Shirley Collins. Classic. Dud is not an option here, I'm afraid.

I forgot about this thread when this turned up on Dime
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=536363

All IN THe downs the 80th Birthday celebration compered by Stewart Lee with the 2nd half being a run through of No Roses featuring Trembling Bells and 2 members of Blur as the backing band.

First half of this is a set of individual Shirley related songs sung by various people including Stewart Lee and John Kirkpatrick who also appears in the No Roses set.

Have known about this for a while, but since it's now been mentioned in the new Mojo...

***NEW ALBUM ON ITS WAY SOON***

Yeah since that is the only mention about the Mojo feature so far, there is a several page feature on her in there tying in with the 80th birthday. NOt as good as the Ugly Things piece that first really turned me onto her but possibly a decent introduction.
Looking forward to the book anyway, so hope it happens. Maybe I need to buy the 3cd tribute to contribute to costs for that.

Have been wondering since reading the Mojo piece where I heard about Anthems In Eden first since I know I picked it up on lp in the late 80s for some reason. But thought the Ugly Things article was my main introduction to her. Could just be that Within Sound came out not that long afterwards so I suddenly became a lot more familiar with her.
I need to pick up another copy of that lp though.

Is she singing on the new album?

Saw her Lomax talk last year and she was just fucking brilliant company. It was a hot night and a tiny venue and towards the end she was clearly struggling until she eventually announced she was going to be sick. She disappeared for ten minutes then came back and did a Q&A. What a lady.

Is she singing on the new album?

I don't really know any great detail about it cos I only heard it secondhand, but I believe it's new recordings.

would be odd if she *wasn't* singing, wouldn't it? guess i'd take an instrumental banjo record from shirley.

She's not been able to sing for thirty years, which is why I asked. I can't remember the name but she has a particular syndrome which means she physically can't sing. It'd be great if she's recovered/conquered it, but like you say, a piano/banjo record would still be fantastic.

Yes she's finally conquered her dysphonia. So she's able to sing again to some extent but unlikely to do a full concert. She's singing with a group of other voices in that All Is Downs recording that's up on Dime.
She did a couple of songs live with Current 93 last year too. Not sure what the story is on the '99 recording of All The Pretty Little Horses, or is that spoken not sung?

Been finally catching up on listening to that massive Shirley Inspired tribute album that came out a while back. Some really terrific re-imaginings here, but I find the more traditional readings to be the best. A lot of unfamiliar (to me) names here, but a wealth of great tracks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06yjk03

happy birthday, shirley!!

first song off the new album :)))))))))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_QMW4mv6As

Shirley Collins - Cruel Lincoln (Official Audio) from the upcoming album Lodestar, out November 4.

My friend Ian playing the guitar

Hard to be objective about this, but she sounds, what am I trying to say, 'her age' I guess. Same lovely phrasing and that way she finishes a line - letting it stretch out into the soundfield. She's going to record in the ossuary at St Leonard's soon; a good friend is the Rev there. Can't wait to hear the results.

:-D

Her voice sounds a good bit stronger than it did when she opened for Current 93 a while back, but yes, there's a distinctly lived-in quality to it

Loved the guitar playing, too - liked the unadorned nature of it. Like 'here's Shirley!' which is more than enough.

http://i1.wp.com/thankfolkforthat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/shirley_collins_lodestar_packshot.jpg?resize=768%2C768

http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/albums/06-09-16/lodestar/

Sooooo excited about this! I love changing aging voices.

sounds GOOD

the guy who played guitar and produced that track is an old fahey-head from the 60s/70s, wouldn't be surprised if 'a raga called pat' etc is an influence on the use of the recorded bird song. not that it's a wildly leftfield thing to do in this day and age. think it works really nicely on that song though.

yeah i like the bird sounds ... what's the guy's name? Ian Kearey?

yeah that's right. was in the oysterband (uk folk rock thing - not really my cup of tea tbh) and also the blue aeroplanes (underrated arty indie band) among other stuff

Hard to be objective about this, but she sounds, what am I trying to say, 'her age' I guess.

not to put to fine a point on it, her singing voice is destroyed. she scarcely comes anywhere near pitch. and as much as i adore shirley collins i don't think her phrasing was ever expressive enough to stand on its own. but this track is more listenable than i would have expected.

this reminds me a bit of the latterday charlie louvin albums, where the drop quotes went on and on about the beautiful louvin harmonies (which indeed were their signature) even as it was obvious that his voice was (at best) a husk of what it once was.

er, TOO FINE not TO FINE

of course, if this music is meaningful/sustaining/beautiful to collins and/or to her fans then more power to all.

i guess i'm just skeptical of the journalistic cliché of old folks' destroyed voices being indicative of some kind of accumulated wisdom. sometimes the withering of the voice either calls up or reveals greatly expressive phrasing, as on some of bob dylan's stuff from the last 20 years (although he is often just way too phlegmy for me). but there's also plenty of cases where the voice is just shot, tout court (e.g. roger daltrey).

sorry i guess i'm just a habitual naysayer.

oh you didn't did you!

i'm not going to make any grand claims about her voice but i'm not really too fussed about what notes she hits, a knackered old voice can still carry personality - always found a charm and mischievousness in shirley's voice and i hear it here too. and there's that feeling of connection to the past - it's an embodiment of the historical sense of the song - so it works where younger contemporary voices might fail to convince

^^^ otm

Older voices do carry/convey wisdom & experience imo

Esp in the folk idiom!

yeah, and there's definitely something wonderful about hearing a voice change over the years -- it's different, perhaps less powerful, but it's still very much her. and I like that.

