The Great James Varda

Posted on by Opher

James Varda – I first met James Varda back in 1987. Roy had taken him on tour with him. That’s a rarity. Roy hardly ever did that. He tended not to use support. This was an exception – and what an exception.

At a number of Harper gigs I had the privilege to see James perform and sit and chat to him before and after his set.

What a contrast. On stage I saw a fiery performer who was full of angst delivering a blistering set of poetic songs that I can only describe as Folk Punk. He had that same vibe as early Harper and early Dylan. Off stage he was quiet, softly spoken and unassuming – very friendly and pleasant.

In 1988 he brought out the most fabulous album – Hunger – on the Awareness label that Roy was on (run by the great Andy Ware). I loved it – it captured that energy and unique English style.

I spoke with Roy about this nascent force and he was very enthusiastic. James was destined for great heights.

Then it went pear-shaped. James toured all the small clubs, did a lot of radio and plugged Hunger like mad. For some reason it failed to take off.

James started recording his follow-up but it wasn’t all smooth running. He had some great new songs but Andy was struggling with the label and James was becoming discouraged with his lack of recognition. The label went bust and Andy offered James the tapes they had recorded. A disillusioned James told him to bin them and walked away. That was it. He’d had enough.

Fifteen years flashed by and James re-emerged, this time on the Small Things Record label. This reincarnation was not as fiery; he’d settled into a pastoral poetic style that I found very captivating. Different but every bit as good. First In The Valley in 2003 and then, ten years later, in 2013 the River and the Stars, were delightful. I was so pleased to have James back with his beautiful craftsmanship (and Nick Harper helping out with some guitar!).

I didn’t have to wait too long for the next album – Chance and Time came out a year later and I eagerly purchased it. That was a shock. Death is not an easy subject to deal with and this album seemed to be telling the story of a terminal illness. Could that be true? I put up a review on my blog and asked the question – was James just using this as a muse for his songs or was it real? Was James dying? James contacted me and told me that yes, sadly, it was true. He had terminal cancer.

When faced with a terminal diagnosis people respond in many different ways. James’s response (after the shock) was to pour it into his songs. The album was stark – the consultation – the progress of the disease and prognosis – but above all a celebration of life and love. The album was an epitaph of joy and wonder in such beautiful poetry and music.

Roy had discovered, promoted and nurtured this incredible talent. The shame is that he had so many lost years and should have been so big. But the good side is that he left us with four fabulous albums and a lot of great memories of memorable gigs.

Check out his great albums. I love them all.

Hunger by James Varda: Amazon.co.uk: CDs & Vinyl

In The Valley: Amazon.co.uk: CDs & Vinyl

The River And The Stars by James Varda by : Amazon.co.uk: CDs & Vinyl

CHANCE AND TIME [VINYL]: Amazon.co.uk: CDs & Vinyl

Ian Dury – On Track: Every Album, Every Song -Paperback & Ebook

Posted on by Opher

Yes – everything interesting thing you need to know about Ian Dury, the Blockheads and what lay behind every album and every song.

Once again I am given the opportunity to write about one of my wordsmith heroes. What a pleasure!

Ian Dury On Track: Every Album, Every Song: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781789523744: Books

John Renbourn – Another Monday

Posted on by Opher

When I was sixteen, back in 1965, it was as if I had multiple personalities. Life was music – but what music depended on who you were hanging out with.

Back then it was about hunting out the best sounds and sharing them. When I wasn’t hanging out with mates or hunting out new stuff in the local record shops I was in my room endlessly playing stuff. Everything revolved around music (and girls).

This was the mid-sixties, we were regaled with the Beatles, Stones and a plethora of new exciting rock bands – Yardbirds, Prettythings, Animals, Who, Them, Downliners Sect, Smallfaces, Measles, Spencer Davis, Blues Incorporated. It was an endless stream of our music.

But when I was with Daphne it was Joan Baez.

When with Viv it was Donovan, Woody Guthrie and Big Bill Broonzy.

When with Mutt it was Dylan.

