VARIOUS ARTISTS
As I Roved Out: A Story of Celtic Rock 1968-1978
An intriguing, enlightening and entertaining triple CD selection of the famous, infamous, forgotten, overlooked and undiscovered, the great, good and exceptional of the loosely defined Celtic Rock decade of ’68 to ’78.
The copious and informative 32 page sleeve notes, courtesy of writer/broadcaster John O’Regan, uncover the interconnections of influences, styles and personnel at both the heart and the periphery of a largely unheralded movement, yet one that can be as exciting and relevant today as in its formative years.
Tracing the origins of the genre back to its roots in Ireland, the collection expands to include contributions from Wales, Scotland and France (including Brittany of course), as well as taking in English acts touched by both the stylistic elements and the travelling musicians, with the cross fertilisation with folk-rock apparent in both the sounds and the chosen acts. The range of styles across the collection is broad, from the rockier sounds of Taste, Skid Row and The Faces through classic folk-rock from Fairport and Steeleye, the proggier elements of Wishbone Ash and psychedelia, courtesy of the ISB and Trees, the JSD Band and Thin Lizzy offer takes on tradition with Whiskey In The Jar and Johnny O'Braidislea, there is sonic experimentation with John Martyn and bedsit folk of Al Stewart and areas such as ‘Siwsi’ from Aberystwyth’s Y Nwh, where pop and folk merge into something that could have troubled the mainstream – all corners are explored.
Disc 1 has perhaps the most recognisable collection of artists (at least from an English perspective) with Taste, Fairport, Pentangle, Trader Horne, Al Stewart, Steeleye, Skid Row, Trees, Rory Gallagher and Jackie McAuley all putting in appearances, but there is still room for hidden gems such as Huw Jones’ ‘Mathonwy’ from his time as Welsh protest singer, prior to his emergence a as media mogul, as epic as the mythological subject matter. East Of Eden are represented or misrepresented depending on your point of view by their one-off hit ‘Jig a Jig’, a curiosity in some ways but still influencing rocked up versions of trad tunes in the hope of wider recognition!
Disc 2 is ushered in by a version of Scottish border ballad ‘Dowie Dens Of Yarrow’ from the enigmatic Shelagh McDonald’s 1971 ‘Stargazer’, her final album prior to her 30+ year disappearance. She is followed by her more recognisable contemporary Sandy Denny, with whom she shared recording personnel. The fourth track provides the collection with its title, a link back to many a traditional song, and in Gay and Terry Woods’ pre duo Woods Band, a prime example of the interwoven nature of many of the operators on the scene, with their links to Sweeney’s Men, Steeleye Span, Dr Strangely Strange and Thin Lizzy amongst others. Elsewhere, the pattern of the first disc is repeated with the likes of Clannad and The Incredible String Band sandwiching nuggets such as David McWilliams’ epic narrative ‘Lord Offally’ from his album of the same name for progressive label Dawn and ‘Guinness Rock’ (perhaps an alternative genre title) from the presumably mischievously named Irish rockers, Cromwell.
Disc 3 sees both Wales and Gaul well represented, along with Ireland and Scotland, the lowest number of instantly recognisable names and only the one English contribution – a real curiosity from Tom Newman, perhaps best known for his production work with Mike Oldfield, his track ‘The Unseelie Court’ bears little resemblance to anything else here . A learning experience throughout, it transpires that, rather than being a reclusive singer songwriter from the valleys, Edward H Dafis is a rock band with a political edge and a mission to escape the stereotypical tradition of male voice choirs – something they achieve rather well on ‘Hedydd’. There is still room for a Swiss entry from Skibereen, definitely more tin whistle than alpenhorn and possibly the most obviously Irish influenced inclusion across the whole collection. The journey is brought almost to a close by a trio of French contributions ranging from ex-Fairporter Dan ar Braz to Namnètes, who transport us from unquestionably French to an early Fairport style groove over a period of sept minutes, before Runrig bring proceedings to a fine conclusion, courtesy of De Ni Mi and Puirt, taken from their ‘Play Gaelic’ debut album and quite fitting given where they took the tradition in subsequent decades.
A couple of final observations – this is a magnificent collection, there isn’t a duff track to be heard and while some of it is familiar, some recognisable, it is the surprising curiosities that make it a continuously interesting listen – a few hours of a car journey very well spent and then enjoyed all over again on the return. Purists and pedants may decry omissions, (and we all know of Celtic pioneers who deserve or may be expected to be heard) but a project of this type requires both the knowledge and research, unquestionably of the highest standard – and thanks must also go to the likes of Simon Jones and Tim Vickerstaff , who helped Mr O’Regan with some of the real rarities. However, including all the tracks that you may wish for relies on the willingness of record companies and publishers to cooperate – as well as the artists – and that is not always an easy task. This is, after all A Story of Celtic Rock and not The Story – we may all have our own – but this is as good as anyone’s!
The other thing to note is the volume of female voices over the whole of the 50-odd tracks and indeed that is the subject of a similar multi disc collection from Cherry Red, with several of the artists included here, also appearing alongside the likes of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Melanie, amongst a similar selection of the forgotten and never found.
Got to go folks, there are a lot of rabbit holes out there to explore!
