Richard, again I truly enjoyed the deep dive into Shirley Collins and your fruitful interactions with her and her recorded legacy. I thought I was pretty up to date with my Shirley Collins oeuvre and appreciation, but a few of your links led me to very enjoyable first time listens.
It was interesting to click through and read about her account of her dysphonia, coming on the heels of her breakup with Ashley Hutchings. You likely know that Linda Thompson famously developed, quite out of the blue, vocal dysphonia, but in her case it was not immediately brought on when she was abruptly abandoned by Richard, but instead manifested a number of years later for her. My younger brother, a retired Lutheran minister, very recently developed a specific type of dysphonia, while in his case it affects his speech -- much of the time, but not always -- and he no longer tries to sing anyway.
Speaking of Richard and Linda Thompson, I now find myself wondering to what extent (if any) he chose to include crumhorns (Brian Gulland and Richard Harvey) on their brilliant recording debut as a duo (for that "silver band" effect) -- due in part to influence from the "Anthems in Eden" project? "Eden" was only two years before Richard was all over the "No Roses" project, but still about three years before he properly launched his duo career with "Bright Lights." We do know that Richard had (and still has) very big ears, so he could have developed his ideas for his silver band effect from other source recordings.
Anyway, your email notifications about your writings always wind up staying in my inbox for a number of days. I'm a devout "zero inboxer," and almost always I either read an email and then delete it (or simply delete it outright) at every "email sitting," but your messages are the exception. I simply don't want to rush through my enjoyment of your deep dives, so they linger in my inbox for several days on average. Thanks for sharing your deep appreciation of worthwhile music and memories.
Thank you so much for this comment, James. I really appreciate it, as it can be hard to get a sense of engagement with some of these pieces. A lot of time goes into them, even when, as here, some of the material is being republished. At a time when, for various reasons, I'm considering moving to shorter texts that require less preparation time, it's good to know that the deeper dives are valued and worth continuing with, even if less frequently.
That's a great point about Richard Thompson and the crumhorns. I hadn't made that connection, but you could well be on the button there. You've made me want to play 'Bright Lights' again now, which is never a bad thing!
Richard, again I truly enjoyed the deep dive into Shirley Collins and your fruitful interactions with her and her recorded legacy. I thought I was pretty up to date with my Shirley Collins oeuvre and appreciation, but a few of your links led me to very enjoyable first time listens.
It was interesting to click through and read about her account of her dysphonia, coming on the heels of her breakup with Ashley Hutchings. You likely know that Linda Thompson famously developed, quite out of the blue, vocal dysphonia, but in her case it was not immediately brought on when she was abruptly abandoned by Richard, but instead manifested a number of years later for her. My younger brother, a retired Lutheran minister, very recently developed a specific type of dysphonia, while in his case it affects his speech -- much of the time, but not always -- and he no longer tries to sing anyway.
Speaking of Richard and Linda Thompson, I now find myself wondering to what extent (if any) he chose to include crumhorns (Brian Gulland and Richard Harvey) on their brilliant recording debut as a duo (for that "silver band" effect) -- due in part to influence from the "Anthems in Eden" project? "Eden" was only two years before Richard was all over the "No Roses" project, but still about three years before he properly launched his duo career with "Bright Lights." We do know that Richard had (and still has) very big ears, so he could have developed his ideas for his silver band effect from other source recordings.
Anyway, your email notifications about your writings always wind up staying in my inbox for a number of days. I'm a devout "zero inboxer," and almost always I either read an email and then delete it (or simply delete it outright) at every "email sitting," but your messages are the exception. I simply don't want to rush through my enjoyment of your deep dives, so they linger in my inbox for several days on average. Thanks for sharing your deep appreciation of worthwhile music and memories.
Thank you so much for this comment, James. I really appreciate it, as it can be hard to get a sense of engagement with some of these pieces. A lot of time goes into them, even when, as here, some of the material is being republished. At a time when, for various reasons, I'm considering moving to shorter texts that require less preparation time, it's good to know that the deeper dives are valued and worth continuing with, even if less frequently.
That's a great point about Richard Thompson and the crumhorns. I hadn't made that connection, but you could well be on the button there. You've made me want to play 'Bright Lights' again now, which is never a bad thing!
Thanks again.