| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| lemonade kid |
Posted - 26/04/2014 : 19:51:49
FRESH MAGGOTS
by Richard Morton Jack
Frustration..this will knock your socks off... right off! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkkyuuN08z8
Tracks
1. Dole Song - 3:27
2. Rosemary Hill - 3:34
3. Quickie - 1:21
4. Everyone's Gone To War - 3:55
5. And When She Laughs - 2:49
6. Spring - 3:22
7. Balloon Song - 3:56
8. Guzz Up - 1:37
9. Who's To Die? - 3:55
10. Elizabeth R - 2:53
11. Frustration - 5:59
12. Car Song (non-album A-side) - 4:05
13. What Would You Do? (non-album B-side) - 2:47
14. Frustration (live) - 5:54
15. Rosemary Hill (live) - 3:49
16. Quickie (live) - 1:29
17. And When She Laughs (live) - 3:06
18. Spring (live) - 3:06
All songs by Mick Burgoyne and Leigh Dolphin
Tracks 12-18 previously unreleased.
Fresh Maggots
*Mick Burgoyne - Vocals, Electric Guitar, 6 & 12 String Acoustic Guitars, Glockenspiel, Violin, Tin Whistle
*Leigh Dolphin - 6 String Acoustic Guitar
Rosemary Hill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuJSC0o_egI
The sole album by Fresh Maggots came and went very quickly at the tail-end of 1971, but in another sense it has never really gone away. Collectors have nudged the price of originals ever upwards, it has been bootlegged repeatedly and is now established as an 'acid folk' classic - facts that amaze its co-creators, Mick Burgoyne and Leigh Dolphin. They'd known each other "since we were babies in pushchairs on the same housing estate in Nuneaton," as Leigh puts it today, but only really became friends when they met again as teenagers on the town's small live circuit in the late 60s. By then Mick was playing electric guitar, glockenspiel, violin and tin whistle, while Leigh had become a superb acoustic guitarist.
They promptly teamed up and started to write songs that combined their love of both rock and folk. "We were into Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Taste as well as Pentangle and so on," Leigh explains, and as a result they decided to beef up their sound with heavy doses of fuzz guitar. "A fuller sound was important in clubs, and the fuzz gave us sustain. Without a band behind us, we needed that boost."
Their unusual and not entirely serious name was gleaned from an ad on the front of the local paper, for 'Riley's Sports Shop -fresh maggots always available'. "We never thought we'd get anywhere, so it didn't matter what we were called," Mick says. "Maybe Always Available should have been the album title!" But an unexpected break came their way in September 1970, when Mike Berry -a music publishing hotshot who'd handled the Beatles' catalogue at Apple -came to watch another act playing in a local Church Hall.
Mick and Leigh were the support, and though it was only their second gig, it was them that Berry promptly signed to a management contract. "After that, things started to happen very quickly," continues Mick. "He got us straight down to London to make a live studio demo, which he hawked around various record companies. We then did a gig in his office in Oxford Street for anyone who was interested and, on the strength of that, RCA sent some people to a gig in Coventry. Halfway through there was a powercut, but we just carried on. They were so impressed that they signed us on the spot."
In their original press release, Mick described the extent of their ambitions as being "just to walk on stage with our gear, say hello and try to make as many people as possible a little more cheerful," so the swiftness with which they found themselves in Radio Luxembourg's studio at the end of 1970 was a little overwhelming. "We had no autonomy or real input into the album," Leigh reflects. "We were still teenagers - just a pair of naive kids, really." Despite that, the record they made was varied and powerful - and certainly belies their youth.
Dole Song, for example, is one of the most intense songs of the entire period. A sardonic celebration of unemployment, its blend of violent acoustic and fiery fuzz guitars makes for a stunning opening gambit. Leigh describes it as "a bit of a piss-take, really. I was signing on at the time and had to explain to the officials that just because I was making an album didn't mean I had a penny to my name." Rosemary Hill, by contrast, is delicate and melodic. "We used to take Mick's old van down to Devon to visit friends and write songs. We'd drive past this hill in Kenilworth, and agreed it would make a lovely name for a song, though the song's not actually about the hill." Quickie is a brief romantic tune, followed by Everyone's Gone To War, a fuzz-laden anti-war polemic. "That subject was close to a lot of hearts at the time," he says.
By contrast And When She Laughs is a cheery pastoral, led by Mick's tin whistle and showcasing the duo's more carefree side. Spring, a complex, carefully-structured number featuring powerful Eastern-style strings, precedes Balloon Song, a spirited piece of whimsy that is perhaps the most redolent of its era, albeit propelled by fuzz guitar.
The gentle Guzz Up owes its odd title to "a parody of the Nuneaton accent, as in 'what goes up must come down'," explains Leigh, while Who's To Die? is a meditation on mortality, inspired by an unsettling accident the duo witnessed. "We were on our way to a Magna Carta gig in Coventry," he says, "and we saw a little boy run out in front of a car and get knocked over. We never knew whether or not he was killed, but it was shocking and got us thinking." The instrumental Elizabeth R is light relief by comparison - "we meant it to sound Elizabethan, but I'm not sure we succeeded. Its name was taken from a TV series on at the time." An immediate contrast is provided by Frustration, which closes proceedings in epic style, alternating mellow passages with further storms of guitar.
