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Byker Hill

by

Martin Carthy with Dave Swarbrick

 
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Byker Hill
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Avg: 4.5 (9 ratings)

The best starting point for the legendary Martin Carthy.

  • We Say...

    The name Carthy figures heavily in modern English folk music, with Martin’s 40-year presence as an unassuming titan foremost. All of his many albums and projects are rewarding, but this 1967 album with fiddler Swarbrick (later of Fairport Convention) may be the best starting point. In his voice and hands, the tales of working folk, farmers, punters and adventurers are not of some long-gone past, but of the moment. His odd-angled cadences and inflections, both with his masterful guitar work and in his naturale singing approach remain to this day instantly recognizable. At the time of this album he was a pioneer whose impact (Bob Dylan took Carthy’s version of "Lord Franklin" as the basis for "Bob Dylan’s Dream" and he taught Paul Simon "Scarborough Fair") far outstripped his own modest fame. Highlights of this album include the pastoral "Brigg Fair," the morose "Lucy Wan" and one of several crucial Topic versions of "John Barleycorn."

  • They Say...

    Byker Hill was the first album on which Carthy and Swarbrick had more than two or three hours' studio time, and, as a result, which was actually rehearsed and programmed weeks in advance. The results are less spontaneous than their earlier work, but also show a level of professionalism that few folk albums of the era ever demonstrated. The differences lie in the careful nuances, and the sophistication of the paired voice and instruments, which are much more studied than anything previously heard. The music is glorious in its own unassuming way--Carthy's acapella performance on the haunting "Brigg Fair" (a Lincolnshire tune originally collected by Percy Grainger, and which was the basis for a classical piece by Frederick Delius), the interweaving of Carthy's voice and Swarbrick's violin on "The Bloody Gardener," the dazzling title track, and maybe the best version of "John Barleycorn" ever recorded, are among 14 of the most prized songs in their careers.

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