Gay & Terry Woods
1970-11-03 London, England Top Gear BBC Studios (2nd? gen. FM)
1. January Snows
2. I Feel Concerned
3. A Nobleman's Fair Daughter
Total Time ::: 12:40
NOTES ::: Somewhat transistor-radio-like miked radio speaker sound but INCREDIBLE musical content (although short). Check samples if yer concerned. Date is the recording date, more info below.
::: Fresh outta the 1st Steeleye Span line-up & just after recording The Woods Band album, two of my fave folkrockers of the era.
::: MacDonald & Giles (if they're really here, see below) are neither playing with King Crimson nor playing King Crimson songs here, but as per the Mods suggestion, it is duly mentioned.
Lineage: Not confirmed, but believed to be: BBC broadcast -> off-air mono master reel-to-reel, microphone in front of radio speaker -> 1st generation reel-to-reel (or possibly cassette) -> 2nd generation Maxell XLIIS-90 cassette, Dolby B on
Playback 2011-06-12 2nd generation Maxell XLIIS-90 cassette on Nakamichi BX-300 cassette deck, Dolby B on, azimuth & pitch adjusted, heads cleaned & demagnatized -> Tascam CD-RW900SL pro CD recorder -> CD-RW -> computer -> EAC secure -> wav file(s) -> Audacity (for fades and/or glitch repair, volume adjustments, no EQ except on this rare occasion a tiny bit of HUM removal was applied as it was quite annoying - apologies to purists) -> CD Wave for track splits -> Trader's Little Helper -> various ears around the world.
Nothing here has ever been commercially released to my knowledge (but we can sure hope it happens someday!). If I'm wrong, please advise & I'll take the offending trax offline.
Thanks to "Reel Master Gaule" for digging this out of someone's attic and keeping it alive.
Corrections welcome. If the pitch is still incorrect, email me & maybe I'll get around to fixing it. I use a pitch pipe, check 3-4 songs & when in doubt compare 1-2 songs on a time-appropriate album, but sometimes I'm off. If Dolby was present, it was dealt with as seemed best.
Cool Sonics Series CS-011 ::: The first & last songs are the Gay & Terry duo as noted in Ken Garner's "In Session Tonight" book. But contrary to Garner's notes other great musicians are certainly playing on track 2 (aside from Terry, whom Peel mentions play other instruments than the concertina).
This session was in a phase following the original lineup of Steeleye Span having broken up, right after recording their first album "Hark! The Village Wait" in early 1970. Gay & Terry formed The Woods Band (& at the same time Steeleye Span reformed without them). The Woods Band began as a group, but then Terry & Gay used session musicians for albums & tours, & from '70 into '71 gigged as both "Gay & Terry Woods", "The Woods Band", & as they were hanging out & touring with their friends Dr. Strangely Strange, they sometimes played as "Strangewoods" (Dimer Lagga thankfully preserved a bit of this history).
Apparently the Woods were also hanging out & rehearsing with Ian MacDonald & Mike Giles of King Crimson. Certainly someone with better ears than mine can make a more realistic assessment, but it seems fairly certain Ian MacDonald is playing on "I Feel Concerned" (& very possibly Mike Giles as well). While tracks 1 & 3 are in a trad vein, "I Feel Concerned" finds the Woods clearly in the midst of serious mind & musical expansion. Too bad the quality doesn't allow us to travel all the way out with them, but the recording is revolutionary in its musical approach. It enters unique & VERY heavy progressive freakfolkrock territory & is not for the faint of heart - tradfolkers beware! Incredible guitar, a weird as hell instrument mix & interesting changes in the music with some Britfolk, Irishfolk, Middle Eastern & psych sounds all thrown into the mix. For me it was a missing link kinda like the Giles, Giles & Fripp "Brondesbury Tapes". Hopefully somday we can hear it in hi-fi!
Unfortunately a 4th session track "Van Dieman's Land" is missing. 1970-11-03 is the recording date & it was first broadcast on 1970-11-21. I thought my copy from a later rebroadcast, as it's labeled with the same recording date, but a broadcast date of 1971-01-30. It's very possible Peel didn't use all the session tracks the 2nd time around. However it is a little confusing as there is a Fotheringay session from the same first broadcast date (1970-11-21) & Fotheringay did apparently proceed Gay & Terry Woods on my source tape, so maybe the entire show was rebroadcast & the taper just missed "Van Dieman's Land". It's a shame, as the song has always one of the more interesting ones in the folkrock cannon & one of the standout tracks on the first Woods Band album recorded around this time.
More recordings on the way. Alas, up until September 2011, I suffered from SERIOUSLY slow internet access (hence my lousy ratio). I am fixing that as fast as I can, now that I am able. Enjoy, share, give, spread peace.
Since we're all gettin' older & reminiscin' is in vogue... Kudos to: Zongo for life support & Lochner for microphones & much more. A bow to Fast Freddie for running Video Dick's Record Emporium with the bathroom office full of tape decks & supporting my 1980's 20+ cassette-a-day habit (4 machines at home just weren't enough)! Thanks to Hanwaker (few among us can keep his pace) for over 30 years of trading, friendship (& frau introductions!). Mountains of gratitude to Davmar, D.White, Sanchez, Elliot, The Florida Kid, Kloiber, Zingg, JTW, Bershaw, Boston Gold, Weeks, Dixon, Moore, Miller, Gough (G.-if you read this, get in touch!), Berger & SO many more for all that collecting & sharing... And royal thanks to The Man In The Palace, Doc Tinker, Brinkhoffs, Barely Eatin', Reel Master Gaule, Dean Parrish (how are ya dude?) & all those traders who housed & fed me through my many music acquisition & travel years. Steppin' back to the seeds - hats off to Brother Kent, Uncle Jake, Ena Whisnant (& her neighbor Frank) & his honor Ptomaine Thomas. A glass is raised to Byron for musical horizon expansion & am much obliged to J & Thurston for keepin' my concert fires burnin' since my continental shift. Thanks to the Mods for helping this thing to stay on its feet.
Support the artists! www.gaywoods.homestead.com/ www.pogues.com
MORE DATE INFO ::: 1970-11-03 is the recording session date. It was 1st broadcast date on 1970-11-21. However I believe my copy above was taken from a later re-broadcast, as it is labeled with the same recording date, but a broadcast date of 1971-01-30. It is very possible Peel didn't use all the session tracks the 2nd time around. However it is a little confusing as there is a Fotheringay session from the same first broadcast date 1970-11-21 and Fotheringay did apparently proceed Gay & Terry Woods on the source tape, so maybe the entire show was rebroadcast.