“People seem to remember that place as being somehow magical – it was a basement in Greek Street, that’s all it was. It wasn’t really a folk club or a music club – it was just a sort of dosshouse.” That was guitarist and songwriter John Renbourn’s rather unflattering assessment of Les Cousins – quoted in Singing from the Floor: A History of British Folk Clubs (2014) by JP Bean.
Les Cousins was a venue in the basement of a restaurant in Greek Street, Soho, London, from the mid-60s to early 70s. Although now chiefly remembered as a folk and blues club, as Renbourn notes, ‘it had no musical policy whatsoever’. And that lack of restriction is what makes the music that came out of the venue so magical: a melting pot of young talent, mixing and defying genres. It’s no extraordinary claim to say it helped define the course of music from the 1970s until the present day.
Household names who played the tiny venue include (Yusuf) Cat Stevens, Mike Oldfield (with his sister Sally in The Sallyangie), Donovan, Julie Felix, Al Stewart, Ralph McTell and Paul Simon – all of whom feature on this exhaustive Les Cousins 3-CD Boxset collection curated by Ian A. Anderson with extensive detailed liner notes. But Les Cousins also hosted young talents, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Van Morrison, who were not included (presumably for licensing reasons).
But the influence goes deeper into underground legends such as Jackson C Frank, Roy Harper, The Incredible String Band, Anne Briggs and Nick Drake. All of whose influence can be heard in (but not restricted to) the music of Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. In fact, Nick Drake’s influence is still growing.
It’s also the place where you can hear the embryonic beginnings of British folk-rock: Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Jacqui McShee would go on to form Pentangle, Sandy Denny and Dave Swarbrick would steer Fairport Convention to explore and exploit traditional music, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, alongside Martin Carthy would become key players in Steeleye Span. An early acoustic Strawbs are also here before they became prog rock superstars. Martin Carthy, Shirley Collins, and others would join the ever-changing Albion Band. Even Kevin Ayers from Soft Machine features. All roads lead back to Les Cousins.
But it’s the less-remembered artists that really bring this collection to life. Charismatic New York bluesman Spider John Koerner rubs shoulders with enigmatic Scottish folk singer Shelagh McDonald and the guitar wizards Dave Evans and Dave Ellis (both of whom are up there with Les Cousins legends like Wizz Jones, Michael Chapman and Davy Graham). It’s impossible to fully explore the weird and wonderful vast array of music here, from folk to psychedelia and all points in between. There is a prediction for guitar troubadours and singers, but with a small basement and basic amplification, that’s understandable.
This Les Cousins Boxset is a strikingly democratic collection; every act gets one track, whether it’s Paul Simon, The Watersons or Mudge & Clutterbuck. (OK, except Cat Stevens, who gets two. But, you know, I’m fine with that.) So that means John Martyn’s sole entry is balanced by the wonderful Beverly (Martyn), who finally gets the equal billing she deserves.
You might think this music of 50+ years vintage might feel dusty, old and nostalgic. But, the lack of mainstream ‘hits’, the often raw and live-sounding recordings and the constant invention make it anything but. This is exciting, vibrant music from some of the best players and performers of any era.
And it’s all the more extraordinary that they all converged in one basement ‘dosshouse’ in the seediest street in 60s London. What a time to be alive. And, with this extraordinary collection (every single track deserves its place), you can be right in the heart of it.
TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE
1 BERT JANSCH Running, Running From Home
2 AL STEWART Manuscript
3 THE YOUNG TRADITION The Banks Of Claudy
4 “SPIDER” JOHN KOERNER Good Luck Child
5 THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND No Sleep Blues
6 WIZZ JONES See How The Time Is Flying
7 CAT STEVENS The Tramp
8 SHIRLEY COLLINS And DAVEY GRAHAM Nottamun Town
9 PAUL SIMON I Am A Rock
10 MICHAEL CHAPMAN No Song To Sing
11 JO ANN KELLY Moon Going Down
12 THIRD EAR BAND Stone Circle
13 A.L. LLOYD Jack Orion
14 MIKE COOPER Bad Luck Blues
15 ALEX CAMPBELL Been On The Road So Long
16 DORRIS HENDERSON And JOHN RENBOURN Strange Lullaby
17 KEITH CHRISTMAS Fable Of The Wings
18 SWEENEY’S MEN Reynard The Fox
19 AL JONES Come Join My Orchestra
20 SANDY DENNY You Never Wanted Me
21 TIR NA NOG When I Came Down
22 SAM MITCHELL A Leaf Without A Tree
23 BEVERLY Get To The One I Want To
DISC TWO
1 THE WATERSONS The Holmfirth Anthem
2 DONOVAN Sunny Goodge Street
3 DERROLL ADAMS Freight Train Blues
4 BERT JANSCH & JOHN RENBOURN Soho
5 SHELAGH McDONALD Silk And Leather
6 DANDO SHAFT Waves Upon The Ether
7 MARTIN CARTHY & DAVE SWARBRICK Byker Hill
8 KEVIN AYERS Eleanor’s Cake (Which Ate Her)
9 IAN ANDERSON’S COUNTRY BLUES BAND New Lonesome Day
10 HAMISH IMLACH Black Is The Colour
11 JOHN MARTYN Fairy Tale Lullabye
12 THE PICADILLY LINE At The Third Stroke
13 ANNE BRIGGS Living By The Water
14 DAVE EVANS Grey Lady Morning
15 OWEN HAND I Loved A Lass
16 JOHN RENBOURN Lost Lover Blues
17 TOM RUSH Joshua Gone Barbados
18 C.O.B Music Of The Ages
19 ALEXIS KORNER Go Down Sunshine
20 DUFFY POWER Halfway
21 TOM YATES Bye Bye Bohemia
22 NICK DRAKE Northern Sky
23 THE SALLYANGIE Love In Ice Crystals
24 RON GEESIN Two Fifteen String Guitars For Nice People 25 DON PARTRIDGE Rosie
DISC THREE
1 JACKSON C. FRANK Milk And Honey
2 DAVY GRAHAM Maajun (A Taste Of Tangier)
3 TIM HART & MADDY PRIOR Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy
4 DR. STRANGELY STRANGE Roy Rogers
5 DAVE VAN RONK Baby, Let Me Lay It On You
6 ROY HARPER Sophisticated Beggar
7 JULIE FELIX The Young Ones Move
8 MUDGE & CLUTTERBUCK Memory Book
9 STEVE TILSTON I Really Wanted You
10 THE LEVEE BREAKERS Babe I’m Leaving You
11 RALPH McTELL Mrs Adlam’s Angels
12 ANDY FERNBACH Have Your Bags Soon Ready
13 BRIDGET ST. JOHN If You’d Been There
14 DAVE AND TONI ARTHUR A Maiden Came From London Town
15 LONG JOHN BALDRY AND THE HOOCHIE COOCHIE MEN Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You
16 JOHN JAMES Picture Rag
17 PLAINSONG Old Man At The Mill
18 NADIA CATTOUSE Travel On (Live)
19 GERRY LOCKRAN Black Girl
20 TIM HARDIN If I Were A Carpenter
21 CAT STEVENS Portobello Road
22 THE McPEAKE FAMILY The Verdant Braes Of Skreen
23 DAVE ELLIS Can You Tell Me
24 STRAWBS Pieces Of 79 And 15