With Hat it was Little Richard and Eddie Cochran.

Dick it was Chicago Blues – Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins.

That was fine with me. I was up for all of it and was soaking it up!

It was Neil Ferby who introduced me to Bert Jansch and John Renbourn. He stole my girlfriend but I forgive him. He introduced me to a whole new scene – the acoustic contemporary folk scene – Davy Graham, John Martyn and then Roy Harper. Thanks Neil.

For some reason Neil sold me his Bert Jansch and John Renbourn albums. The fuse was lit.

JOHN RENBOURN – “John Renbourn” / “Another Monday” (Full Album) Guimbarda DD-22037/38 – YouTube

Extract – Nick Harper: The Wilderness Years Paperback/Hardback/Kindle

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Extract – Nick Harper: The Wilderness Years Paperback/Hardback/Kindle

The one mystery surrounding Nick’s career concerns the level of success he has so far achieved. It boggles me to think that he has not risen to the heights, received the recognition and walked away with awards. He surely deserves it. His time will undoubtedly come. Skills like his do not go unnoticed forever.

I suggested writing a book with and about Nick many years back but he was not keen. Nick is a modest man who neither seeks to inflate his achievements nor crow about them. He simply did not feel he had done enough to warrant a book. There was also the business side of it. Nick naturally shies away from any aspect of the business that is concerned with money making. He abhors anything smacking of exploitation. He feels that he is privileged to be able to do what he does; which is to create and play music. That should be sufficient. He is grateful when anybody enjoys his music and still amazed that he has a ‘career’ and people actually pay to see him. Nick refuses to see himself as a part of the music business or his songs as a commodity. Despite the fact that he knows he has to make a living he is not about to exploit his supporters by producing ‘product’. He does what he feels is right. He writes songs because they are an expression of how he feels. He is the same person on and off stage. There is no eye on the market.

Nick is extremely ambitious in only one aspect; he wants to get better as a singer, musician and writer and pushes the boundaries continuously. When it comes to promoting his career, getting on radio and TV, or looking at potential marketing he tells me he is lazy. That is not true. It is not so much laziness as a disinterest in doing anything that he is not inclined to do.

Nick is one of a rare breed who has integrity. He is genuine and honest. What you see is what you get. He’ll give you time after a show because he wants to. He is genuinely in awe that you should bother to make the journey and pay to see him play. Playing is what he loves doing. He’d do it for free. The guitar is not just a meal ticket to Nick; it is a friend he needs to play in order to keep sane.

Nick Harper: The Wilderness Years: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781678850661: Books

Extract: Phil Ochs On Track: Every Album, Every Song

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Extract: Phil Ochs On Track: Every Album, Every Song

   This love of music took him down an even stranger route than anybody knowing him in later life could ever have imagined. At sixteen he did not like the school selected for him and choose a school for himself. He’d seen a poster with a great marching band and decided on that. He was taken with the idea of playing in a marching band. The Staunton Military Academy in rural Virginia hardly seemed the setting for the nurturing of one of the biggest rebels on the planet and avowed anti-war protester. Yet that’s where he went. Not only that but he seemed to love it. He liked the uniform, the regime and discipline and even got into weight-lifting and became more gregarious. Who could imagine?

   In the course of his two years in Staunton (1956-1958) he developed a love of country and western. His heroes were Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Johnny Cash and Faron Young. During the latter part rock ‘n’ roll had burst onto the scene and Phil became swept up in that too. He was smitten by Buddy Holly and idolised Elvis Presley. He avidly played the radio alternately tuning into Alan Freed and country and western channels.

   In 1958 he signed up to Ohio State University and arrived wearing a red leather jacket like the one James Dean wore in Rebel Without A Cause. As he had no idea what to major in he took a range of general courses. He’d only been there a short while before deciding that it wasn’t for him. He fled to Florida and was living rough, ending up bust by the police for sleeping on a park bench. While in the police cell Phil apparently had that epiphany. He decided that what he really needed to do was to become a writer and settled on journalism. He promptly went back to Ohio State and changed courses.

