Bert Jansch 1966

 

Bert Jansch 1966

by Pete Clemons

March 1966 saw Bert Jansch will be playing at a local folk club in Coventry. It was described as an 'event not to be missed. If you happen to go, you will see a very nervous young man, who manages to transform his nervous energy into some of the best guitar-playing in the country. Most of the songs he sings are his own compositions'.

They combine the good simplicity of traditional folk music, (such as that of the singing of Anne Briggs, heard at the Folk Club earlier this term), with an amazing guitar technique, which he says is wholly American. Although he is only 22, Bert Jansch has already made two L.P's, ('Bert Jansch' and 'It Don't Bother Me': issued by Transatlantic Records), and is becoming increasingly popular all over the country.

Bert had recently given up residencies at Les Cousins and Scots Hoose in order to tour other areas. He says he will probably take up another residency: 'All my friends are in London - and I play first of all for my friends'. He also plays because he must. 'If I had no money, I'd be a bum-but playing the guitar. And money-well, I've never had any-you see money just doesn't mean anything to me. If I'd been brought up with money, then I reckon I'd need it. But I've never had any, so it just doesn't worry me'.

His words reflected his indifference to many things. He claims the audience hardly matters 'If they're too intent, they frighten me, but I like them to be interested - I can't stand it when they're not'.

Bert's claim to indifference was probably wishful thinking, for being so nervous, he senses atmosphere instantly. If people talk, he asks them to shut up, or cups his hand to his ear as if to listen to them! If they give no response to his work, he makes remarks like 'This song is about dreams, so the words don't mean anything - at least not to you. But then I doubt if any of the words mean anything to you'.

The words of his songs are often missed, partly because of the brilliance of the music, which always dominates a song - "I am more a guitarist than a song-writer: the words aren't important" - and partly because his voice, although full of feeling, lacks clear diction. But the effort of listening to the words is rewarding.

Bert's images are strange and poetical 'Your love was like a child upon a rocking-horse, the colour black, who rides through a forest of dreams, and laughs at evils that cannot be seen. Yet like the ageing of a child at play, your love is broken and fades away'.

His songs are wistful and mostly deal with the sorrows of love, (and occasionally its pleasures), but there are also songs about social issues 'Do you hear me now?' and his instrumentals cover a wide variety of sounds.

One of his songs, 'Needle of Death', is a great favourite around the clubs and more frequently requested than anything else, except Davy Graham's 'Angie'. It deals with the death of a drug-addict 'Your troubled young life had made you turn to the needle of death', but at times it verges on sentimentality, which probably accounts for its popularity!

Bert gets excited, talking about various types of music. He says 'Don't try to differentiate between types of music'.

The artists he admires are: 'John Renbourne, full stop.... After that, a long way behind, come a lot more, but too many to name'.

On the new John Renbourne L.P., released by Transatlantic, they work together on two amazing guitar improvisations.

He wants to be able to go on developing in the field in which he has made his name: 'I will never be a great composer, but then I can't see myself singing like Elvis Presley either!'

His roots are deep in traditional music, and he says 'The best music is of the people, from the people, not from a few great men', but he sees the various categories into which people put music as moving closer together. 'It's my opinion that they'll invent more categories-they've already begun with 'Popular Classics' and 'Popular Folk Music'.

Bert Jansch is one of the people playing today, who is helping to combine the forms of music. His background is that of traditional folk music, but to this he brings guitar-playing of an extremely high musical standard and a gift for using words in an exciting way.

......................

Bert Jansch formed the Bert Jansch Conundrum in the late 1970s as a touring unit for his solo performances following the breakup of the original Pentangle. 

Another Coventry connection is an album titled Avocet. Released in 1979, this was Bert Jansch's twelfth solo album. It was also said that it was his favourite. Avocet is instrumental, concentrating on Jansch’s celebrated guitar work, free and clear of vocals. There are six tracks, each named after a sea or wading bird. That was until an expanded 40th anniversary version was released more recently. There were three people involved in the recording, Jansch on guitar and piano, Danny Thompson on bass and Coventry's Martin Jenkins (Ex Dando Shaft) on the wonderfully named mandocello, flute and violin. And those others do a sterling job of supporting him, working together well, knowing instinctively what is required at any given moment. There is not a note out of place.