I loooove that

I think it comes down to how much is 'loaded' onto the singer in question. Like Rubin seems to fetishise old age, somehow, as if it's always already wise. Arguably it worked with Cash because of who he was and what he did (and his old testament bearing), but not so much with Neil Diamond.

Maybe it comes down to 'having something to say'. I saw Shirley in a tiny upstairs space, giving a sort of performance lecture on her Lomax years, and by christ did she 'have something to say' - with her voice, obviously, but in her whole damn being and demeanour. It was a hot night and at one point she had to leave the stage to throw up, but she was back inside five minutes and continued to answer questions. What a lady.

Everyone who sings has something to say. Whether we want to hear it/are interested in it is another story but singing is self-expression regardless. imo

it's moving to hear a whole life in someone's voice

preordered!! i can't believe Death and the Lady is on it!! i feel dizzy with anticipation.

Several page article on her in the new Uncut thanks to this new lp.
Haven't read it yet, just looked through the mag in the shop today.

Shirley's cover star of the new Wire too.

I was at an SC instore tonight, with an interview followed by three and a half songs (the half was a reprise of "Death and the Lady" in full Mississippi blues style, picking up on the slide guitar on the new LP's arrangement (and complete with a sideswipe at Donald Trump). First time I've seen her, it was tremendous; she's amazing.

i am so envious!! i don't normally say that because i generally don't envy that much but to be able to see her perform in a casual setting? what a dream. i love so much about the new album -- the arrangements and instrumentation/general sound, song choices, the familiarity of a shirley collins record, her voice, i love it all. it's so intimate and it hits me right in my heart-area. i don't expect it to convert anyone unfamiliar with this type of folk music, but if you already like (or love) her stuff, you will not be disappointed.

I don't love Old Johnny Buckle as much as the rest, but it's short and there's always one or two goofy songs like that on any SC recording. I appreciate that the whole record isn't super serious to the point of seeming dire or gloomy.

http://thequietus.com/articles/21377-shirley-collins-interview-radio-podcast-favourite-songs-lodestar

so excited to see her at this: https://safeasmilkfestival.com/sam17

after that i think its just bill fay to tick off my list of 'people i will never see'

I'm looking forward to this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/mastertapes_26nov16

The programmes from the above are out:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b088f9zq

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b088fg44

It was a real pleasure to see these recorded. I had a question accepted but they ran out of time before my question came round. The good news was that I got an absolute plum seat in the front row as a result AND I didn't have to embarrass myself by asking my dumb question.

The question was: "Where do you get your ideas from?"

http://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/10020-british-folk-icon-shirley-collins-on-the-music-of-her-life/

The Band: “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”

Although this song by the Band was released in 1969, I hadn’t heard it then. But once I had, it became a lifelong favorite—it’s so powerful. This was well into my wilderness years and somehow this song and the Band gave me strength and comfort.

At this point I’d got this variety of jobs, from working in the bookshop at the British Museum to becoming public relations person at Cecil Sharp House, which I regretted within a week. I managed an Oxfam [charity] shop for three or four years, and then took a job at the job centre for the next five or six. And then, thank god, I got to be 60 and could retire and take my state pension.

Alan sent me a copy of the wonderful book he’d written, The Land Where the Blues Began, and I got one mention in it. He wrote, “Shirley Collins, the lovely young English singer who was along for the trip.” I won’t say “fuck,” but I was so angry! I thought, No, I’ve got to sort this out, this is disgraceful.

At the same time my mother said to me, “Would you like your letters from America back, Shirley?” She’d kept all the letters I’d written home, so I was able to start writing my own book. I did point out my role and that I deserved a bit more than “being along for the trip,” because it was really hard work and I think he did better with having me there. I had put a fairly harsh ending on the first edition of the book where I mention his quote and said, “We’ll see about that.” And then he died a couple of years later. For the second edition, I just couldn’t keep that line in. I had to make it a requiem about Alan. You can’t deny the man his absolute worth. I was just so cross that first time. It’s what blokes do, though—they just dismiss women’s roles in the work that’s done. I just couldn’t put up with it that time.

has anyone in London seen the movie? i wanna see it!!

also shirley collins otm
It’s what blokes do, though—they just dismiss women’s roles in the work that’s done. I just couldn’t put up with it that time.

She was involved with Alan Lomax and Ashley Hutchings, which calls into question her taste in men tbh.

would love to see that movie, hopefully it'll be accessible soon in some way!

i like this poster

https://media.vam.ac.uk/media/thira/collection_images/2006BC/2006BC7332_jpg_l.jpg