It was an unquestionably unusual collection, but - despite their initial enthusiasm - RCA had grown sluggish. "Throughout 1971, things moved pretty slowly," Mick says. "Everything was being done in London, but we were from the Midlands and had day jobs, so it all had to be recorded at weekends. Then there were delays with the string arrangements, and even the cover - they rejected the original artwork, which featured an old water mill." Fresh Maggots was originally scheduled for release on RCA's Neon subsidiary (with the working title Hatched), but finally emerged on the parent label in September 1971, fully a year after the sessions had commenced. It received extravagant praise in the music press ('an extraordinary duo, their range is incredible and their sound is incredibly full,' said Disc), but the label undertook no promotion and the launch party had to be cancelled due to lack of response.
This embarrassment prompted an enterprising RCA press officer to fabricate a tissue of lies about a poolside orgy involving the band, but it did no good. The LP resoundingly failed to sell, and - adding injury to insult - a pressing fault meant many copies had blisters on the playing surface. The duo remained optimistic, however, and played gigs alongside Van Der Graaf Generator, Medicine Head, Wild Turkey and others. They also undertook various radio sessions, and a surviving tape of one (made for Kid Jensen's show on Radio Luxembourg, and included as bonus tracks here) shows what a formidable act they were.
RCA was fast losing interest, though. "They got a strop on, basically," states Mick. "Mike Berry was the sort of bloke who changed with the wind, and he'd soon switched his attention onto the next big thing. We were out playing the college circuit and it all just faded away." Before splitting, however, they released a single (also included here), the sing-along Car Song, backed with the laid-back What Would You Do?, which appeared in December 1971. "RCA didn't really want it out, so they didn't support it either," he says. "And when it didn't sell, that was the end of the road for us, as far as they were concerned."
They returned to Nuneaton and, though they continued to play locally, no more material ever appeared. "We were the young innocents in the big bad music business, and became disillusioned, really," he concludes. Certainly neither anticipated the following they've developed since. "As far as we were concerned, the album was deleted, dead and gone forever," says Leigh. "So we were surprised and delighted when we found out about all the interest around the world." Even more astonishing are the sums collectors are willing to pay for original copies. "I can't believe it," laughs Mick. "I can remember seeing it in Woolworth's bargain bins!" Leigh is also surprised that they are now categorised as 'acid folk'. "To us the album was just a collection of songs," he says. "We only heard of 'acid folk' very recently."
In summary, he remarks that "not a lot of local bands like us ever get to make records on major labels, so it was a great opportunity. But deep down I think we both knew it was never going to be a huge seller." More than thirty years on, Mick has mixed feelings about the album. "Some of it makes me proud, some of it makes me cringe," he says. "I tend to hear all the bits we should have done better, and some of the words are a bit naive. But lots of people tell me they like it just the way it is."
http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2011/07/fresh-maggots-hatched-1971-ukbrilliant.html
(Thanks, to rockasteria.com for all the great reviews and downloads)
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"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".
-Aldous Huxley
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| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| lemonade kid |
Posted - 26/04/2014 : 20:18:53
Fresh Maggots
Fresh Maggots (circa 1969 - 1971 ) Acoustic / Electro-acoustic / Folk Rock -
many THANKS TO...
http://coventryfolkclubs.blogspot.com/2013/04/fresh-maggots.html
CAR SONG...listen and read on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTavF4NE5Lw&feature=kp
Mick Burgoyne - vocals, lead guitar, 12-string guitar, glockenspeil, tambourines, tin whistles, violin
Leigh Dolphin - acoustic guitar
Influences: Led Zepplin, Taste, Deep Purple, Pentangle, Magna Carta, etc
"Fresh Maggots were a short-lived folk duo from Nuneaton, Warwickshire in England. It comprised Mick Burgoyne and Leigh Dolphin, playing a variety of instruments including guitars, glockenspiel, tin whistles and strings.
The pair signed to Sparta Florida and released their only album through RCA (Neon) Victor, eponymously titled, in 1971 - when they were nineteen years of age. Although its release was preceded by some degree of anticipation, delays in publishing gradually saw interest wane. Upon its release, it was met with amicable reviews, however record sales did not reflect this, and pressing was de-commissioned soon after.
The resurgent popularity of folk music over the last decade reawakened interest in the band and Fresh Maggots was released on CD in 2006, under the Sunbeam label in the UK and Amber Soundroom in Germany, gaining a modest reputation in folk music circles and through internet radio.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_Maggots"
Backbeat: Folk duo Fresh Maggots' album now sells for hundreds by Pete chambers - Coventry Telegraph Dec 13th 2012
"FORTY years ago a Nuneaton prog-folk duo released a single in Europe that effectively signalled the end of their career. The record was 'The Car Song' by the deliciously titled Fresh Maggots, consisting of lifelong friends Leigh Dolphin and Mick Burgoyne. The band got their interesting name when reading the Tribune and spotting an advert for Riley's Sports shop proclaiming "Fresh maggots always available".
