Book#1 - Electric Eden by Rob Young

I referred in an earlier post (see 31st March) to Electric Eden by Rob Young a book which I was enjoying at the time though I was not yet half way through completing it. Well, now I have!

Subtitled 'Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music', the book is essentially a chronological trip through British folk music in the 20th century. Beginning with a chapter describing the eighteen month 1960's journey of Vashti Bunyan towards a remote Scottish Island in search of her own Utopia, the 600+ page book takes us through the early 20th century composers such as Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst who were both clearly influenced by traditional English music, Then  the author takes us onward to the emerging folk clubs of the 50's and 60's.

This for me was the most interesting part of the book as we reach the point where I first developed an interest in British folk music as opposed to the American folk tradition of people like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. Rob Young delves into the lives and careers of The Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, John Martyn, Pentangle, Bert Jansch, Nick Drake, Dr Strangely Strange, Steeleye Span, Richard (& Linda) Thompson and more.

Of less interest to me personally are the sections where the author investigates the links between traditional music and the occult or paganism.  However, this is a personal point of view and doesn't detract from the fact that the book is well researched (although there are factual errors) and well written.

There have been other works that have covered similar territory (i.e. The Electric Muse') but this book covers some previously unexplored areas by taking the reader into the folky influences prevalent in the 80's and 90's. As examples, the author cites the works of Kate Bush and perhaps more surprisingly, Talk Talk. I say more surprisingly as the majority of people will be most familiar with Talk Talk's 'hits' such as 'It's My Life' and 'Dum Dum Girl', about as far removed from traditional English folk music as you can get. However, those like me, who stuck with Talk Talk through their final two albums 'Sprit of Eden' and 'Laughing Stock' will have been rewarded with superb works clearly influenced by the spirit of pastoral England and the works of Vaughan Williams.

All in all I would say that if you have an interest in British folk music or any or the artists mentioned above, this book is well worth reading.