19 April : Brinsley Schwarz

I’ve known of Brinsley Schwarz for a very long time, but haven’t previously listened to them in any depth. I know Nick Lowe, of course, though I haven’t heard much from him since I saw him with Elvis Costello at the Edinburgh Playhouse some years ago.

The band are widely held up as the progenitors of British pub-rock, and I expected this to be a kind of precursor to Dr Feelgood. It isn’t. It’s closer to what Nick Lowe would later call pure pop for now people. Or at least side 1 of the LP is. It is also reminiscent of Crosby Stills and Nash, though with English sensibilities.

Side 1 of this is very classy songwriting and playing indeed, notably Lady Constant, and very well produced. In a way, it is outside of the mainstream; it has elements of country and rock and pop without falling neatly into any category. It is quite progressive in the sense that the word was used at the time. I’m less taken with what was side 2 of the original album. It’s still classy playing and production, but the material is a lot weaker.

It’s available on Spotify and as a YouTube playlist.