In the 1960s and 1970s, a number of British musicians rediscovered
traditional folk ballads, fusing the old melodies with rock, jazz,
and blues styles to create a new genre dubbed "electric folk" or
"British folk rock." This revival featured groups such as Steeleye
Span, Fairport Convention, and Pentangle and individual performers
like Shirley & Dolly Collins, and Richard Thompson. While
making music in multiple styles, they had one thing in common: they
were all based on traditional English song and dance material.
These new arrangements of an old repertoire created a unique
musical voice within the popular mainstream. After reasonable
commercial success, peaking with Steeleye Span's Top 10 album All
Around My Hat, Electric Folk disappeared from mainstream notice in
the late 1970s, yet performers continue to create today.
In Electric Folk: The Changing Face of English Traditional Music,
Britta Sweers provides an illuminating history and fascinating
analysis of the unique features of the electric folk scene,
exploring its musical styles and cultural implications. Drawing on
rare historical sources, contemporary music journalism, and
first-hand interviews with several of electric folk's most
prominent artists, Sweers argues that electric folk is both a
result of the American folk revival of the early 1960s and a
reaction against the dominance of American pop music abroad. Young
British "folk-rockers," such as Richard Thompson and Maddy Prior,
turned to traditional musical material as a means of asserting
their British cultural identity. Yet, unlike many American and
British folk revivalists, they were not as interested in the
"purity" of folk ballads as in the music's potential for lively
interaction with modern styles, instruments, and media. The book
also delves into the impact of the British folk rock movement on
mainstream pop, American rock music, and neighboring European
countries.
Ultimately, Sweers creates a richly detailed portrait of the
electric folk scene--as cultural phenomenon, commercial entity, and
performance style.
General
Imprint: |
Oxford UniversityPress
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
2005 |
First published: |
2005 |
Authors: |
Britta Sweers
(Junior Professor)
|
Dimensions: |
242 x 160 x 23mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
342 |
Edition: |
New |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-19-515878-6 |
Categories: |
Books >
Arts & Architecture >
Music >
Folk music
Books >
Music >
Folk music
|
LSN: |
0-19-515878-4 |
Barcode: |
9780195158786 |
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