Colorado
Springs
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RALPH, ALBERT & SYDNEY USA ARTICLES “I
don’t wish to tell people what to do or how to live.
I’m only just learning myself,” Ralph admits.
He never reads his good reviews, undoubtedly he’ll never read this, but
he collects his bad ones. He
wants to know what people don’t connect with.
Ralph says that if he were to receive only bad reviews he would probably
stop singing publicly, but with reviews like the one in a British paper that
called him a “dazzling new talent” he’ll be singing out for a long time. “People
need heroes I guess,” he reflects, “but when they make heroes they lose
sight of people.” Ralph
does not want his audience to lose sight of the fact that he
is just a person. He
comes on stage, whether it is the David Frost Show or a folk club, in jeans and
a simple shirt. “I
tried dressing up once,” he explains, “and felt so uncomfortable I had a
hard time performing.” Ralph
started in England as a “busker”, a street musician who lives on the coins
people toss him. He
sang his way across Europe many times, getting as far as Istanbul, but sickness
always forced him to return to England.
He was worn down by sleeping in doorways or on the floor, and by having
bad food, not enough of it, and no money. Finally,
after leaving a factory job in England and heading off again to sing in the
streets of Paris, things started to go well for him.
He was able to make enough money to live by singing for the lines outside
of movies, but there were drawbacks.
The police started a drive to clean up Paris.
Ralph spent a few nights in jail: but he was more fortunate than some who
saw their guitars smashed against walls or dropped into the Seine. Eventually,
Ralph was heard by Antoine, a French commercial version of a folk singer.
Antoine couldn’t play the guitar, yet needed one for his image.
Ralph was given the job of dressing in a tuxedo and playing guitar out of
the light while Antoine faked it.
When Ralph returned to England he began to play in clubs.
Someone sent a tape of his performance to a publisher, and before long
Ralph was able to cut his first album. Now
Ralph performs alone accompanying himself with his guitar and occasionally
switching to the piano for a number.
He feels that performing by himself eliminates the clatter, clutter, and
hype from a performance, and lets him express something real.
He’ll sit cradling his guitar, and if he’s nervous, he’ll close his
eyes. If not he’ll
stare fixedly out into the audience, but only see them after a song is
completed. He needs
to be within himself when he sings.
He is hypersensitive to his audience: he feels every movement, and if he
senses a lack of interest on their part he’ll become uncomfortable and cut
down his introductions to his songs. His
album (You Well Meaning Brought Me Here,
Paramount) is very different from his one-man stage performance.
The simple songs are laid over a complicated foundation of harmonium,
moog, strings and brass, but the elaborate instrumentation actually enhances the
music and helps recapture the excitement of his live show. Ralph
tries to write songs about subjects that are not well covered.
He doesn’t want to sing about his love problems.
Instead he writes about the precarious relationship between an artist and
his audience, the intense loneliness of rag-covered street beggars, an “Old
Brown Dog” that should be put out of its misery, or an incident from Hesse’s
Siddhartha. His
voice flows sweetly and strongly, but Ralph is not completely satisfied with it.
“When I sang really loudly as a busker I always hoped my voice would
come to sound rough like Rod Stewart’s but it usually just quit and came back
sounding the same the next day.”
Ralph’s voice has a pleasant reassuring quality to it, almost as if he
were singing for people he has always known, and that really is how he feels
about the people who come to hear him.
At the Festival Hall he looked up to see a full house and was moved by
it, saying, “I never knew I had so many friends.”
Well it would seem that Ralph McTell ought to have a lot more friends
very shortly. And I never meant to come this far And
our well meaning will hopefully bring him back to the States again
someday.
USA
ARTICLES Talking from a telephone booth “somewhere” in the East, it was
hardly a scenario from a rock’n’roll daydream of fame and fortune. But McTell, best known for his 1975 British Hit, “Streets of
London”, isn’t just whistling in the wind when he speaks of shopping
bag ladies and being down and out. After
all, McTell paid some heavy dues playing on street corners in his native
England and across the European continent. “You know, I grew up in the working class,” he once told critic
Maryanne Vollers. “I’m
not working class now. I’m
never hard up for a drink or cigarettes – I’m successful really.
But you never forget where you came from. You never forget what it was like.” At 34, the musician is on his second U.S. tour along with folkies John
Renbourn and Stefan Grossman. Recently,
the trio brought down the house at the Rainbow Music Theatre in Denver. McTell, who has been associated with Renbourn for 15 years and Grossman
for 12 years, will be included in their collaborative LP soon to be
released on the Kicking Mule label. While Renbourn, a former member of Pentangle, is known for his Baroque,
medieval-like tunes and Grossman made his name through mentor Rev. Gary
Davis and the blues, McTell sticks to folk and ragtime melodies. “I’m folk blues and that’s about it.
They’re into the beyond stuff,” McTell said of his musical
partners. “I started off
playing rags and blues and began writing my own songs later. Last night was the first gig of this tour and it worked
really well.” In the two hour show the musicians cover everything from Mingus to
Mississippi John Hurt. Which
isn’t to say the music is incompatible. “I think the songs sit very well together,” McTell said.