Trev Teasdel saw the duo at the Fletch in Coventry c 1981 - he knew Martin from Dando Shaft days and said it was great to see the pair play together live - musical sparks were flying between them - their styles complimented each other.

Angie - Bert Jansch

 

Above Bert Jansch with Martin Jenkins

Bittern by Martin Jenkins and Bert Jansch,

Radiohead

 

Radiohead

by Pete Clemons

One Saturday in 1992 saw a normal unsuspecting Whipround event at Warwick University. The Spasmodics from Bristol. They were described as a long haired band, that apparently make the Manic Street Preachers look like Brownies. They had hope and a lot of record company interest.

Little did The Spasmodics know though, that when the band drove to the Uni, that they would meet their nemesis! For the support band that night had also had a lot of EMI interest and it was said that a record deal was in the offing for one of them. They were a 5 piece band from Oxford, lead by a singer with a bleach blonde mop of hair, who called themselves Radiohead!!

It wasn't long after that gig that they had the deal and the rest is.......!! So with that disappointment the Spasmodics headed off to France for a few dates and had a memorable time on tour! This proved to be the bands swan song though, as upon return to Bristol the band slowly fell apart, with stress, money, drugs, and musical differences all being cited as reasons. All the clichés really!

By the autumn of 1992 The Spasmodics had called it a day and gone their separate ways. The band, together since 1989, saw their various ex members getting involved in a lot of musical projects. None of those ventures have really matched the summer of 91 when a live album was recorded, and the great times they all shared together!

On the other hand Radiohead released 'Drill' EP later followed by 'Creep' single which was, slightly later, being reissued as an EP

The following year, 1993, and Radiohead were back. The 'Anyone can play guitar,' single had just been released and followed the acclaimed 'Creep' EP. It calmly blew away any sceptics who thought Radiohead had peaked early.

The eponymous track was a progression of their slightly unusual sound as they prove that they’re not just another 'bland-indie band'. 'It’s definitely a hit if it can get the play it deserves' predicted local pundits.

There are bands that like the idea of being a guitar band, the rest just like being a guitar band. What set Radiohead apart was a purpose far beyond posters and parties and making a noise with the lads.

During 1993 Radiohead's main aim is to surpass the standard set by Creep. Then the sky’s the limit. Which of course it was with the release in 1997 of OK Computer. The only criticism back in 1993 was that their records paled besides their live sound.

Creep had been heralded in locally with 'Radiohead worthy support of last year. Another production let-down: the guitar suffocation still hasn’t found its way onto vinyl. And another thing. The lyrics are so ingloriously morbid'.

'Such works live, for the quiet desperation of the words were always drowned by the ferocious stringed onslaught, a strong metaphor of depression'.

Thom Yorke, brothers Jonny Greenwood and Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien and Philip Selway certainly created some landmark records and influenced a whole generation.

Tim Bowness and The Butterfly Mind, Kidderminster

 

Tim Bowness and The Butterfly Mind, Kidderminster.

by Pete Clemons

Listening to a record 20 or 30 years on from its original release creates different feelings to those gained when you first heard it. And the same, it seems, applies to those who created it.

Founding member of the 1980s experimental pop rock band No-Man, Tim Bowness, appears to have found a fresh spring in his steps. And he has every reason to. He has recently put together a really excellent and fresh band called The Butterfly Mind. Together, Tim and the Butterfly Mind have been quietly gaining traction via several live shows that showcase, not only Tim's solo career, but also the wonderful music of No-Man.

Add to that the release of the recent box set, 'Housekeeping – The One Little Indian years 1990-1994' and its accompanying album 'Swagger', new life has now been breathed into the whole world of No-Man. But that was then.

