Babbacombe Lee

The year was 1971, and Fairport Convention released its seventh album, Babbacombe Lee. The album was based on newspaper clippings that Dave Swarbrick found in a junk store.  The newspaper clippings were about John “Babbacombe” Lee, a man who was convicted of murder in 1884, and was to be executed. Three times he was taken to the gallows, and three times the trap failed to open. John Lee was sentenced to life imprisonment, and finally released in 1907.

In 2011, 40 years after the album was released to less than critical acclaim, Fairport Convention plays the entire album at its winter shows and at their annual festival at Cropredy.

Babbacombe Lee is a “folk-rock opera”, and as such, suffers from some of the problems that rock operas face, linking material that goes nowhere, and songs that cannot be played without the whole opera being performed.

The Hanging Song 1972



However, in my opinion, I consider the album to rank up there with Liege and Lief, and Full House.  By 1971, Fairport had gone through many personnel and stylistic changes. Sandy Denny had been gone for two albums, and Richard Thompson had left after Full House. What it had going for it was Dave Swarbrick. Not only was the idea his, he composed or arranged, and sang most of the songs. I happen to be a fan of Swarb’s voice. He has a distinctive sound, which I find very appealing. I would have to say that of all the singers that went through Fairport, his vocals are second only to Sandy Denny's.The playing on the album is solid and holds its own. Swarb’s fiddle and mandolin along with  Dave Pegg’s mandolin are the defining sounds on the album.

The Sailors Alphabet 1982

Too bad I couldn’t get to England for the shows…

Breakfast in Mayfair 2008



If you're interested in more info on John "Babbacombe" Lee, there are a number of sites about him.
Here are a few;

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5941081

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/southwest/series1/john-babbacombe-lee..ece

http://thealbionchronicles.tripod.com/id44.html

http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_people/lee.php

While you're at it, check out this English Folk-Rock Forum for reviews of the 2011 Cropredy shows, and anything to do with Fairport Convention and other English Folk-Rock groups. Also take a look at Fairport Convention's website

Talkawhile
Fairport Convention

Louis Jordan

A while back I was given a pile of old sheet music. One of the sheets was Louis Jordan’s “Is you is or is you ain’t ma baby”.

 I’m a fan of Louis Jordan, so I was excited to have this sheet music. I can’t remember when I first heard this song, but I remember seeing it in the  Tom and Jerry cartoon “Solid Seranade” (1946), but the song has a longer history.  (Had to replace the video. First one was removed from Youtube)

 

 It was recorded in 1944 by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five and featured in the Movie “Follow the Boys”.  Here's a clip from the movie.

Louis Jordan had a number of hits during his career, and is one of the people whose name comes up in the discussion of “who invented rock and roll”, His music had the attitude  and the sound of early rock and roll.
His music is still around, in 1981, Joe Jackson put out an album (Jumpin’ Jive) which included some Louis Jordan songs, and more recently (1999), B.B. King released a cd of Louis Jordan songs. (Let the Good Times Roll )

If you're interested in Louis Jordan and his music, do yourself a favor and pick up some of his music.
While you're at it, check out this website about him.

If you need more, check out this book.

Introductions

Well, I guess I should explain what I’ll be writing about in this blog. I wish I could, but as it is, I’m not entirely sure what I will be writing about, other that it will be things that interest me.  I do know that one of the main things that I will be writing about is music, so let’s get things started…

First off, the blog is named after a Ronnie Lane song.  I came to Ronnie’s music a little late. I was aware of the Small Faces, and the Faces, and of course early Rod Stewart, but it wasn’t until the Faces box set came out that I began to see what I was missing.  Then, when I began exploring Ronnie’s music, I found a musician and music that had everything I like.

I like acoustic instruments used in electric settings, and this had it all, fiddle, accordion, slide guitar, saxophone, what more could you want? But wait, then there was the emotion in the songs, not to mention the sense of fun. But I don’t want this to sound like a love letter to Ronnie Lane, check his music out for yourself.

How Come



Ooh La La



Debris