They got a lucky break while playing a gig in Wolvey Village Hall. In the audience that night was Mike Berry from Sparta Florida Music Company. He liked what he had heard and offered them a chance to demo their material in London. Just a week later the guys were signing a publishing contract in his Oxford Street office.
"It took a while before we got an actual recording contract," admits Leigh. Mike takes up the story. "We were playing a gig in Coventry when during the set there was a power cut. I had a transistor amplifier that ran on batteries, which I used to tune up with so we carried on the set. Afterwards two blokes came and told us they were from
RCA. A week later we were in London signing the record contract."
Their one and only album was recorded over a period of several months at The Radio Luxembourg studios in London.
What came out of those sessions was a unique blend of melodic acoustic folk juxtaposed with screaming fuzzed electric guitar all topped off by Mick's pure vocal style. It may sound a recipe for disaster but the whole thing worked perfectly, stunning guitar work providing the perfect crescendo for the quieter thought-provoking passages.
It's often hard to believe there are only two people making this music. The album cost 1,500 pounds to make (including 700 pounds for the string section).
The cover was shot in Blackwater Park in Buckinghamshire and designed by prog-rock cover-king 'Keef'. It hit the streets in autumn 1971. It included the song 'Who's to Die' which was inspired by a near fatal car accident in Coventry's Eagle Street, and the title of the song Rosemary Hill was inspired by the Kenilworth road of the same name.
The album gained some rave reviews and they supported the likes of Peter Hammill's Van der Graaf
Generator, Medicine Head and John Martyn. They also played two live Radio One shows and the famous Marquee Club supporting Wild Turkey.
Despite their success they were reluctant to leave their day jobs, which had a negative effect on their career. The single was released in the UK at the end of 1971, and in Europe in 1972 and that really should have been the last anyone would hear of them.
That happily wasn't the case, many years later the band were regularly being played on American radio, prompting the release of the album on CD in 1995 on Amber-sound.
Look on the net, and re-release versions (entitled 'Hatched') are selling for silly prices (around 25 pounds); the original 1971 album (if you can find it) goes for even sillier money, with some places asking the likes of 500 to 600 pounds!
Leigh remembers seeing them in the sale bin in Nuneaton's Woollies for 50p. "I can't believe I never bought any" he says!"
Although Fresh Maggots were short-lived and the album didn't sell first time around - it has become cult in the psychedelic / acid-folk circles as revealed on one of the sites with this review by Mason Jones -
http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/3058
" As a reviewer, having one's expectations dashed can be either a very sad affair or a pleasant surprise.
Fresh Maggots Ð a pair of young lads from Nuneaton, England Ð can be placed firmly in the latter camp. Hatched was many, many years ahead of its time with its combination of folk and fuzz-driven psych rock. Mick Burgoyne and Leigh Dolphin met as teenagers during the late '60s, both already gigging Ð Dolphin as an accomplished acoustic guitarist, Burgoyne on electric guitar, glockenspiel, and more Ð and teamed up to combine the rock and folk sounds they enjoyed. After only their second show as Fresh Maggots, they were signed to a management contract and proceeded to record their one and only album at the end of 1970. It took a year for the album to be released, and then, despite critical praise, it failed to sell primarily due to RCA's poor support and lack of promotion. And there ends the story, aside from the ever-escalating collector prices fetched by copies of the album and ongoing interest from fans who discover the band.
What makes the album stand out from the crowd is difficult to summarize. Dolphin's aptitude on the acoustic guitar, and Burgoyne's smooth vocals, are a good part of it, but clearly they were not alone in those departments at that time and place. Burgoyne's interjections of unexpectedly searing fuzz guitar could have felt gimmicky, but instead add a much-appreciated edge and energy to the songs, and his playing fits in tightly rather than feeling out of place. A song like "Balloon Song" could have been a light-hearted throw-away; instead, it's that most unusual of things, a rocking folk song.
"Rosemary Hill" is the album's strongest song: clear, chiming acoustic guitar and gorgeous vocals with carefully orchestrated strings and glockenspiel that will lead you to sing along. It's odd that this is one of the cleaner songs, no electric guitar to be found, but it's also one that doesn't need anything more. "Dole Song" opens the album with strummed acoustic and a thick electric lead, a protest song of sorts Ð it even has a flute-led chorus Ð but it's no flower-power lament. "Frustration," as suits its name, contains some of the most memorable guitar interplay, with Dolphin's frenzied acoustic strumming interlocking with fast fuzzed leads by Burgoyne.
Thanks to Sunbeam, the Fresh Maggots should now reach another new audience, and the label's done a very nice job with the reissue. Liner notes discuss the band's history and the songs, and the booklet also includes scanned press clippings, photos, and the original press release from 1971. As if that weren't enough (it's certainly more than most reissue labels manage), the CD includes seven bonus tracks that are anything but filler. The single B-sides are obvious choices, but it's the five live recordings that shine, demonstrating that the duo was more than able to do the songs justice at their shows."
By Mason Jones
Dole Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV4Ts-Bg-ow
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"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".
-Aldous Huxley
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