{"title":"Dave Evans","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"elephantasia-2","title":"Elephantasia","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eElephantasia\u003c\/i\u003e is a glorious folk opus from 1972, long lost and attaining a legendary reputation for its candour and creativity, from the late Bangor-born singer\/songwriter Dave Evans. Finally, the LP sees the light of day again via Earth Recordings, it is a true gem from the vaults of British folk history. For fans of Nick Drake, Bill Fay and Davy Graham – with a touch of Michael Chapman, Bert Jansch and Fahey for good measure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDave Evans’ story is like a Pinter play; he sailed the seas in the merchant navy, was taught guitar in a brief interlude by the “mythical” Morocco John, wound up sharing a room with Steve Tilston in 1963 when they attended Loughborough Art College and ran the local folk club, while learning to make stringed instruments, the art of wine making and ceramics. Over the next year, Dave got a domestic 2-track reel-to-reel tape recorder and experimented with its two speeds to produce the tracks ‘Elephantasia’ and ‘Lady Portia’. He pulled in members of local prog band Squidd, including latter day Hawkwind member Steve Swindells on keyboards, John Merritt on bass and Rodney Matthews on drums, who also designed the ‘Elephantasia’ album cover, and went on to become a renowned fantasy artist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eElephantasia\u003c\/i\u003e the album was originally released in 1972, fully exposing Dave’s finger picking style, lilting vocal and his dalliance with the tape manipulation. It sold around 2000 copies and over the years became a talked about rarity, deemed too progressive for folk, too folk for the new prog heads. In best plot-thickening style, Dave tried two more releases and then disappeared. The scant sleeve notes recounted the songs’ creation, featuring tales of experimentation in sound inspired by elephants, old memories recounted with all of the unpleasant bits edited out, storylines for escapists, the residents of St Agnes Park, broken beauty queens and a fat feline. It’s an eclectic but beautifully fluent narrative from a finger picking maestro with a warm and engaging vocal style that wowed Peel and Whispering Bob back in the day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDave Evans sadly died in April 2021. Earth Recordings is proud to reissue \u003ci\u003eElephantasia\u003c\/i\u003e for the first time in over 50 years, in collaboration with his estate and original Village Thing producer Ian A. Anderson.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Earth Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Black LPx11","offer_id":50390875668811,"sku":"2052984","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50390874751307,"sku":"2052983","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/04da0447-0124-0853-ff3d-fd6674afb099_166df3d0_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726395556"},{"product_id":"the-words-inbetween","title":"The Words Inbetween","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe story goes that Ian A. Anderson and Gef Lucena were walking the streets of Clifton, trying to come up with a name for their new record label. At the time (the early 70s) Greenwich Village was naturally the mecca destination for any musician worth his 12-string, so the pair had taken to referring to their slice of Bristol as 'Clifton Village' (long before this was taken up by estate agents across the land, albeit in a very different fashion). And so The Village Thing was born; home to a great many extraordinary talents, not least of all Dave Evans, and his magnificent debut\u003ci\u003e The Words In Between\u003c\/i\u003e. Like many albums of the era -and inclination - \u003ci\u003eWords\u003c\/i\u003e was recorded straight to tape in someone's home (in this instance, Ian Anderson's). Nothing unusual there – the DIY aspect of making records at this time was something of a necessity, rather than an aesthetic – but one has only to look a little further to realise that the sounds Dave Evans relayed to a shiny new Revox were unique. Not just the songs, but the guitar on which he played; every aspect of his sound was of his own design. No small feat during a time when most of his peers had to beg borrow or steal an instrument, just to fulfill their Saturday night slot at the Troubadour. Evans has rightfully earned cult status amongst anyone with an ear for the fingerpicking style of guitar. Even the most cursory glance at his 'Old Grey Whistle Test' session is enough to leave one spellbound, Lou Reed (in the audience at the time) was said to have been completely mesmerised by Evans' phenominal yet seemingly effortless touch. As far as comparisons go, Evans could easily sit alongside the likes of Robbie Basho or John Fahey in terms of technical ability, but the rarity of his talent lies in his gift for melody, which is relayed both instrumentally, and via his sweet Welsh lilt. In a world where it seems as though every guitar LP of the 60s and 70s has been scrutinised within an inch of its life, \u003ci\u003eThe Words In Between\u003c\/i\u003e might just be that rare thing: a wonderfully arcane gem. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLP - Silver Pantone Sleeve with Download.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Earth Recordings","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50449869341003,"sku":"1035351","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/5ef14abb-6e13-43e6-839d-8c65376cd082_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727107406"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/dave-evans.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}