Nic do these songs himself (and
>his guitar playing!) So anyways, go get this CD if you like cont.folk,
>trad.folk, acoustic, english or british folky popsters.
>
Indeed Nic was really cool. I count myself lucky to have known
him. The situation is, AFAIK, as follows:
Nic recorded his originals in the 70s and early 80s. Early in the
80s, at the height of his powers, he was very badly injured in a car
crash and suffered severe brain damage which meant he was
subsequently unable to perform or work in any other way. Although I
believe he has recently returned to making music as therapy he will
never record again. He is now wholly dependent on his family and
State benefits. The rights to his recordings were sold off when the
record company went bust in the 80s and are now held by someone who
refuses to re-release them on CD, or license them for release by
others, other than after payment of a sum which would mean that
little benefit would go to Nic. I'm told this individual makes a
habit of such behaviour.
The recent issue of live recordings of Nic was an attempt by his
friends (Martin Carthy amongst others) to try and get some income
for Nic and his family from his past work. I assume that as these
new recordings by JWH are labelled 'Trad. arr. Jones' Nic will
benefit from the publishing rights at least.
Buy this record. Play it on your radio shows. Tell your friends to do
likewise. Nic was a great performer and a great guy. He deserves our
help. It should be a CD well worth the price anyway. Nic was a master
of the broadside ballad. Before the old weird America there was the
even older weirder England. The broadside ballads (printed sheets
with songs on topical - even appalling - events, printed in London
and sold throughout the country from the late C16 to the early C20)
are often similar to the sort of material found on the Smith
collection, songs which were popular for their oddity or
eccentricity or for the outlandishness of the events they describe.
'Knoxville Girl' probably started its life as a broadside. No other
performer, IMHO, has ever made the broadsides live as much as Nic
did, not least through his arrangements and interpretation.
Ordinarily I'd offer to tape my (somewhat distressed) vinyl
records for people but in this case what's important is that Nic
gets the benefit of a proper re-release of some of the finest
revival folk ever recorded. Good sales of this record might just
persuade the relevant people that this should now be done.
'Criminal' is far too mild a word for the current situation.
Np: Nic Jones 'William Glenn'
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Iain Noble
Hound Dog Research, Survey and Social Research Consultancy,
28A Collegiate Crescent Sheffield S10 2BA UK
Phone/fax: (+44) (0)114 267 1394 email:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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