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Post by K Tresp on Nov 30, 2013 22:25:03 GMT
Presume that we will have a good few Ewan MacColl fans on the site but wondered who you all were. Had the unfortunate experience of having to watch some of X Factor tonight (relatives over from Ireland - don't ask) but interestingly one of the songs covered was Ewan's First Time I Ever Saw Your Face. Wondered how many of the audience would appreciate some of the rest of his work. I always thought that Ewan was unfairly tarred with that hand on the ear epitome of particular style of "folkie" when he is such a wonderful al round songwriter. His politics werent to everyone's liking especially with hindsight. The Essential Songbook is a great collection and a good insight into his life and a very different time. www.peggyseeger.com/ewan-maccoll/the-essential-ewan-maccoll-songbook. Highly recommend the book and the songs many of which have been covered really well by others. Greg
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Nov 30, 2013 22:41:24 GMT
Certainly a great songwriter.
I was fortunate to see him, and Peggy Seeger, in the mid 1960s when they were the "name" guests at the folk club where I was a floor singer at the time. They caused quite a stir by contriving a makeshift stage with a large table, and putting their chairs on top of it. I'm sure the back half of the room could see and hear them a lot better, though it looked a bit weird from nearer the front. Quite a few of his songs were already favourites with several of the regular singers, some of whom were a bit short on repertoire for even a short spot that night! I remember finding "The first time.." etc in one of those "Sing Out" booklets a year or two later.
Keith
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Post by K Tresp on Nov 30, 2013 22:51:05 GMT
I never saw them play but heard he wasn't that great as a live performer? Apparently struggled singing and playing at same time but dont know whether that is true. As a songwriter he is right up there.
Sounds like he was drawing on his theatre background with that improvised stage.
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Post by scripsit on Dec 1, 2013 0:13:29 GMT
From what I have read, he seems to have invented his name, background and personal history to make his activities seem reasonable and natural, a curious forerunner of the genre pop/movie stars of today. Was reputed to be a very controlling person, even aside from the politics of the early days, with firm and to my mind bizarre theories about what constituted legitimate folk music. He sounds like a very difficult man to be around if you weren't Peggy Seeger.
However, he wrote some good songs. His paean to Stalin not in this category ('Joe Stalin was a mighty man and a mighty man was he...').
I became curious about him because Bert Jansch's arrangement of 'the first time I saw your face' was the first piece I learned in DADGAD.
Kym
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Post by slasher on Dec 2, 2013 12:13:10 GMT
I met Ewan McColl a couple of times after he and Peggy Seeger had played my local folk club in the late 60's and early 70's. He was a terrific songwriter. His songs are still sung and admired today. I thought as a performer he was pretty good, being blessed with quite a distinctve voice. He did however put forward the theory that you should only sing your own folk music. I think this was in part due to his radid anti-Americanism. It was also phoney as he named himself Ewan McColl and claimed at one time to come from Auchterader Scotland. He was really called James Miller and was from Salford Lancs, the original "Dirty Old Town". I think "difficult" might be a good description of Mr McColl as he knew he was right so there was no point in arguing was there?!
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Post by andyhowell on Dec 2, 2013 18:48:15 GMT
He did write some interesting songs. I never met him was involved in organising a memorial weekend for him in Birmingham when I ended up putting Karl Dallas up for the weekend - which is a story itself. By all accounts he was a difficult man. The weekend was organised by the Charles Parker Trust which commemorated the life of his Radio Ballads produced Charles Parker. Parker made all the field recordings and interviews the programmes were based on. Some felt McCall never properly acknowledged Parker properly and I believe that he claimed copywriter over entire ballad programmes! but despite that the turnout for the weekend was very good and it was an exceptionally passionate and moving event,
He certainly made an impact!
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