   While studying journalism he was listening to rock and pop music and started studying politics with a particular interest in the situation in Cuba with Fidel Castro, Russia and the American government. Politics was quite a departure and eye-opener for Phil. He’d come from a very unreligious and unpolitical background, not used to discussing real issues in depth. He took to politics with zeal and became obsessed like all new acolytes.

   According to his brother Michael, they used to have long debates about music and politics. Phil was still into his country singers and Michael was more into rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm & blues. The one person they both agreed was Elvis Presley; he was god.

Phil Ochs On Track: Every Album, Every Song: Amazon.co.uk: Opher Goodwin: 9781789523263: Books

Now Out! – Phil Ochs On Track: Every Album, Every Song Paperback

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Phil Ochs On Track: Every Album, Every Song Paperback

Phil Ochs was the ‘The Prince of Protest’ in the sixties. The only real rival to Bob Dylan, he was the archetypal Greenwich Village topical songwriter. Whether protesting the Vietnam War or campaigning for civil rights, workers’ rights and social justice, Phil was always there. Phil was the man to take up causes, write songs, play at rallies and even risk his life. His clear voice and sense of melody, linked with his incisive lyrics, created songs of beauty and power. As his career progressed, with lyrics and music becoming more highly poetic and sophisticated, he still never lost sight of his cause. Towards the end of the sixties he joined with the YIPPIES in protest against the Vietnam War. But idealism became Phil’s downfall. He was an idealist who could see no point in continuing if he was unable to make the world a better place. Phil lost all hope and descended into depression, which, along with excessive alcohol consumption, led to his suicide in 1976. Shortly before he took his life, Phil asked his brother if he thought anyone would listen to his songs in the future. Well here we are; sixty years later, still listening. The songs of Phil Ochs are every bit as relevant as they ever were and they are making the world a better place!

Phil Ochs On Track: Every Album, Every Song: Amazon.co.uk: Opher Goodwin: 9781789523263: Books

Today I Remember Leonard Cohen

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Today I remember Leonard Cohen.

I never Knew him

But I did.

I tasted the flesh of his words.

I drank the blood.

Today I remember Leonard Cohen.

He lived with me

In my house.

His voice penetrated these walls.

His words infiltrated my brain.

Today I remember Leonard Cohen.

A distant figure

On a stage.

Silhouetted by a spotlight.

Performing.

Today I remember Leonard Cohen.

He was a singer,

A poet;

A man restricted

By his lusts.

Today I remember Leonard Cohen.

A man on a quest

That never ended.

A quest

Without a destination.

Today I remember Leonard Cohen.

A poet who used words

Carefully.

Who sculpted his

Thoughts.

Today I remember Leonard Cohen.

For, despite his faults,

He touched me,

Brought me joy.

Taught me

Today I remember Leonard Cohen.

Opher – 1.12.2024

Today the internet was alive with Leonard Cohen. Perhaps it was my algorithms? Perhaps it was the new documentary? Perhaps it was his ghost?

Today I read and listened.

Today was a day to cogitate and ponder.

Today I remember Leonard Cohen.

Phil Ochs: Every Album, Every Song – Paperback – Finally out Tomorrow!

Posted on by Opher

was the ‘The Prince of Protest’ in the sixties. The only real rival to Bob Dylan, he was the archetypal Greenwich Village topical songwriter. Whether protesting the Vietnam War or campaigning for civil rights, workers’ rights and social justice, Phil was always there. Phil was the man to take up causes, write songs, play at rallies and even risk his life. His clear voice and sense of melody, linked with his incisive lyrics, created songs of beauty and power. As his career progressed, with lyrics and music becoming more highly poetic and sophisticated, he still never lost sight of his cause. Towards the end of the sixties he joined with the YIPPIES in protest against the Vietnam War. But idealism became Phil’s downfall. He was an idealist who could see no point in continuing if he was unable to make the world a better place. Phil lost all hope and descended into depression, which, along with excessive alcohol consumption, led to his suicide in 1976. Shortly before he took his life, Phil asked his brother if he thought anyone would listen to his songs in the future. Well here we are; sixty years later, still listening. The songs of Phil Ochs are every bit as relevant as they ever were and they are making the world a better place!

