British Folk Rock's Epicentre - London's Legendary Sound Techniques Recording Studio
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- I'm highlighting three iconic British Folk Rock albums released between the years of 1969-1971. They're arguably among the best of the genre and were all recorded at quaint Sound Techniques studio in the Chelsea neighborhood of London. Stay tuned for a deep dive into some beautiful music.
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Love all those albums. Some of my all time favorites.
Thanks so much, Joe Boyd should be in the R&R Hall, his book White Bicycles is the best music book I have ever read. I have most of the LPs you mention, UK OGs, including all three by Drake.
Tim thanks for covering this topic. You equally cover mainstream and specialised which is great about your series on studios and artists. That studio, Sound Techniques and those 50 year old records they sound like you in the studio with the musicians; the way the engineer John Wood mic-ed the guitars, base and vocals and guided their transition to LP. And you are absolutely spot on - it feels as if time stands still. Here are my three examples. When Danny Thompson’s bass twangs and John Martyn guitar and vocal comes singing ’time after time' in on 'Bless the Weather’. The same with Nick Drake’s Northern Sky when John Cale’s Hammond organ begins backing Nick’s guitar, it suspends time. The same with Sandy Denny/Fairport Convention’s 'Who Knows Where the Times Goes’ when Sandy sings 'your fickle friends are leaving’ in the bridge over Richard Thompson’s guitar and Dave Mattacks rumbling drums, time has stood still for those seconds. Who knows where the time goes when you listen to these set of records!
Very well said, thank you!
Thanks for another great video and for all the deep and detailed research done in the process. I didn't know of Nick Drake, I confess my ignorance, sad to see another young life taken away from drugs. I will look for that album starting today.
Fantastic video! Brilliant albums! Those last couple songs Nick did ended up on the album “Time of No Reply”. That came in the Nick Drake boxset I got in the early 90’s. Before the Pink Moon car commercial.
Bless The Weather, Inside Out, Solid Air, Sunday's Child, and One World are all essential John Martyn albums to own and enjoy!!. What an amazing series of recordings!!
Always appreciate your depth of research into your subjects! I know it isn't easy but remember most people never read the liner notes on LP's! I did and do and feed off of information!
Thanks Matt!
I could hardly leave out DONOVAN; for example of British folk rock.
When Chris Blackwell sold Island records he had it in the contract that Nick Drakes records never go out of print.
Well, I saw the "Bryter Layter" cover so thought I'd share. When I first gave the album a listen, I was struck by how familiar "Introduction" sounded. Almost immediately I realized it was Poi Dog Pondering's "Big Constellation" of 1995 that was heavily inspired by "Introduction". I commented on this in a Poi Dog Pondering group and their keyboardist Max Crawford replied that yes, he was almost obsessed with Nick Drake at that time. Just listen to the organ solo in "Big Constellation". Beautiful song and tribute I think.
I'm an uber John Martyn fan - definitely worth checking out
12:25 Serving Cold Cut Sandwiches !!!! That would be a Zappa album title lol . Great video as usual
Aha!
David Lindley has a song about getting food poisoning from bad food at a gig, titled "Cat Food Sandwiches".
Wow, I'm so pleased to see your appreciation of these great Island Artists and have really a lot to say in response but tonight I'm tired so I'll keep it very brief. My introduction to John Martyn in a small town in England was the album 'Solid Air' and only later did I discover that John had written the title song for and about Nick Drake. JM is an absolute treasure and once one gets past the 'folk/jazz' era there is 'Grace and Danger' which is an absolute stunner of an album; Island held this album back due to it's emotional content. Consider it JM's 'Blood On The Tracks'. When Chris Blackwell sold Island Records he made one condition that the Nick Drake albums would never go out of print. I purchased 'Fruit Tree' when it came out. It is a beautiful box set of the three Nick Drake albums and when I played it all through on that Friday afternoon decades ago I knew I had music for the rest of my life. I can also recommend the superb 'oversized' Nick Drake photo album 'I Saw Nick Drake' by Keith Morris which hangs proudly on my wall. Wasn't very brief after all was it?
I am on the hunt for Fruit Tree, thank you
Just came across this. Really appreciate this post of yours. Very nice work indeed. A while back I read a couple of online accounts of the friendship between between John Martyn, his one time wife Beverely, and Nick Drake. It's pretty fascinating era. I don't remember the articles titles, but you may enjoy it if you can find it.
It's hard to get clear info on Nick Drake's master tapes. Rumor has it..."Five Leaves Left" and "Bryter Layter" are unable to be cut from the tapes nowadays, due to damage/deterioration. "Pink Moon" apparently has good, usable tape.
The truth? I'm not sure!
Sandy Denny sings on The Battle of Evermore om Led Zeppelin IV
There is a great Boris album where they mimick the Bryter Lyter Nick Drake album cover. It is called Akuma no Uta. If you don’t know Boris, they are a Japanese experimental noise rock band.
Heard about that, thanks for watching
Another great video Tim ..I was previously unaware of that studio tucked away in Chelsea.
I`ve often come across references on album sleeves mentioning a recording studios in Monserrat (Air ? )..I think it was mostly on albums from the late 1970`s or in the `80`s but I think some big names from all over the world went there to record/evade the paparazzi/tax man/get a suntan etc.
Wondered if you had any thoughts on doing a future video on it?
Keep up the great work.
There is an excellent documentary titled Under the Volcano about the recording studio on Montserrat. Lots of big names recorded there, Clapton, Elton John and many more.
Enjoyed the feature video on Sound Techniques Studio, but Joe Boyd wasn't the producer of Nick Drake's third album. I think he might have moved back to the US by then. Nick was also kind of unhappy with Boyd's productions on the first two albums (although he was always unhappy). Nick and John Wood recorded Pink Moon with minimalist production. John Wood was a superb engineer.
IMHO, Unhalfbricking may be a better Fairport Convention album. They hadn't totally embraced traditional music so there's more variety, and it's a better sounding recording for audiophiles (including the chairs and bottles falling over on "Si Tu Dois Partir"). It's a beautiful album.
Thanks for the Boyd clarification and Unhalfbricking is in the want list! 👍🏻
@@Universityofvinyl Add What We Did On Our Holidays and you'll have the trifecta of Denny/Thompson Fairport albums. All 3 are great.
The Abbey Road half-speed master pressing of John Martyn ‘Solid Air’ is unbelievably good. Confirmed all-analogue cut.
I have it as well as well the UK OG, you just reminded me that I have been meaning to A-B them.
Is it really analogue? I thought miles Showel only cut from digital transfers? How to confirm?
It’s is killer sound regardless
@@JeffersonDD Miles cuts from tape if possible, and the tape for Solid Air was in especially good condition - Miles explained so in a video interview here on YT.
@@kuglepen64 thanks for the fast response, I’ll seek out the video you mentioned.
nice show this one! i always felt fairport were more akin to the the bryds than the band.
Yeah, me too, with maybe a touch of Jefferson Airplane as well. For what it's worth, back in the Eighties I heard the Richard Thompson band (with Clive Gregson and Christune Collister) cover several Byrds tunes, "Hard Being Here without You", and 'I'll Probably Feel a Whole Lot Better When You're Gone".
I’m doing a deep dive on Leige & Lief now. Can you recommend best sounding pressings for Fairport convention? I’m assuming Island pink rims are the best for Nick Drake
I would think early 1st UK pressings would be the best followed by early US pressings