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Fricke’s Picks: Recovered Folk-Rock Treasure

Named after the English castle where Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded for treason in 1587, Fotheringay — founded by ex-Fairport Convention singer Sandy Denny and singer-guitarist Trevor Lucas, from the highly regarded band Eclection — were the closest thing British electric folk had to a supergroup in 1970. They were not super enough to make it through 1971, breaking up in the first week of that year when Denny decided to go solo, leaving their second album half-done, as basic tracks and guide vocals. Even in that state, 2 (Fledg’ling) — a reconstruction of the intended record, produced from original master tapes by the band’s guitarist, Jerry Donahue — is a gently momentous shock, lacking final studio polish but capturing with compelling understatement the group’s brief success, fusing homegrown antiquity with the more contemporary twang and drawl of pre-Nashville-factory country and the Band’s prairie-story rock. The 1970 debut, Fotheringay, had a stiff, self-conscious quality, as if the band had not yet relaxed into empathy, while the versions here of Denny’s “John the Gun” and “Late November” (both of which she soon rerecorded on her own) have the intuitive rapture of inspired rehearsal. Denny might have improved on her vocals in later takes, but it’s hard to hear how. She sings the traditional “Wild Mountain Thyme” like a queen in need, at once regal and yearning, and does it again, against the restrained grit of the band’s guitars and harmonies, in the closing cover, “Two Weeks Last Summer.” Written by Dave Cousins, Denny’s one-time bandmate in the Strawbs, it is a song about looking back in fond wonder at something special and fleeting — something a lot like the band that never finished this record. Related Stories: • Fricke’s Picks: A Better Bang • Fricke’s Picks: A Family Affair • Fricke’s Picks: Rebel Yellers

Published: 2008-10-28
Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News, Fricke's Picks

Sigur Ros Just As Loud and Beautiful Despite Stripped-Down Approach

Photo: Metcalf/Getty Whenever and wherever they play, Iceland’s Sigur Rós bring with them long, deep tracts of space: the endless-ocean reverb that surrounds Jón Pór Birgisson’s groaning, bowed guitar; the dramatic waiting in the opening measures of songs like “Svefn-G-Englar” andf “Ny Batteri” from the band’s 1999 album, Ágaetis Byrjun; the extended afterglow of Birgisson’s falsetto vocals. But last night at New York’s United Palace Theater, the opening date of their current U.S. tour, Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, keyboardist-guitarist Kjartan Sveinsson and drummer Orri Dyrason brought along even more space than usual, leaving the extra strings and occasional horns at home. For the first time since their debut U.S. tour in the spring of 2001, Sigur Rós are performing live here solely as an electric quartet. The effect was a modern arctic spin on the classic, galactic rock of the early Seventies Pink Floyd: simple, powerful notes, chords and flourishes that gathered weight and force as they boomed through the room. Imagine a whole night of “Echoes” from the Floyd’s Meddle — with even more room for echo. The grandeur was typically glacial for much of Sigur Rós’ two-hour show but also faster and harder in the closing, climbing rapture of “Hoppípolla,” the drummed-bass-string march “Hafsól” and the eccentric-boogie glee of “Gobbledigook.” The return to basics may be a combined side product of the majestic, mostly outdoor shows featured in the recent concert documentary Hlemmur and the quick, mostly live sessions for the group’s latest studio album, Med sud í eyrum vid spilum ednalaust. “We feel freer, more open up there,” Hólm admitted backstage, after the concert. The big smile on Birgisson’s face as he strummed hard on his acoustic guitar in “Gobbledigook” was cheerful proof. It was a first-night show, and there were a couple of rough spots. Birgisson had a minor amp crisis at one point, holding up a song, and when he asked members of the opening Icelandic band Par

Published: 2008-09-18
Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News, Live Shows

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The Rapture

The Rapture Pictures

The Rapture: Most viewed pictures

Single Minded: New Tracks From ‘High School Musical 2,’ Junior Senior, Eisley, Davey Havok’s Blaqk Audio and Lori McKenna

Debbie Harry Reveals Fountain of Youth, Eagles Plan New Album, Lil Jon Recruits Crunk Rockers

Tapes by The Rapture

Justice Of The Unicorns Envision A Magic Marker Rapture In Our Worst Album Cover Of The Year Race [Art?]

Fricke’s Picks: Recovered Folk-Rock Treasure

Sigur Ros Just As Loud and Beautiful Despite Stripped-Down Approach

Listen To This: They Only Love You When You're 17, When You're 21 - You're No Fun!

LISTEN UP: Whoo! Alright — Yeah, Uh-Huh!

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