Martin Carthy: the folk-rock years

Colin Randall writes: we recently had wretched news that Ashley Hutchings had suffered a stroke. He has cancelled appearances, as you’d expect, but is in good NHS hands and apparently good spirits. We wish him as strong and speedy recovery as possible.

It’s fair to say that without the Guv’nor, there would have been no folk-rock as we know it. His influence and involvement have gone far beyond the bass-playing brilliance that brought warm praise from Bob Dylan.

Another crucial pioneer was Martin Carthy, whose own health issues – late-onset Alzheimer’s – were reported here at this link. The paths of these two giant of folk have crossed repeatedly, as we shall see in this latest instalment of Salut! Folk’s appreciation of Carthy’s immense contributions to music …

Daughter and father: Eliza and Martin Carthy by David Kilpatrick

One night in 1968, Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick played two electrifying sets at a Sunderland folk club. I had never seen a finer duo and probably haven’t in the ensuing 56 years.

Little did I know that I was witnessing the combined virtuosity of two men who would become phenomenal figures in the British folk-rock movement.

Swarb’s role was as the fiddling genius whose innovative musicianship added so much to the distinctive sound of Fairport Convention. The most influential fiddler of all, according to the authoritative view of Phil Beer, himself a noted multi-instrumentalist. No Sandy Denny, Swarb nevertheless turned out also to have a compelling folk-rock voice.

Carthy has excelled in all he has done, as a solo artist, in duos, as part of various Waterson and Waterson:Carthy formations, in Blue Murder and Brass Monkey.

In folk-rock, there were two stints with Steeleye Span and he joined the Albion Country Band’s 1973 line-up, yielding the Battle of the Field album. Hutchings, of course, was a driving force in both bands.

Brass Monkey combined brass, Carthy’s guitar and mandolin with John Kirkpatrick on accordion, melodeon and concertina. The Imagined Village ensemble made three albums and Carthy was on each of them.

Brass Monkey fit loosely into the folk-rock setting, given the power of the bass instrumentation. Here is Carthy taking lead vocals on Soldier Soldier.

Rave On, Steeleye Span’s a cappella arrangement of the Buddy Holly classic, is broadly seen as a novelty item. Released as a somewhat unsuccessful single in 1971, it was reportedly the band’s way of poking fun at Hutchings’s serious approach; he ended up liking it.

And I’ve long thought it has a lot to offer, Carthy’s “well-a” introduction and the group harmonies producing an exciting overall sound.

Here, from 1971, on Please to See the King, which I’ve seen decribed (at the steeleyespanfan.co.uk site) as a “defining album in English electric folk” and was my own introduction to the band. Carthy slips into Maddy Prior’s role as lead singer on Boys of Bedlam.

All the way through this remarkable and varied career, Cathy has shown enormous adaptability along with integrity, professionalism and dedication.

He is now 85. Despite the Alzheimer’s diagnosis, he seems cheerful and content in photos posted by Eliza, his and his late, fondly remembered wife Norma Waterson’s daughter and yet another gifted member of the Waterson/Carthy dynasty.

A quarter of a century ago, in an interview at his home just outside the Yorkshire resort of Robin Bood’s Bay, Carthy told me he was conscious of losing some dexterity in his hands. In his head, though, he was still a proficient guitarist and in his heart, he felt he’d developed over the years into a “half-decent” singer.

Through the folk-rock period, before and beyond, Martin Carthy has consistently been a lot more than that. He is the embodiment of all that is good about the music Salut! Folk champions.

And it lends weight to another snippet I recall from that 60th birthday imterview. Carthy was unsure about a guitar arrangement he was trying out and asked Swarb if it worked.

“You can do anything you want with music,” Swarb replied. “It won’t mind.”

** For the last clip. listen to this gem from the Albion Country Band’s Battle of the Field.