My Journey To Roy Harper

Posted on by Opher

As an eighteen-year-old, Les Cousins was the place where I first heard Roy sing (and talk) but the journey to get there started a long time before that.

I had to first discover acoustic folk and blues and then the fabulous contemporary folk singer-songwriters. But I’m jumping ahead. I’ll start at the very beginning.

Way back in 1960 when I was around eleven-years-old there was an older girl down my street who was a bit of a beatnik. I remember black polo necks and medallions. She was called Daphne and she introduced me to Joan Baez by endlessly playing Joan’s first album of traditional folk songs. That was a departure from the Buddy Holly and Everly Brothers I had been listening to (along with Adam Faith and the Shadows). I enjoyed the Joan Baez but wasn’t completely bowled over.

A year or so later my friend Charlie Mutton introduced me to Bob Dylan’s first album. I quite enjoyed the rawness. It was very different. But I was not convinced enough to buy the album (money was tight). That happened about the same time that Dick Brunning turned me on to Blues and I started listening to the likes of Robert Johnson’s great acoustic stuff.

By late 1964 Donovan started appearing on Ready Steady Go and released the single Catch The Wind in early 1965. By this time I’d been getting into Dylan (his next few acoustic albums were inspirational) and Donovan seemed related. I had a girlfriend – Viv Oldfield – who was really into Donovan and she had an elder brother who was mad on Woody Guthrie and Big Bill Broonzy. So my musical adventures were going all over the place with the discovery of new singers – Sonny Terry Brownie McGhee, Sleepy John Estes, Snooks Eaglin and Big Joe Williams. Phil Ochs rocked my head with his hard-hitting anti-war and civil rights songs – only second to Dylan. Paul Simon’s first album (The Paul Simon Songbook) had quite an effect. I loved that. Then there was a plethora of others from the Greenwich Village folk scene – Buffy St Marie, Richard and Mimi Farina, Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and the Native American Peter LaFarge. I enjoyed hunting out people my mates hadn’t heard of.

At the time records of Blues and Folk artists were really hard to come by. I used to hunt through the second-hand record bins for obscure Folkways records or a cover that took my fancy.

Bear in mind that at this time I was also really into the beat bands – Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds, Pretty Things, Who, Downliners Sect, Small Faces and Measles, as well as the old Rockers – Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, Little Richard, Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly – plus Electric Blues – Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Sonny Boy Williamson and Elmore James – but that’s a different story. I’m focussing on the acoustic. Safe to say that music dominated my mind. I never stopped playing it.

Anyway, I became besotted with Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan because of the lyrics. I’m a lyric guy.  Then a mate called Robert Ede lent me this fabulous album by Jackson C Frank which blew my mind. I couldn’t stop playing it. Another mate called Neil Furby, sold me the Bert Jansch and John Renbourn debut albums and they opened my mind. Neil also played me Anji by Davey Graham and that opened up new horizons. The British contemporary folk scene was exploding and I was in at the beginning.

By 1967 I was really immersed in the contemporary folk scene and was listening to a wide range of American and British singer songwriters. I was also into psychedelia, Blues, R&B and West Coast. No wonder my studies weren’t going well. I had trouble fitting it all in. The Incredible String Band reared their head – a friend called Gary Turp was mad on them and dragged me off to a gig or two.

It was spending my evenings at the Toby Jug in Tolworth, Eel Pie Island in Twickenham and Middle Earth, The Marqui and UFO clubs in London as well as a number of smaller clubs and college venues. Not much time for sleep.

Then a long lost friend called Jeff (with the white plastic mac) told me about this fiery singer who was ranting about the same stuff as me. He told me I had to go and hear him.

By this time my interests in the folk scene had taken me to the Barge, Bunji’s and Les Cousins. I’d turn up on my motorbike, pay a few shillings and get a fabulous evening/night of entertainment from Bert, John, Martyn, Al and hosts of others. Then, one night, between Bert and John, that fiery force of nature took the stage for a short set of three numbers and some gab, and altered the universe!

