Various – The Electric Muse Revisited: The Story of Folk into Rock and Beyond
Good Deeds Records – 18 June 2021
46-years on, and the seminal Electric Muse series is revisited in this expertly curated four-CD collection that captures the vibrant current British folk scene and beyond. One for collectors, completists and the folk-curious.
In 1975, folk record labels Island and Transatlantic teamed up to produce Electric Muse: The Story of Folk into Rock. It was a sprawling (for the vintage) quadruple album collection, compiled by some of the greatest music experts at the time: Karl Dallas, Robin Denselow (image below with his cat, Mimi), Dave Laing and Robert Shelton.
The collection was complemented by a seminal book of the same name, which tracked the British folk revival from the late 50s to mid-70s: from backyard skiffle to folk clubs to Top Of The Pops (albeit briefly). While the first box-set failed to light up the charts, its reputation grew over the years, and the original vinyl is still highly sought after by collectors.
Then in the digital age, several follow-up releases appeared. New Electric Muse: The Story of Folk into Rock (1996) was a three-CD collection that used the format’s expanded run-time to broaden the original scope. New Electric Muse II: The Continuing Story of Folk into Rock followed a year later with Laurence Aston and David Laing seeking to bring the story up to date with punk and the 90s new folk artists. None of the original team contributed to the (confusingly-titled) All New Electric Muse: The Story of Folk into Rock in 2008, which was a solid collection but missed the extensive booklets, rare tracks, clever sequencing and more obscure artists that made the others so fascinating.
After that blip, The Electric Muse Revisited – The Story Of Folk Into Rock And Beyond sets things back on course. It’s a lovingly packaged and curated collection from broadcaster and journalist Robin Denselow – the three other original compilers have now sadly passed on. This four-CD opus is a must for lovers of British folk-rock from the 60s right up to the present day.
The collection celebrates the folk survivors such as Shirley Collins, Ashley ‘Tyger’ Hutchings, Richard Thompson, alongside bands including Fairport Convention and Steeleye span who – defying the trends and fashions – are still making innovative music to this day. It also examines the legacy of Sandy Denny, a towering talent, whose life was cut short in 1978 but continues to be a huge influence on the scene.
The continuing journey of folk into rock and beyond is chronicled here by innovators who have shaped the scene over the last few decades, such as Eliza Carthy, Jon Boden, Jim Moray and Olivia Chaney. It also highlights how folk talents young and older have come together in experimental collectives such as The Imagined Village.
And, of course, folk has never survived in a vacuum, nor has the term been used to exclude. The second CD celebrates how folk has expanded its horizons and musical palette by embracing reggae with bands such as Edward II and has welcomed political punk into the fold, including artists such as Billy Bragg and the Levellers. Meanwhile, Oysterband started to encroach on punk’s territory, as did even the extraordinary John Kirkpatrick (something of a ubiquitous hero across the Electric Muse releases).
It’s also great that the release reflects the diversity of the scene that has emerged over the last few decades, which better represents multicultural Britain. From the Gaelic-African fusion of Capercaillie in the 1980s to the duo featuring West African kora player Seckou Keita and Welsh harpist Catrin Finch to the multifarious influences that make Yorkston Thorne Khan so unique.
The closing few tracks on CD four take time out to demonstrate that the British folk scene is in safe (but thankfully not predictable) hands. Showcasing Stick in the Wheel, Sam Lee and Lunatraktors as producing some of the most vibrant and exciting music of our time. On the final track, Sam shares the spotlight with the uber-talented Lisa Knapp on a song from his 2021 EP Singing With Nightingales. It’s something very prescient but also old as the hills, a fitting place to pause before (hopefully) another Electric Muse surfaces.
For people familiar with British folk, there is a delicious delight in revisiting some forgotten and overlooked gems. It’s bound to make you hunt out dusty vinyl and boxed-up CDs ripe for resurrection. For people only familiar with the old guard or familiar names, this is a chance to explore. You are taken on a journey by a curator who not only knows the subject but who is also happy to challenge preconceptions and not make the most obvious choices.
For collectors and completists, the sleeve notes alone make it a worthwhile purchase, as do the many rare and unreleased tracks. One of the highlights is Lavinia Blackwall’s (Trembling Bells) commanding performance on the Fairport arrangement of A Sailor’s Life. She’s backed by a band featuring Dave Swarbrick and Jerry Donahue. It’s a previously-unreleased performance from a Sandy Denny tribute concert in 2012, placed alongside a similarly brilliant recording of Maddy Prior singing John The Gun. In fact, I’d like a release of the whole concert from Manchester Bridgewater Hall, please!
It’s a compilation that’s sure to raise some debate as to its contents. Is Billy Bragg and The Blokes performing England, Half English really folk music? (I’m happy to take on any comers who think it isn’t.) And there are bound to be some bands notable for their absence – such as the aforementioned Trembling Bells, The Owl Service or (what?) Bellowhead. But that’s inevitable and it invites you to compile your own collection that goes beyond even the four-CD limit.
For those of you who want to delve even deeper, accompanying the music is a revised version of the original book, now also retitled The Electric Muse Revisited: The Story of Folk into Rock and Beyond published by Omnibus Press. This edition brings the narrative up to date with new interviews and photographs. That’s Father’s Day sorted for me then.
The Electric Muse Revisited is a collection that will stay with you and promises to be a seminal document of folk music in these very exciting times. It’s guaranteed to get you thinking, hunting out but – above all – revelling in brilliant music.
Order: Amazon | Proper Music
Book: Amazon | Bookshop.org (UK)