Another Experiment ..
.. in reader participation.
I had an email from ‘Challenge 69’ reader Nigel J recently, which kindly explained how much he had enjoyed the ‘12 Days of Mavericks’ series leading up to Christmas, and suggested it could be good if ‘reader engagement’ became a more regular feature.
While I’m conscious of not over-inundating you all with emails, I did really enjoy getting all those reader suggestions for ‘mavericks’ that I probably wouldn’t have come up with myself. So with Nigel’s encouragement (in other words it’s all his fault if it doesn’t work!) I’m going to try another roll of the ‘interactive’ dice.
A regular feature of each ‘Challenge 69’ chapter is the latest ‘Top 5’ musical list that Stuart has managed to dream up, and ‘Track 11’, due out next Saturday 28th January, is no exception. This time around, the rundown features Stuart’s selections for his biggest ‘game changers’; which he defines as a very select group of artists who have somehow managed to, “change music for all time.”
That’s a pretty high hurdle to clear; so I didn’t find myself over endowed with options for Stuart’s latest ‘Top 5’ list. Which is where you come in!
The ‘12 Days’ series proved you’re a pretty imaginative bunch; so who are the, ‘musical game changers,” that I’ve overlooked? Just let me know, and if somebody makes a suggestion (and rationale) I find particularly persuasive then I might add a last minute ‘edit’ to ‘Track 11’ to reference your nomination. Now that’s real ‘reader interaction’!
Rather than replying by email this time, please try adding your ‘game changer’ as a comment to this post (using the button at the bottom of this email). That way other readers will be able to marvel at the genius of your nomination 😉. Go on, give it a go!
Thanks for blaming me! However, just to be clear, we should blame Stuart for game changers', I just suggested some more ideas for audience participation.
OK, so Game Changers is an interesting category of artists which should prompt a few very obvious and probably widely accepted nominations – The Beatles, Elvis, Bob Dylan and Sex Pistols, for example. But there are others worthy of consideration, two of which Stuart might even agree with, although I can't see him taking up the other two even though there can't be many bands who can justifiably claim to have started a whole new genre. Perhaps you should encourage him to step outside his normal comfort zone, just for a brief moment.
Patti Smith. Certainly a maverick, so we’re off to a good start, but also someone who’s music was obviously different from what came before and has influenced those who followed. Often referred to as the ‘punk poet laureate’, the Patti Smith Group had a residency at New York’s CBGB, with Television, in 1975. Her classic debut album ‘Horses’, in 1976, was produced by John Cale and fused rock and poetry in a distinctly unique style which embraced improvisation and the avant-garde. A review in The Observer by Simon Reynolds stated that "Pipping the Ramones' first album to the post by five months, Horses is generally considered not just one of the most startling debuts in rock history but the spark that ignited the punk explosion. Standout tracks included a version of Van Morrison's 'Gloria' and 'Freemoney'. This was followed by the ‘Radio Ethiopia’, and ‘Easter’, in 1978, her most commercially successful album, which included ‘Because the Night’, 'Babelogue' and ‘Rock N Roll Nigger’. Her music has influenced the likes of Michael Stipe, The Smiths, U2 and Florence and the Machine.
Tom Robinson. Although his career spans 40 years his defining moments stem from the all too brief Tom Robinson Band (TRB) (1976-9) which gave him the platform to declare his own sexuality, campaign for LGBT rights and assume a prominent position in the Rock Against Racism campaign. He deserves consideration as a game changer for the way in which his music influenced peoples' attitudes, rather than for the music itself. 2-4-6-8 Motorway was released in late 1977, reaching a chart position in the top five, with lyrics which apparently allude to a gay truck driver (thanks Wikipedia!). This was followed by the Rising Free EP, which included Glad to be Gay. The song became Britain’s national gay anthem, despite being banned by the BBC – a sure way to guarantee success! The debut album, Power in the Darkness was released in 1978 and reached 4 in the album charts, while their second album, TRB Two reached 18 in 1979, although musically it was something of a disappointment. Sadly for Stuart TRB had split before he went to Sheffield, although I suspect that he did get to see Robinson’s follow-up Sector 27, at the The Limit of course.
Fairport Convention. That surprised you! Obviously we’re not looking at popular music here, but rather the advent of the folk rock genre, which is widely accepted to have started with their 1970 album ‘Liege and Leaf’. Having started in 1967 with a very West Coast American sound, this changed once Sandy Denny joined, introducing British folk music influences which were later taken up with enthusiasm by bassist Ashley Hutchings. Although their third album,’ Unhalfbricking’, showed signs of a change in musical direction, notably with a guest appearance by fiddle player Dave Swarbrick, it was ‘Liege and leaf’ which fully integrated British folk music with rock, creating the folk rock sound which became hugely influential in the development and transition of folk music from its traditional roots to what is now a very broad church indeed. The Fairport sound, typified on ‘Tam Lin’, was defined by the vocals of Sandy Denny, arguably the best British female singer in any genre, and the interplay between Swarbrick’s fiddle and the guitar of Richard Thompson. However, both Denny and Hutchings left after the album, the latter to form Steeleye Span. Fairport’s follow-up, ‘Full House’, with Dave Pegg now on bass, is also considered a classic of the genre, but was followed by the departure of Richard Thompson and a slide into an ever-changing line-up which could never recapture the spirit of the early 70s releases.
Planxty. Another surprise nomination who most readers may well not be aware of, but who changed the sound of Irish folk music and whose influence extended beyond the folk genre. Formed in 1972 by Irish folk musicians Andy Irvine, Christy Moore, Donal Lunny and Liam O’Flynn, Planxty were hugely influential in promoting and developing Irish folk music, with the second and third albums, respectively 'The well below the valley' (1973) and 'Cold blow and the rainy night' (1974). Both Irvine and Lunny played what has become known as the Irish bouzouki, having been adapted from the Greek instrument, although its introduction to Irish music is credited to Johnny Moynihan, who later replaced Lunny in the band. The sound of Irish folk today owes much to their pioneering use of the instrument, which is now almost ubiquitous in that genre, Irvine and Lunny creating a complex sound with intricate counter melodies. As well as developing an influential sound, the individual members were also highly influential in their own right. Christy Moore pursued a long and successful solo career and in 2007 he was named as Ireland’s greatest living musician by the Irish national broadcaster RTE. In 1981 Lunny and Moore formed Moving Hearts, melding Celtic rock, folk and jazz, a band which also included the then little known Davy Spillane on uilleann pipes. Andy Irvine travelled widely in eastern Europe and can be credited with introducing musical styles from the region, particularly in a subsequent collaboration with Lunny in Mozaik and, more notably, the collaboration of Irvine and Spillane, which produced the album ‘East Wind’ in 1992, featuring a series of Bulgarian and Macedonian tunes with challenging time signatures, such as 7/16 and 11/8 (try listening to ‘Dance of Suleiman’). Lunny and Spillane featured on Kate Bush’s albums Hounds of Love and Sensual World, the latter also including Bulgarian vocalists Trio Bulgarka.
For Gen X:
The Replacements
Joy Division (and/or New Order)
Nirvana
Talking Heads
R.E.M.