After a recent gig an upbeat Tim said: 'I hope to do more gigs with the current band and we'd all be up for performing a more comprehensive tour. As it currently stands, we have two festival dates in April and July (I think!)'.

Tim continued 'As well as my forthcoming solo album (expected Summer release), we'll be (probably!) putting out a live album this year and that would be good to support with dates. In answer to your question re: the arranging of gigs, I used to have a booking agent, but at the moment I await offers or put things on myself (Kidderminster and Hope & Anchor, for example)'.

On this new line up Tim says 'While we want to be faithful to music it will never be note for note'.

At Kidderminster Tim and the band were on fire. At times it felt almost theatrical. There was drama and tension as you are drawn into the songs. Tim paces the stage like a caged animal but in a conspicuous way. Tim agreed 'It worked really well live, especially with Theo Travis on there. The band has really enjoying going through the No-Man catalogue.

A brief version of the familiar 'Another Winter' opened the Kidderminster set. This was quickly followed by 'Time Travel in Texas'. From there it was straight into the mesmerising section of 'All the Blue Changes' and 'Wherever There is Light'.

The tempo changed gear slightly as a clutch of songs from Tim Bowness' solo albums followed. But it all cranked up ferociously as the No-Man songs took off again.

A huge surprise of the evening was the announcement of 'Sweetheart Raw' a song not heard live in decades. The band handled it magnificently.

Another source of excitement came during the encores when 'Mouth Was Blue' was introduced. Again it held a certain familiarity.

The set was wrapped up with the final song 'A Stand-Up for the Dying' which is a song from Tim's next solo album.

Is this fresh impetus in No-Man shared by all its protagonists?

On that Tim mentioned: 'Hopefully No-Man will record together again with original violinist Ben Coleman. I think we can recapture spirit and do something different with it. The Butterfly Mind was possibly a direction No-Man could have gone in. There is still lots of life in that No-Man material when played live. As such Tim feels more comfortable producing that music live now than ever. Steven Wilson is less keen on nature of touring.

The last time we reformed no-man was that my band. They knew the music inside out and Steven could just join in with us.

Now I have a completely different band and, musically, they are different again. This is as exciting a band I have ever been with. The music has been redirected and refashioned and I think Steven would quite enjoy it.

Its all very mouth watering but only time will tell.

Neil Kulkarni

 

Neil Kulkarni

By Pete Clemons

Like many, the loss of Neil Kulkarni came as a complete shock. And, as happens at times like these, there have been moments of reflection.

The obvious being around the many music articles Neil wrote. They were some of the best I ever read. One that immediately comes to mind came after Prince had passed away. It contained thousands of words and seemingly released within hours after news of Prince's demise had been announced. It was a staggering piece of work.

Numerous times, over the last year or so, I have heard others mention that Neil's written tribute to Terry Hall and the Specials as being 'the greatest piece of critical music writing I have ever read'.

And while on The Specials I remember seeing a painting of Neil by Horace Panter. Given his social media reaction, Neil was really chuffed by it. As such I am fairly certain it was framed and hung up in pride of place. There was something of a message in the painting as well.

Neil's writing was compelling and, even if you were not interested in the subject matter, the quality of the writing was worth the effort of reading. Whether you enjoyed what he had to say or not, there was no denying his brilliance as a scribe. On music, Neil would go deeper than a records content. He delved down and dissected the creator at DNA level. And it could hurt.

In addition to his writing Neil was an extremely competent musician. And, because of that talent in this field, maybe partly explained his, sometimes, critical standpoints when it came to music. Neil was also a member of the Coventry band the Moonbears who I saw play live, and enjoyed, many times.

The band began as a 6 piece called Rochenko. They then became The Moonbears when they when went down to a five-piece. Then around 2006 they reduced in number again. This time to a 3 piece. Moonbear#1 is Mick and he plays drums and sings. Neil was Moonbear#2 and he plays guitar and keyboards and sings. And Moonbear#5 is Jon who plays bass and won't sing.

