{"title":"Martin Carthy","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"martin-carthy","title":"Martin Carthy","description":"\u003cp\u003eRe-pressing of Martin Carthy's debut album, originally released on Fontana in 1965 and re-issued by Topic in 1977. In the early 1960s, the approach Martin Carthy took to folk music was nothing short of revolutionary, albeit a relatively quiet revolution befitting of his humble nature.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou wouldn't find Carthy's music clambering up the singles charts; his was not a face adorning the teen magazines. Instead, his influence was felt at a grass-roots level. He plied his trade in the folk clubs, which is where the likes of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon sought him out, enamoured of his traditional repertoire and keen to learn songs like 'Scarborough Fair' and 'Lord Franklin' directly from him before adapting them for their own purposes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis debut eponymous album, re-released here, on vinyl by Topic Records as part of their ongoing Topic Treasures series, is a snapshot of the work he was doing at the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOriginally finding its way into the world in 1965, courtesy of Fontana Records, Martin Carthy pulled together 14 songs from his burgeoning repertoire. Produced by Terry at the Philips Recording Studios in Marble Arch, the album was a must-learn checklist for budding guitarists and folk club orgas, and, to this day, remains an essential listen for anyone attempting to find their way into traditional English folk music. Most people turn up for 'Scarborough Fair', very few leave without getting hooked on 'High Germany', 'Sovay' and 'Ye Mariners All'.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album also introduces Carthy's earliest collaborations with Dave Swarbrick, an enduring and much-copied partnership that lasted, off and on, until Swarbs death in 2016, and became a blueprint for how guitar and fiddle duos ought to sound. While Carthy had been building up his solo repertoire over the previous five or six years, several of the duo arrangements on this album ('Lovely Joan', 'A Begging I Will Go', 'Broomfield Hill') were thrown together in the studio, adding a fizz and freshness to the recordings. This became the pair's standard way of working. \"We used to rehearse on stage, in front of the audience,\" he explains today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Topic","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50389307031883,"sku":"2170703","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/0714822940054.jpg_0229537d_thumbnail_4096.webp?v=1726357317"},{"product_id":"an-introduction-to-1","title":"An Introduction To","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn Introduction to Martin Carthy introduces 17 of his finest tracks covering mainly his solo released material. Influential and inspired Martin Carthy is truly one of the true greats of Folk Music.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn December 1962, when Bob Dylan arrived in London for the first time, he hung out with Carthy, one of the few British folk revivalists to give him the time of day. Carthy's guitar playing and knowledge of traditional folk song impressed and inspired Dylan. He wrote 'Girl From the North Country' and 'Boots of Spanish Leather', both using melodies he learnt from Carthy's arrangement of 'Scarborough Fair' and his arrangement of 'Lord Franklin' was the foundation for 'Bob Dylan's Dream'. Both these songs - alongside the likes of 'Byker Hill', 'Sir Patrick Spens' and 'Sailor's Life' - are tantamount to Martin Carthy's 'Greatest Hits'. It was largely though being heard on Carthy's albums that they became folk club staples during the 1960s. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis latest compilation of Martin's solo work doesn't end in the 60's although since then his regular solo recordings, most of which are represented here, came side by side with a variety of other group projects. Martin has played in Steeleye Span, the Albion Band and Albion Country Band, The Watersons and Waterson: Carthy. This compilation does not include tracks from those bands but does include a couple of tracks from the remarkable 1980's quintet Brass Monkey, boasting a bizarre line-up combining trumpet and trombone, various squeezeboxes (courtesy of fellow stalwart John Kirkpatrick), guitar or mandolin and percussion. And although this is ostensibly a collection of traditional material, Carthy is equally gifted in interpreting contemporary songwriters. His version of David Ackles' doomy 'His Name is Andrew' is one of his finest vocal performances. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMartin Carthy has continued to record and collaborate on work into the 21st century, tracks like Walter Pardon's 'A Ship to Old England Came' is taken from his last solo album to date, 2004's Waiting For Angels, and is a fitting song to end this collection. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMartin Carthy has won countless awards for his services to music including an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 1998. He was named Folk Singer of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2002, and again in 2005 when he also won the award for Best Traditional Track. Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick who recorded their last album together in 2006, fittingly won Best Duo the following year. In 2014 he was inevitably given the Lifetime Achievement gong at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. A few years ago I asked Martin what more he would like to achieve? His typically modest response was \"Just to get better at what I do. This is wonderful music. The more you find out, the more there is to find out.\" He is without doubt, one of the greats and 'An Introduction to...\" offers a glimpse as to exactly why this is so. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Topic","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50471522763083,"sku":"1040937","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/70fa4f0f-45c0-44f2-8b0a-9d88db9bf838_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727406099"},{"product_id":"transform-me-then-into-a-fish","title":"Transform Me Then Into A Fish","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn celebration of his incredible career, Martin Carthy's brand-new album, \u003cem\u003eTransform Me Then Into A Fish \u003c\/em\u003emarks both his 84th birthday and a full-circle moment in his musical journey.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis special release revisits his iconic 1965 debut album, featuring newly recorded arrangements of its classic tracks, reimagined with the wisdom and experience of six decades in folk music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFans can expect fresh interpretations of beloved songs like Scarborough Fair and High Germany, infused with Carthy's ever- evolving artistry while staying true to the deep tradition he has championed throughout his life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis album not only honours his roots but also reaffirms his enduring influence on the folk genre, offering both longtime listeners and new audiences a chance to rediscover the timeless magic of his music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hem Hem Records","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":53572839342411,"sku":"R9305-4363","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53572839309643,"sku":"R9305-4413","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/martincarthymercurylogo.jpg?v=1760116217"},{"product_id":"along-the-road-forever-live-at-the-bbc","title":"Along The Road Forever : Live At The BBC","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe most comprehensive Martin Carthy collection ever assembled - 20 CD set with live and session performances recorded for the BBC over a 57 year period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DfiknnsnsUY?si=P1LNaPg4Hq6JATB6\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncludes 80-page hardback book with an essay by celebrated biographer Clinton Heylin, covering Martin's whole life in music, with unseen photos, many from Martin's personal archive, separate session notes by renowned Carthy chronicler Kevin Boyd and a photograph signed by Martin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThough he eschews such terms himself, few would deny that Martin Carthy MBE is the godfather of English folk - a singer, tradition bearer and guitar stylist of colossal quality and influence with 60 years of celebrated recorded work as a solo artist, as a duettist with Dave Swarbrick and with his daughter Eliza Carthy, and as a member of ground-breaking ensembles 'Steeleye Span', 'The Albion Country Band', 'Brass Monkey', 'The Watersons', 'Waterson: Carthy' and 'Wood, Wilson, Carthy'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll of these collaborations and more are represented in this stunning collection from Martin's extraordinarily extensive career of interactions with the British Broadcasting Corporation - as a studio session guest and concert performer over a span of 1965-2022, across BBC Radios 1, 2, 3 and 4 and BBC television, with early performances from 1960s regional channel ABC TV as a bonus.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat survives of Martin's BBC output is perhaps a fraction of what once aired over the course of nearly 56 years of moments on the usually ephemeral medium of broadcasting, yet its range \u0026amp; heft is remarkable - an alternative career history and testament to a truly singular artistry: 221\/2 hours, 328 tracks (two thirds from a master source) of which there are 237 distinct items of repertoire.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Madfish","offers":[{"title":"20CD","offer_id":57475163488587,"sku":"R2568-5091","price":249.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/7f095f49-0838-cc56-5dba-9c36ba6d3c4a.jpg?v=1780153006"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/collections\/martin-carthy.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}