The Black Album
Planxty - Planxty
I’ve talked a bit about Planxty before. This was their first proper album (all the members had appeared on a Christie Moore solo album previously.)
The cover has one of the all-time great live performance photos, up there with Johnny Cash flipping the bird or Paul Simenon holding his bass the wrong way round. The photo also gives the album its alternative name, The Black Album.
I’ve recently started re-listening to the Fire Draw Near podcast from the beginning. It was started by Lankum piper, Ian Lynch during covid days and gives a very broad look at Irish music. He’s so passionate about the pipes that it’s made me listen to this album with new ears. And fuck me, Liam O’Flynn’s playing is so good.
The final track on the album is one of my favourite songs of all time: The Blackmith – a traditional tune originating in the south of England. This song is donkey's years old, and it always makes me wonder about the first time someone came up with it, and if they thought, “Blimey, that’s a good one!”
#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#Planxty
#Irish
#Trad
#Folk
#Music
#FireDrawNear
And her mother heard the din - O
Planxty - Cold Blow and the Rainy NightIn case you're not already aware: all Planxty albums are great.
Things I love about this, their third LP, recorded in 1974:
- It was recorded in Whitechapel, a place close to my heart. (Although Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded in the same studio and I think that's wank.)
- The cover has a cartoon portrait of the band, which is...unflattering.
- It has a killer version of one of my favourite folk songs - the title track. What a timeless tale of humanity's flaws and mistakes that is?
like this
Tinselwig likes this.