“This country caters to so many tastes that it’s been really
good for us.” Though “certainly not Peter, Paul and Mary” McTell does consider the
trio a folk group in both concept and performance. The common link between the three is a six-string acoustic
guitar and a love of traditional, as well as contemporary, tunes. McTell, who fronted for Dave Bromberg last February, has yet to capture
American commercial appeal. Still,
during a Bromberg appearance at Carnegie Hall, the musician brought down
the house with his relatively simple music. Accessible as his songs are, McTell isn’t quite sure how to break into
the U.S. music market. “I wish I knew, then I’d do it,” he said. “I guess timing. I
first played here in 1971 and I think it has to do with what is in fashion
and what people want. All I
want is to achieve an area where I can come and work because I like
playing here.” Not that McTell has escaped the attention of admiring critics.
Last year, in fact, he was “bowled over” by an article in the
Rolling Stone. Let’s hope
McTell is destined for even greater things. “That was a nice thing. They
(Rolling Stone) reviewed one of my records back in 1970.
It was a critical review, but it was good criticism.
Not like the British press who does a hatchet job,” he said. A veteran of 10 albums, four of them American releases, the guitarist
now records on Kicking Mule. After
years of bouncing from label to label, McTell says he prefers to work with
Grossman’s independent company. “This country’s so rich in talent,” said McTell, “I don’t mind
being unknown.” The musician has said that music for him is both political and
sentimental. Songs, such as
“Nanna’s Song” written for his Norwegian wife, would seem to verify
the latter, but what about the political strife in the United Kingdom? “It saddens me, after so many years and all the bloody battles, that
people want to go their own way. I’m
not talking about Ireland, but Scotland and Wales. That’s just the way things are right now,” he said.
“I think people know what’s right and wrong, but I don’t want
to tell them.” As a husband and father, through the street corner gigs and the hardest
of times, McTell somehow has managed to raise his family with music.
Something, he said, “that’s a rare and wonderful thing.” Following his American tour, after a day off, McTell will head back to
London for some British dates and some theatre shows in Dublin and
Belfast. Even with such a hectic schedule and despite the grind of the road,
McTell feels grateful, and above all, lucky for his success. “I have very few complaints,” he said with a laugh.
USA
ARTICLES USA ARTICLES Sand in Your Shoes brings us up-todate on the McTell catalogue. Previously released in Britain, the album shows that in the decades since he wrote his most famous song, "Streets of London," his songs and voice have only grown richer. McTell's accomplishments as a musician are astounding. Before he had any major hits, he had enough fans to sell out the Royal Albert Hall in London—the first British solo act to do so in over a decade. Shortly thereafter, he had a chart-topping hit with "Streets of London," a compelling song about homelessness and despair that has remained remarkably cogent for three decades. With over two hundred versions, "Streets of London" has become one of the most recorded songs in the English language, and it's a part of the repertoire of artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Sinead O'Cornor, Aretha Franklin, Harry Belafonte, Glen Campbell, and the punk band Anti-Nowhere League. At one point, four different versions of the song were on the charts in Germany. McTell's song "From Clare to Here" (recorded by Nanci Griffith for her Grammy- winning album, other Voices other Rooms) has become such a standard that many people mistakenly believe it is a traditional Irish tune. The songs on Sand in Your Shoes stand up to McTell's best work. His engaging
stories and character studies are always deeply moving, and there is a rare and
unguarded humanity to his work. He writes of families, communities, and
individuals caught at moments of truth. With songs like "Jesus Wept"
and "The Case of Otto Schwartzkopf," you'll want to listen to the
lyrics over and over to get at the heart of the story, and "Peppers and
Tomatoes," inspired by conflicts in Yugoslavia, is one of the greatest
songs ever written about communities ripped apart. The poetry of McTell's guitar
playing is equal to that of his songwriting. He's got an indelible, individual
style—playing melody, counter-melody, bass lines, tiffs and fill-ins all at
the same time. It's a style the London Daily Express called "an orchestra
in six strings." To top it off, McTell has a rich, expressive voice—a
distinctive baritone that, once heard, is never forgotten. Sand in Your Shoes is
yet another provocative collection from one of Britain's greatest songwriters. USA ARTICLES McTell is a master at revealing the human condition, and he does so without becoming maudlin or morose. "Song For Martin," written about a musician friend's addiction to heroin, is passionate McTell, as his growling, warm baritone expresses emotion and attachment to his friend. The oft-requested "Michael in the Garden" describes an institutionalized man, probably autistic, who is misunderstood by the outside world, yet lives in his own world of splendor. The rolling cadence in this new recording, which recalls the airiness of early Moody Blues , brings to mind a person deep in constant thought. Included is the hit version of "Streets of London," written in 1967-68, still as vibrant as ever, with McTell adding harmonica. Other songs deal with two sides of the Irish emigration to America. The title track, written in 1963, explores the familiar themes of the Irishman longing for home. "The Setting," a traditional-sounding number with Tom Keane playing uilleann pipes, takes the view of loved ones left behind. McTell's honesty extends to themes about other aspects of life as well. The relaxing ballad "Summer Girls," in this previously unreleased version, describes how men try on characteristics to impress women. "Barges" and "Tequila Sunset" are songs about summer holidays and singles bars, respectively, while "Mr. Connaughton" cradles the fond memories of a man who spent time with McTell, whose real father deserted home when he was two. The rollicking "Hands of Joseph," newly recorded for this album, shows off McTell's guitar playing, which was inspired by the playing of Bahamanian Joseph Spence . McTell has released dozens of albums, and this collection cannot hope to sum
up his stellar career. But it is a fine sampling, and the songs will send many a
young songwriter back to the drawing board to try again.
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