One of the movements of the 70s and 80s that doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves is the various incarnations of folk rock, starting from the well-known like Fairport Convention to less famous music by the likes of Fotheringay.
It was an interesting trend that was at once traditional in that they reworked traditional songs, but added a rock sensibility. I always loved it, though access to it was severely limited. I had researched the movement in my NME book of rock and unearthed records by Pentangle and the Incredible String Band. I went to Banbury for that year’s Cropredy in 1981.
In fact I had heard Pentangle back in 1969 because they provided the theme to programme Take Three Girls, a song called ‘Light Flight.’ Although it was folk there was a complexity to the music that was almost proggy.
From Fairport, whose Liege And Lief I loved, I discovered Steeleye Span who seemed more muscular and whose Maddy Prior wore red spandex - can’t think why that’s stuck in my head.
If you followed Richard Thompson you could mine a rich seam, through his records with Linda, though I never liked his voice. It was noticeable how it leaked into other areas. Lindisfarne definitely had a folk rock element and when not in echoplex paradise, so did John Martyn, Jethro Tull leaned into rock a bit more but rarely left their folk-rock elements. One of my favourite records in the genre is Pipedream by Alan Hull which has some brilliant songs like ‘Money Game’.
Moving Hearts and Horslips brought a celtic vibe to proceedings. Personally I regard Horslips as one of the most important bands in progressing this sort of music. I loved how they could break out of a traditional tune into a burning straight ahead rock passage.
In the 80s I discovered Paul Brady and went back and discovered Planxty. They were super original and had a unique sound. In Scotland it always enjoyed a strong presence, we had Silly Wizard, Capercaille, Runrig and the excellent JSD Band.
My heavy rock mates never really embraced the lack of riffs and wailing guitar solos, which I understand but when a genre has a song as brilliant and profound as Who Knows Where The Time Goes, how can you resist?
