In the post Dylan 60s there were a lot of tuneful singer songwriters hauling Gibson and Martin guitars (In Marc's case a Bailey guitar) up and down the folk, University and underground gigs and festivals: Bert Jansch, Gordon Giltrap, Al Stewart, Bridget St John, Mike Silver, Martin Cockerham, Ralph McTell, Alex Atterson, Terry Woods to name just a few. Some dallied, with degrees of success, with major label excursions into fuller accompanied formats. My recollection is that Marc Brierley was a little quicker off the mark with the journey into the major label and small band territory than some. At the time I remember his work as sounding a little more polished and more house trained than some of us scruffier folkies were used to.
So listening now to the full work, gathered together on two CDs is a challenging experience. How trustworthy is the memory?
Not at all is the answer. It’s a bit chastening to be honest. Sure, his clear guitar playing and thoughtful songs have a Bert Jansch-without-the-splinters feel. But the tunes are many and the range is splendidly wide. It's not surprising that CBS took him on and it's not surprising that similarly rare talents are still being hoovered up nearly 40 years later. Lots of kids can look and sound like the Hot New Thing. But a fashionable smile with 30 or 40 good songs doesn’t come along every other day.
This collection here has the two Brierley albums on CD number 1: "Welcome to the Citadel" and "Hello" released by CBS in 1968 and 1969 respectively. The second CD covers the earlier Transatlantic EP and two later singles from CBS. The EP is a personal favourite – the purity of voice and steel-strung acoustic guitar do all that's needed with songs of this serious quality. The addition of other musicians in the CBS period was an entrée to a wider audience, but in some respects a dilution of the creative palette across a much wider canvas.
The generous liner notes hint at the practical difficulties of suddenly incorporating pro musicians like Tony Reeves and Henry Lowther into the more spontaneous and exploratory world of solo folk-based music. The results, however, are simply charming. If there is a singer songwriter anywhere today who is going out with a little cello and percussion, I suggest a listen to opening track "The Answer Is". It’s cleanly played and perfectly recorded. There's a tantalising tune, supported most elegantly by Clare Lowther's cello and a gorgeous bass embellishment comes in for the final chorus. That's the way to do it!
In the full set of 33 songs there are one or two that fed more off current fashions than others. There is a bit of nonsense-mysticism and light whimsy lurking about ("Vagabond of Sleep" would be a contender in the former category and "Over The Hills" and "Take Me For A Ride On Your Aeroplane" the latter). But the Beatles, John Peel and Syd Barrett were enthusiastically promoting that sort of thing at the time so why not? And with the calm distance of time we can allow ourselves to look back and see fascinating curios rather than embarrassing parents. (not to mention grandparents!)
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Oddities apart, the strength of Brierley's central motifs are what dominate the collection. His voice is beautifully clear and rich (despite the reported cold during the recording of "Welcome to the Citadel"). His lyrics are intelligent, fun, surprising and (mostly) meaningful. His tunes can be rapturous – often lead by ideas from modal explorations on the acoustic guitar. There's a consistency and quality about the whole collection that more than justifies the re-release and re-appraisal.
"Matchbox Men" is goose bump beautiful – with precise and slightly sinister enunciation that gives it a hypnotic lyricism. There are upbeat strummy songs like "Making Love" with bright trumpet part, and there's an extended solo guitar piece "Thoughts and Sounds".
"Hello" was the more ambitious of the two albums. There wasn't a long time between the two, but times were changing fast in the late 60s and Brierley seemed to have been bumping into a much wider range of influences and people. If you listen closely to "O Honey" you'll hear the gleeful twinkle of Dudley Moore on piano and a Basement Tapes inflection to some of the vocal lines. Tim Buckley isn’t one of the influences that Brierley mentions, but jazz contributions to folk music's expansion into popular culture were all around at the time and tracks like "A Presence I Am Seeking" has a Buckley feel to it with some flute and guitar jamming making a big contribution. "Lookin' Around The Room" doesn’t work so well – a bit Bosa Nova-ish and lounge hipster. Closing track "When Martha Comes" has an expensive-sounding string quartet – which is about as far away from the 1966 guitar and voice as you can get. .So taken as a whole, the double CD set covers a lot of ground and offers a lot to old pop folkies like me or young postmodernists mining for fresh nuggets of the good stuff to steal … er … assimilate.
Brierley seems like he might be up and about in a musical way these days, so if he is gigging near you. I'd strongly suggest getting along. He'll be singing a key or so lower than in the old days – but the melodies will be as strong and yearning as ever.
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