More recently they were completed by saxophonist, Sarah Laughton, Moonbear#0 who, I remember reading in one Moonbear message, as having 'completed the circle'.

I must stress that I never knew Neil as such. Apart from gigs, my personal contacts with Neil were few. We seemed very different. I am very much into music nostalgia whereas Neil mainly seemed to strive for the new. But, having read a lot of his work I did hold a quiet esteem for Neil.

My own articles are what they are. The ramblings of an enthusiast amateur. The first time Neil 'liked' an article it left me numb. Daft I know but I couldn't help my giddiness.

Neil did contact me several times, and, they were memorable - for me at least. The first approach being completely out of the blue during May 2013.........

Hiya Pete, Neil from the Moonbears here - just wanted to send you a song from our new album, out now on i-tunes and wondering if there's any chance the launch gig could get a mention in the Telegraph? It's at Inspires this Saturday from 8 onwards and we're on stage about 10. Our album's called 'The Wow! Signal' and will be available to buy on the night as well. Let us know if there's anyone else I should be bothering about this and once again thanks for all the support - I just think you deserve a sneaky preview of the album cos of all the brilliant support you've given us! Cheers, Neil Kulkarni (Moonbear#2).

At that time I was writing nostalgic music articles for said newspaper. So I did what I could for them. That said I was pleasantly surprised that the band had thought to get in touch with me. Not that it happens regularly but it is an honour when an artist trusts you with their work.

A few years on and, during November 2016, I was blind sided once more........

Hiya Pete - promo copy of 'Let's Get Nice' for you - would be great to get a write-up in the Telegraph if possible no worries if not! Thanks as ever for the support x

Naturally I think, I was quite taken aback by this request. Here was a major league music critic and former journalist for the Melody Maker asking me, an enthusiastic amateur, to review a Moonbears album.

Being honest I bottled it. I just couldn't get started. Imagine, if you like, the person writing at a desk, lots of scribbling, lots of scrubbing out, and every piece of paper is ending in the bin. That was me.

I had never felt that way before so called in the help of the then brilliant Telegraph music reporter, Alan Poole. As always he did a fine job.

Long before the pandemic I had an inclination that The Moonbears had been writing another album. If memory serves it began during 2017. The final track, 'Red's Theme', was completed on the night before the first lock down of 2020. It was a massive achievement and a huge labour of love. But I hadn't, yet, realised it's significance.

May 2020 Hiya Pete - Just wanted to get the new Moonbears album to you as your support over the years has been really appreciated. It’s a double album, it’s called ‘Four Sides For Red’ and we are doing a full digital and vinyl release once lock down eases. Hope you enjoy it and have a nice Sunday mate, hope this finds you well x

This time, and without the safety net of the Coventry Telegraph, I had to go for it. I did have a brief chat with Neil about writing and critiquing. The reply was quite uplifting but centred around – regardless of ability, as a writer, just be honest to yourself. Which, of course, is easier said than done.

I was never entirely happy with my article, I never am, but there you have it I simply wrote what I thought.

'Four Side For Red' was fan-fared in defiantly with a wonderful statement of resistance that accompanied news of the album: 'The pandemic was never going to beat the Moonbears but we are all excited that from three of the toughest years of our lives we had Moonbears, and we had this miraculous thing we made. Thanks for reading x'

As already mentioned Neil's writings were immense. His mastery of the written word was simply breathtaking. Deep down I realise that the best writers are controversial, frank and to the point. For me Neil was, without doubt, up there with the very best of them.

At a time like this I feel that the final words must come from those closest. After sending on my condolences I had this reply from Jon Moonbear:

Yes the Neil "headlines" tended to be comical battering's he could dish out but the real Neil was in the way he could lavish praise in a way that the rest of could only think "yeah I also love that artist, know all those words and can write in sentences but I can't understand how he can do it like that"
Jon.x

Rest in Power Neil Kulkarni

The Moonbears by Pete Clemons

https://coventrygigs.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-moonbears.html