TIA BLAKE & her folk group - folksongs & ballads
artist:Tia Blake
album title: folksongs & ballads
year: 1971
genre: Old-Time, Folk
tracklist:
- Betty And Dupree
- Black Is The Color
- Single Girl
- I'm A Man Of Constant Sorrow
- Jane, Jane
- Jimmy Whalen
- Rising Of The Moon
- Hangman
- Turtle Dove
- Plastic Jesus
- Polly Vaughn
First impressions: The one thing that first stood out for me were the vocals. They are a bit different I am accustom to hearing, but the music was really good and piqued my curiosity. How a singer sounds makes or breaks it for me. If I don't care for how vocals sound I usually skip over the band or artist. However that isn't always the case. Sometimes it takes me a while to get accustom to a singer. It took me a while to get use to Joni Mitchell, but now I love her voice. Karen Dalton is another one whose singing style took a while for me to get use to, but I didn't pass her stuff by because I knew there was something special there and the same is true for Tia Blake.
So I figured I should compare Tia's vocals to someone else' you might identify with - in case you are interested in checking her out own your own. I went through quite a few female Folk singers to find someone to compare Tia to, and the closest I think is Bridget St John, maybe Shirley Collins - maybe. At times Angel Olsen projects her voice like Tia Blake and other female Folk singers of that era.
Songs:
Betty And Dupree was a Blues number by Brownie McGhee, the lyrics reminds me of Frankie and Johnny by Mississippi John Hurt. Chuck Willis also did a cover of the song. He had a hit with The Stroll turn the music of Betty And Dupree into a song that can do Stroll.
Black Is The Color starts off somewhat similiar to Greensleeves, but changes to a Flamenco-style playing.
Single Girl probably my favorite song on the album, mostly because of the guitar duet in the background. Both play arpeggios and sound similar to style of Chad and Jeremy.
I'm A Man Of Constant Sorrow I am familiar with the song because of Roscoe Holcomb. I picked up his album because it was part of the Smithsonian Folkways catalog. I was pleasantly surprised that Bob Dylan mentioned him as influence. The backing track easily sounds like Union Station (who backed Alison Krauss) with Dan Fogelberg sitting in with them. The song resurfaced in again in 2000 with the movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" It was performed by the fictitious group the Soggy Bottom Boys.
Jane, Jane starts off just like a Chet Atkins song. - Who's he? Just think of the "Esurance" commercial. The song was covered by Peter, Paul and Mary who treated their version of the song with their usual three part harmony.
Jimmy Whalen it starts off what sounds like wooden flute, and appears again after the first verse. The lyrics do well to visualize the short but sad story.
Rising Of The Moon an Irish folk song.
Hangman The Kingston Trio does a song by the same name, but the lyrics are somewhat different. Peter, Paul & Mary
Turtle Dove is a lovely song. Once it gets started it draws to mind the song
John Barley Must Die by Traffic, probably because of the melody and the chimey guitars. It ends with a flute solo.
Plastic Jesus it starts off with a Old Time dobro The song has a melody very close to "Keep on the Sunny Side" a song popularized by The Carter Family. Tia sings it more sincerely than perhaps the author intended it to be?
Polly Vaughn is the last song on the original release of the album. It is a rather strong ending. It is a male/female vocal duet.
Thoughts: Folksongs & ballads is a solid album, it consists of eleven in domain songs that was recorded in Paris. (
The best jpg I could find was that of the French release, notice how it has the pronoun wrong in the title. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯Que sera sera. ) Not sure if Tia got a recognition for music in her day. So basically I like this album cause it fits in with many of my other favorite one-offs that get recorded and nearly get forgotten about, like Sibylle Baier etc. If it wasn't for someone who cared about their music, helping to get known to the rest of the world it would be all but lost to the ages.
WHODUNNIT??? When I first saw the album title immediately thought of three people who would possibly recommend this album to me: Stephen, Pet Sounds, and Lisna. If I had to guess who recommended this album I would say Pet Sounds, but I didn't see him on the list. This album is right up my alley. Whoever selected this album knows I am a fan of Folk music.
rating:4/5*
reason: I gave it a 4/5 because I really love the guitar playing throughout the album. I also liked Tia's soft solemn way of singing.
*I am uncomfortable using numbers to rate album. There is something that doesn't seem right in reducing personal feelings down to mere fractions
i.e. 1/5 to 5/5. Another thing too is there are albums I really enjoy on my own I wouldn't recommend fearing they would never go over. So I unsure if my 5/5 is anyone's 5/5. And I kinda need breathing space too where if I think 5/5 could be overturned by new discovery. So I usually the highest I ever like to give out is a 4/5 with idea there's room to grow.
Thanks to whoever rec this album. cheers!
