Ian A Anderson – Onwards! The Photos (hardback book and CD)
Ghosts from the Basement – Out Now
“50 years of deathfolk, blues, psych-fi, trad & world twang” is the almost self-deprecating tag line to Onwards!, but one, nevertheless, of unerring accuracy. Originally released in January, as a five-decade digipack celebration of Ian A Anderson‘s fifty-plus years as a recording artist, the version under review here is the limited edition, 98-page, high quality, hardback photo-book copy.
And what a thing of beauty Onwards! The Photos is. The truly eclectic mix of music, spanning the years, either as a solo performer or with, for example, Ian Anderson’s Country Blues Band, English Country Blues Band, Hot Vultures, Tiger Moth, Blue Blokes 3 or The False Beards, is of sufficient worth, interest and collectability in its own right, but the addition of 101 photos, a veritable cornucopia of images from 1964 to 2018, many previously unpublished, takes the package to another level.
The polymath career of Ian A Anderson in folk, roots and acoustic music has encompassed a vast range of spheres, including promotion, artist management, broadcasting, writing, record producing and compiling, club and festival organising, active involvement in the 1987 campaign which established the term “world music”, – the list goes on. If involvement in these areas might be seen to have overshadowed his musical output, then Onwards! should certainly go a long way to remedying that.
IA on stage at the first Glastonbury, 1970, with Ian “Heavy Drummer” Turner. (Jo Gedrych)
His earliest work, in the Bristol area during the mid to late 1960s, was country blues influenced, and, following the release of two E.Ps, in 1968 he recorded his first album Stereo Death Breakdown as Ian Anderson’s Country Blues Band (reviewed here). A change of direction, the first of many, then occurred, with Ian‘s own song-writing reflecting experimental guitar work, sci-fi interludes and the conception of The Village Thing record label. During this time, he released 4 solo albums of original songs and tunes, (three on the aforementioned Village Thing label), a period of creativity which, retrospectively, has been labelled as “psych-folk” or “acid folk”.
The 70s saw three albums released by Hot Vultures, a duo he formed with Maggie Holland, before they teamed up, in 1980, with Sue Harris, (later replaced by Chris Coe), to release two LPs as the English Country Blues Band. This trio itself then expanded to become “noisy dance band” Tiger Moth (2 albums) and its world-music influenced big-band recording offshoot Orchestre Super Moth, ( 2 12-inch releases). The latter decade also saw Ian working with Mike Cooper.
The 90s mostly saw Anderson taking a break from personal recordings and live performances, a situation that changed with the onset of the new Century. From 2004-2006, Tiger Moth re-formed for festival appearances, before Ian became one-third of Blue Blokes 3, along with PiL’s Lu Edmonds and 3 Mustaphas 3’s Ben Mandelson. Subsequently, he and Mandelson continued recording and playing live dates as The False Beards. 2016 then saw Hot Vultures reunited for a tour and festival appearances. Such were the successes that in 2017 Ian decided to try a few solo gigs again for the first time in 45 years and release Deathfolk Blues Revisited, a back-to-basics, solo and direct-to-one-microphone recording. (A track from this appearing here on Folk Radio UK’s Folk Show Episode 12)
One of the most rewarding aspects of Onwards! is that there is at least one track from each of the above-mentioned iterations. Also, to his eternal credit, of the 21 tracks on the CD, Ian has also included no fewer than 7 that are either previously unreleased or new to CD. What a bonus in the days when one or two “previously unreleased” is so often the miserly norm.
Interestingly, and to my mind this is a positive move, the tracks are not presented in chronological order. Thus the sequencing allows for aural variety across the whole – an astonishing diversity it is too. Thus The Spring Of ’65, with its lyrics describing a particularly hard time just after the American Civil War, but one in which one night off for dancing and whisky drinking puts things into perspective, from the Hot Vultures’ 1979 Up The Line LP is book-ended by the delicate, dreamily acoustic Hero from Ian‘s solo 1970 Royal York Crescent and the stonking, harmonica- infused blues of Get In That Swing from the 1969-released album Stereo Death Breakdown by Ian Anderson’s Country Blues Band.
