(TV) Verlaine and folk music

["Joe Thornton" <joe.thornton@gmx.net>]

Firstly, there's the Dylan influence, which I suspect is greater than most
people think. Most noticeable in the lyrics.

And Dylan got some of it from Woody Guthrie. Andy Irvine, whom I referred to
before, was another who was in touch with Guthrie in the 1950s. Teenage Andy,
living in London, used to correspond with big hero Woody. In the early 1960s
Andy became part of the Irish folk scene, but he was also part of the British
scene, with Bert Jansch and others.

Guthrie also influenced Scottish singer Dick Gaughan. I don't know when Dick
and Andy started playing together but their 1981 album "Parallel Lines" was a
recent joyful discovery for me. (Yes, Blondie's album came out the same year;
pure coincidence, I'm sure.) Dick sang Dylan's "My Back Pages" on that album,
and, among other things, Andy's version of "Captain Colston" is an absolute
masterpiece.

Now here's my main point: Dick sings the Scottish traditional "Floo'ers O' The
Forest", a song I first heard by Fairport Convention (Richard Thompson etc.)
on the Full House album. Dick's version is transcendent, and it features an
electric guitar solo that, from first hearing, reminded me of Verlaine, and,
in particular, of the solos on "Words From The Front", which Tom recorded the
next year. And the songs have similar themes... I know, it's a long shot, but
there's a fair chance that Tom, with his Scottish roots, had heard Gaughan at
that stage, not to mention Fairport. And maybe Dick had been listening to
Verlaine.

The other "connection" with Verlaine & Television is that, with all these
artists, you get that spine-tingling feeling watching them, listening to them.
The skill, the interplay, the higher sensibility, the magic. And they take
chances. Not every song comes off, but most of them reach the higher plane.

--JoeT

P.S. From my Irish folk music preferences and what YouTube is throwing up,
here are some great clips, all related to Andy Irvine:

Chronology of Planxty...
 in the 1970s:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3Z3A5Tgy47M

... A little later:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TdtZ8U4Lkf8&;

With Christy singing, a couple of years ago:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MmkBQYiOadA

Andy the master collaborator, with Davy Spillane, etc. for the East Wind
album:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZMpj4jcR7x0

Paul Brady, with Donal Lunny:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QgaIAzWW2zc
... and Paul looking incredibly young, with Andy in 1977, shortly before they
did the classic Brady & Irvine album, which influenced so many, including
Dylan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6XPuwIz298&NR

Another influenced by all that scene was Kate Bush, and last week I discovered
on a compilation album a fantastic recording she made with Donal Lunny in 1996
-- of the Sean O'Riada song Mna na hEireann. Kate sings it in Irish, and does
it brilliantly! But then, she would, wouldn't she?
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