Dyble, Judy – Talking With Strangers
Review published on 24/3/2013
Lovers of English folk may well raise an eyebrow on hearing
the name of Judy Dyble again. This
venerable lady, now in her sixties, had an illustrious history on the English
folk scene in the Sixties and Seventies, as she was the first female singer
with the legendary Fairport Convention and she was also one half of another
legendary folk group, Trader Horne.
Judy Dyble was 18 when she joined Fairport Convention, one
of the founding groups on the English folk rock scene. Fairport was famous for Sandy Denny’s time
with the band as their lead vocalist.
But before Sandy Denny, it was Judy Dyble who sang on the first album
that Simon Nicol and Richard Thompson ever made, the eponymous ‘Fairport
Convention’, which came out in 1968.
During this time Judy also recorded backing vocals on the Incredible
String Band’s third album, ‘The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter’, 1968, and hung
out with the stars of the day, notably Jimi Hendrix and Syd Barrett.
She left Fairport Convention in 1968 to join Giles, Giles
and Fripp, a band put together by Robert Fripp who was later to become the
leader of King Crimson. It was her then
boyfriend, Ian McDonald, who brought her into the band. When Judy broke up with McDonald and he
joined King Crimson, she left to sing in Trader Horne with ex-Them musician
Jacky McAuley, whom she met through Pete Sears, a session musician who
initially played with the band before he left, leaving Trader Horne to continue
as a duo. Trader Horne led a brief
existence but out of it came one of the great albums of the English psychedelic
folk era, ‘Morning Way’ (1970).
Then in 1973 Judy Dyble retired from the music scene. She became a librarian in Oxfordshire where
she spent many happy and peaceful days with her husband and her children. When her husband died in 1994 Judy again felt
the siren call to return to the music scene.
This was a gradual process, beginning with guest appearances at Fairport
Convention’s reunion concerts, then with two very limited edition releases of
her albums ‘Enchanted Garden’ and ‘Songs from the Spindle and the Whorl’.
In 2008 Judy sat down to write a new album. ‘Talking with Strangers’ first came out in
2009 and has since been released a number of times, as the record has gained
fame and popularity. Now a re-release on
the Gonzo Multimedia label means that we can hear this album for the first time
or have the opportunity to listen to it again.
The album was made, as is usual on the folk scene, with old friends from
the Sixties (Simon Nicol, Ian McDonald, Tim Bowness and even Robert Fripp among
others).
Tinged with psychedelia, a classically-folk style runs
through the seven numbers, to which have been added two bonus tracks. ‘Talking with Strangers’ takes us along
peaceful, dreamy paths, from the lace-like grace of ‘Never Knowing’ via the
diaphanous colours of ‘Jazzbirds’ and the reprise of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s
‘C’est la Vie’ (written by Greg Lake who began his career in King Crimson with Robert
Fripp, and who was a band member with Judy in Giles, Giles and Fripp). Then we run through a number of songs which
are rather similar in sound. But the 20
minutes of ‘Harpsong’ put some real guts into this album. Yes, the song begins in an atmosphere of
drifting Indian mysticism with celestial voices and tinkling harp. Saxophone and drums lend a space-rock like
sound. Then bang! In comes a heavy rock beat which demolishes
everything that has gone before, in true King Crimson style. We get a better understanding of this number
better when we read that Judy wanted to put various episodes of her life and
her musical career into it as a way of summing up her time here.
This gives spice to the whole album and then we finish on an
uplifting note listening to ‘Sparkling’ and ‘Waiting’, two pleasant little
bonus tracks. So the whole album will
appeal both to those who love classic English folk and those who want to get to
know the delightful person that is Judy Dyble, a great lady who has been just a
little forgotten, which is rather unfair.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
 | Talking With Strangers CD - £9.99 |
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