Often, in my circles, a subject of discussion centres around the question as to whether songs which addressed issues relevant at specific moments stand the test of time? This query applies to one or two songs on this album. One has to assume that Ian believes so. Evidence? A Sign Of The Times, a commentary on dumbing-down recorded by Anderson on his Singer Sleeps On As Blaze Rages LP in 1972 appears on this collection courtesy of the version recorded some 41 years later on the 2013 The False Beard‘s CD Ankle. Given the current state of domestic and world affairs, I would suggest, lines such as the ones below give credence to the on-going prescience of this song.
It’s a sign of the times that
Great men are forgotten and imposters are sitting on the throne…
It’s a sign of the times that
The simpleton’s the winner and the wise man is banished to his cell…
Similarly, the chugging Chicago blues Everybody’s Killing Me, from the 1985 Ian Anderson & Mike Cooper album The Continuous Preaching Blues, with its references to air pollution and Tory austerity, seems as pertinent today as then.
Just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you!
As might be expected, traditional songs feature too in the collection, with that staple subject of murder to the fore on two tracks In a wonderful version of the cruel murder ballad Pretty Polly, with just vocals and guitar, the strength of his voice and musicality shine through, whilst Rod Stradling‘s melodeon excels on Lovin’ Henry and the subject of indecorous preachers in The Preacher’s Blues adds humour.
The version of Roud 89, Lord Allenwater offered here is, perhaps, the jewel in the crown. The true story of James Ratcliffe, third Earl of Derwentwater, who was beheaded on Tower Hill, February 24, 1716, for his part in the Jacobite uprising of 1715, not only is this a truly magnificent rendering of the song, incorporating both electric saz and fuzz guitar, but it has further personal resonance for Ian in that it was collected in 1905 by Ralph Vaughan Williams from Ian‘s great grandmother Emily Stears and transmitted back to Ian by Shirley Collins.
In addition to those already mentioned, the list of musicians given credit on Onwards! reads like a veritable Who’s Who of the post-1960s folk, roots, acoustic and blues world. Martin Simpson (in The Scrub Jay Orchestra), Mox, Keith Christmas, Nic Jones, John Kirkpatrick and Dave Peabody, to name but a few, all contribute.
The Scrub Jay Orchestra – Maggie Holland, IA, Martin Simpson 1979 (Brian Newton)
The photographs include some rare publicity and live shots, many never published before, presented on 148gsm premium matt paper. It would be perverse and a “spoiler” to give details, as flicking through such a marvellous archive is a pleasure in itself, so I will content myself with mentioning just one – a great image from 1990 of the Harringay Modal Rounders, with a particularly young-looking Ray “Chopper” Cooper.
The Harringay Modal Rounders 1990 – Maggie Holland, Chopper, IA, Ben Mandelson (Andrew Cleal)
Onward! The Photos is a superb memento and celebration of the first fifty years of Ian A Anderson‘s career. For those new to his work this is an ideal primer, and to those already conversant, the previously unreleased material also makes it a worthwhile investment. In either case, the photo-booklet is more than just icing on the cake – it is a slice of visual musical history.
A vitally important figure in the history of folk, roots, acoustic and World music, it is surely time for a full and appropriate recognition of his pivotal contribution.
Onwards! indeed
The Onwards! Photo Book is a limited edition and is being made available for six months or 100 copies only. Order it here via Bandcamp – https://ghostsfromthebasement.bandcamp.com/releases
To find out more: https://www.ianaanderson.com/ | Facebook
All Photos courtesy of Ian A Anderson.
Photo Credits:
Main Image: Blue Blokes 3 at Towersey 2008 – Lu Edmonds, IA, Ben Mandelson – by Andrew Cronshaw
IA on stage at the first Glastonbury, 1970, with Ian “Heavy Drummer” Turner – Jo Gedrych
The Scrub Jay Orchestra – Brian Newton
The Harringay Modal Rounders – Andrew Cleal