Legendarily named after DJ John Peel's nickname for his nanny, the duo Trader Horne were one of those wonderful, short-lived footnotes of musical history with which the late-'60s British scene so abounds. In the name game, singer Judy Dyble edged out singer/multi-instrumentalist Jackie - -- he found fame with Them, she flitted through Fairport Convention, Giles, Giles & Fripp, and King Crimson, and guested on an Incredible String Band album.
In 1969, the two paired up, signed to the Pye label's newly launched prog imprint Dawn, and released their first and last album Morning Way. Reissuers Esoteric are touting the set as acid-jazz, presumably because the marketing department never played it. Themed around the transformation from childhood to adulthood, Morning is awash in whimsy, and gentle folk that puddles around pop and occasionally melts into blues or R&B. The entire album has a lovely, lilting quality, a child-like sweetness, innocence, and wonder, even though many of the lyrics explore teen-age angst.
It's far removed from anything else on the scene, then or now, and reminds us how cruelly Dyble's vocals were overshadowed in Fairport history by Sandy Denny. Denny, of course, overshadows everyone, but Dyble is delightful regardless.
by Dave Thompson
Tracks
1. Jenny May - 2:26
2. Children of Oare - 4:03
3. Three Rings for Eleven Kings - 2:13
4. Growing Man - 4:04
5. Down and Out Blues (Cox, McAuley, Traditional) - 4:33
6. The Mixed Up Kind - 6:26
7. Better Than Today - 3:11
8. In My Loneliness - 2:22
9. Sheena - 2:42
10. The Mutant (Goldsmith, McAuley) - 2:54
11. Morning Way (Dyble, McAuley) - 4:35
12. Velvet to Atone (Dyble, Dyke, Quittenton) - 2:26
13. Like That Never Was - 4:56
14. Goodbye Mercy Kelly - 3:18
15. Here Comes the Rain - 2:36
All songs by Jackie McAuley axcept where noted.
Musicians
*Jackie McAuley - Celeste, Conga, Flute, Guitar, Harpsichord, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Vocals
*Judy Dyble - Electric Autoharp, Electric Harp, Harp, Keyboards, Piano, Vocals
*Ray Elliot - Arranger, Clarinet, Flute, Wind
*John Godfrey - Arranger, Bass, Guitar
*Andy White - Drums
Free Text
the Free Text
I don't hear the acid jazz reference. Maybe because I'm not in marketing ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Thanks.
Thanks Marios to post this awesome folk album with the ex-Them Jackie McAuley and the ex-Fairport Convention and ex-King Crimson Judy Dyble. Bye
ReplyDeleteBuckeye
Marios, Thanks for this, but the file isn't complete for some reason; it doesn't open songs 13-15. I get errors with Stuffit Expander and UnRarX:
ReplyDeleteEncrypted file: CRC failed in Trdr Hne Mor/Trader Horne - Morning Way ...Plus (1970)/(13) [Trader Horne] Luke That Never Was.flac (password incorrect ?)
Unexpected end of archive
Total errors: 2
Thanks Marios. This is one of those I'm trying on simply because you UL'd it. Sort of fence-sitting - could go either way - but since you've put it up, I'll give it a spin to see. Thanks for expanding my musical horizons even if I'm grumbling & uncertain.... 8^)
ReplyDeleteSinger Judy Dyble has a semi-hallowed place in the history of the British folk revival, as the original "girl" singer for Fairport Convention, she was sort of the folk scene's version of Pete Best... Frankly, Fairport's acquisition of Sandy Denny was a trade up... Dyble has her devoted fans, but I'm not really one of them... Anyway, after leaving Fairport in 1968, Dyble put out an ad in a music mag, looking for a band, and was answered by Ian McDonald, who went with her to meet Robert Fripp and some of his pals, a conclave that later became the uber-proggy King Crimson. Dyble was in an early lineup of that band, but soon found herself casting about for another another place to hang her hat. Trader Horne came next, a collaboration with Irish guitarist-songwriter Jackie McAuley, himself a veteran of Van Morrison's sizzling blues band, Them... And while perhaps Dyble was the hot property at the time, I think it's McAuley's work that best stands the test of time. Dyble herself sounded horrible and warbly, and the songs she wrote for this album (just two, including the title track) were leaden and pretentious... McAuley, on the other hand, wrote several charming ditties, and there is an impish, playfully magical touch on much of this album, which more than compensates for the occasional clunkers... There are some hippies'n'hobbits-y moments (including one song called "Three Rings For Elven Kings..." Yeesh!) and shout-outs to all the pacifists in the house, but these are actually charming details that make the disc more authentic and rooted in its time. This was the band's only album (with two songs from a subsequent single tacked on for good measure...) and it hardly made a dent on the English pop scene... Still, if you like folk-prog type stuff, this album is worth tracking down... It has a certain charm to it.
ReplyDeleteThx
The file is OK and there isn't any problem.
ReplyDeletebuckeye
Incredibly beautiful album, Marios. Beautiful melodies, gorgeous harmonies...thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteIt's just absurd that they classified this as "acid jazz" !!
"Better than today" is a try to emulates a bossa-nova song, or I am going crazy ?!
Thanks again
Another great post. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnother great post, fantastic album
ReplyDeleteThanks Mario for your work.
Thank you so much for sharing this precious gem with us! Cheers buddy!
ReplyDelete........Way back again......
ReplyDeletegreat, thanks.
ReplyDeletelanquidity.blogspot.co.uk
i missed this one, thank you very much Marios!
ReplyDelete.....Morning...Way...Up.....
ReplyDelete