That was the start.

Nick Harper: The Wilderness Years Hardcover

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If it were only the guitar playing it would be wonderful. However he is so much more. Nick marries this instrumental genius to a voice that is incredible in range and texture and a song-writing ability that is up there with the best. He now has a catalogue of songs that would challenge any great songwriter of our time. The content is both poetic and meaningful. What more could you possibly ask for?

Nick’s live performances are impressive. He is a showman who deploys wit and cutting humour along with sharp observation. He is a warm, sensitive but forceful man whose sensibilities are complex, always intelligent and forthright. You never get short-changed at a Nick gig. He puts his soul into it.

The one mystery surrounding Nick’s career concerns the level of success he has so far achieved. It boggles me to think that he has not risen to the heights, received the recognition and walked away with awards. He surely deserves it. His time will undoubtedly come. Skills like his do not go unnoticed forever.

I suggested writing a book with and about Nick many years back but he was not keen. Nick is a modest man who neither seeks to inflate his achievements nor crow about them. He simply did not feel he had done enough to warrant a book. There was also the business side of it. Nick naturally shies away from any aspect of the business that is concerned with money making. He abhors anything smacking of exploitation. He feels that he is privileged to be able to do what he does; which is to create and play music. That should be sufficient. He is grateful when anybody enjoys his music and still amazed that he has a ‘career’ and people actually pay to see him. Nick refuses to see himself as a part of the music business or his songs as a commodity. Despite the fact that he knows he has to make a living he is not about to exploit his supporters by producing ‘product’. He does what he feels is right. He writes songs because they are an expression of how he feels. He is the same person on and off stage. There is no eye on the market.

Nick is extremely ambitious in only one aspect; he wants to get better as a singer, musician and writer and pushes the boundaries continuously. When it comes to promoting his career, getting on radio and TV, or looking at potential marketing he tells me he is lazy. That is not true. It is not so much laziness as a disinterest in doing anything that he is not inclined to do.

Nick is one of a rare breed who has integrity. He is genuine and honest. What you see is what you get. He’ll give you time after a show because he wants to. He is genuinely in awe that you should bother to make the journey and pay to see him play. Playing is what he loves doing. He’d do it for free. The guitar is not just a meal ticket to Nick; it is a friend he needs to play in order to keep sane.

This book finally came about because Nick decided that it was time to release a compilation. He was excited by the idea of a retrospective of what he had achieved up until now. He told me that he never expected to even produce one CD let alone for it to sell and be followed by others, sustaining his ‘career’ for so long. He was genuinely amazed and felt privileged to be able to live by doing what he loves doing. He saw this book as part of that package.

This is not a memoir of his life. This is not the inside story. Neither is it intended to be complete. Nick could easily have done this himself; he is a master of using words and knows what he wants to say. Yet he did not want to. It was going back to that reluctance for him to admit that he is good at what he does. He wanted to distance himself and let someone else do the job. That’s fine with me. I have no reticence about singing his praises. I’ve known him since he was a child, I’ve watched him grow and mature, I’ve observed the way he has matured into a man. His ideas, his musicianship and song-writing skills have blossomed; and his family have been at the centre of it all. I’ve been incredibly proud of him over the years and have no doubt that he is a true genius and a human being of exceptional qualities, sensibilities and warmth.

This book is a companion to his set of retrospective albums. Like them it is entitled ‘The Wilderness Years’. That title is partly Nick’s self-deprecating way – to downplay his achievements – and partly because he has chosen to remain low key. If he had played the game, had the desire and pulled out the stops he would have undoubtedly reached a far larger audience.

What I am certain of is that talent like Nick’s does not stay out in that wilderness forever; it does eventually get noticed. Maybe this set of albums will provide the springboard to draw attention to the phenomenon that is Nick Harper and the title will prove prophetic…..

Opher Jan 2015

Thanks for the fantastic reviews!!