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Genre: rock
Rating: 3
stars ***
Title: In
Search of Amelia Earhart
Company: Elektra
Catalog: EKS
75044
Year: 1972
Country/State: UK
Grade
(cover/record): NM
/ NM
Comments:
cut lower left corner; gatefold sleeve
Available: 1
GEMM
catalog ID: 5447
Price: $35.00
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I'
"In
Search of Amelia Earhart" track listing:
(side 1)
1.)
(side
2)
1.)
A quartet formed by Ian
Matthews in 1972 with Andy
Roberts, Bob
Ronga, and Dave
Richards. They released In
Search of Amelia Earhart the same year to critical praise but little
commercial success. While working on their follow-up, the more country
oriented Plainsong
III, Ronga
quit and Matthews
and Richards
were unable to agree on the direction the band would take musically. They
disbanded before the album's completion. In 1993, a revived interest in the
band inspired a new studio album, Dark
Side of the Room, as well as a BBC recording of a promotional tour
from 1972. In 1994, the band released Voices
Electric. Sister
Flute followed in 1996. In 1997, Clive
Gregson (ex-Any
Trouble, Gregson
& Collister) joined the band, with New
Place Now appearing two years later.
In just under three years, Ian
Matthews split from Fairport
Convention, went solo, formed Matthews'
Southern Comfort - with whom he scored a number one U.K. hit - left the
group at the height of its popularity, recorded three more records on his
own (only two were released at this time) and in early 1972 started
Plainsong, his fourth band in five years. And while his track record led one
to believe that Plainsong may be just another short stay, the subsequent
album, In Search of Amelia Earhart, proved to be worth the venture. Ian
Matthews was of course the obvious draw, but Plainsong seemed to be
formed as more of a collective effort, with lead guitarist Andy
Roberts, who shares the lead vocal duties, the other focal point in the
band. On the other hand, Matthews,
whose folk and country-tinged tunes set the tone for the record, is the only
member to contribute original material. Included among these is the thematic
"True Story of Amelia Earhart," which along with the haunting
"For the Second Time," leads a pack of five Matthews
compositions that range from good to excellent. Elsewhere, Paul
Siebel's heartbreaking "Louise," the dulcimer and harmony
driven Appalachian gospel of "I'll Fly Away," and Roberts'
readings of the playful "Yo Yo Man," Jim
& Jesse's "Diesel on My Tail" and the mournful 1939 tale
of "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" are all highlights. Its title
and artwork, along with notes by Charles Goerner on the flight and
disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Frederick Noonan, gave In Search of
Amelia Earhart the feel of a concept album, even though the title is
nowhere to be found on the outside jacket and there are only two songs
related to the subject contained within. It wasn't really a surprise when a
follow-up, though recorded, failed to materialize, with the band parting
ways on less than amicable terms, and Matthews
going on to record two more records for Elektra. Still, In Search of
Amelia Earhart fits nicely alongside the rest of his terrific
early-'70's catalogue.
by 1972 Ian Matthews played in four different
incarnations within three years. He’d left Fairport Convention
for his own band, Ian Matthews Southern Comfort, put out
two solo LPs for Vertigo Records, and then started the band Plainsong.
It is probably fair to say that Plainsong - In Search Of Amelia
Earhart is the pinnacle of his work in the ’70s. Working with
producer Sandy Robertson (Hard Meat, Steeleye Span, Shirley
Collins), Ian and bandmates, notably Andy Roberts who
shared vocals on the album ,created an a-typical British folk album
conceived around the idea of the legends surrounding Amelia Earhart
and her supposed demise.
Matthews had read a book by Fred Goerner
hypothesizing that Earhart and her flying companion Frederick
Noon had crashed around the Japanese held Marshall Island
area and been taken prisoner by the Japanese on Saipan, in the
Marianas, in 1937.
Their plane had supposedly been outfitted with
aerial cameras and had a bigger fuel tank than anyone outside of the
US government knew. After being grilled by Japanese interrogators
Earhart would perish of dysentery, and Noonan was beheaded by the
Japanese.
Supposedly:
...a grave containing remains of a man and a woman were excavated
by the US military on Saipan after the war in the Pacific was
over. These bodies were thought to be Earhart and Noonan.
Earhart's plane Electra was found in a hangar on the island in
1945. On the highest orders it was rolled out, drenched in
gasoline and burnt.
That the American government in 1937 knew of Amelia and Fred
Noonan's capture, but withheld the true story from the public to
avoid political embarrassment, and an early conflict with the
Japanese in the Pacific for which they were unprepared.
Not all of the songs on the album are directly about Amelia
Earhart. But the album carries that somber, mellow tone that so much
great folk music of the early '70s was in touch with. Many of the
songs are about seeing and reaching for light, whether they be the
light of day or the light of death. So in a way the album is more
about the way people felt about, cared about and thought about
Amelia Earhart and her death. That she is still considered a heroine
of aviation and a distinctly american hero keeps the mystery of what
happened to her in the greater cultural imagination.
Matthews and mates' album does a great job of melding the more
roots style of American folk with his rockier British folk sound on
the album, even including a southern gospel tune, "I'll Fly
Away." While Matthews has five originals on the album, they all
sound perfectly in tune with the covers the band performs.
I think the best cover on the album is of Judy Henske's
"Raider." Matthews brings a distinctly British folk vibe
to this American's gothic folk tune. It is a near perfect
British/American acid folk creation.
Had Plainsong truly lasted as a band, their's no doubt they'd be
known as something akin to the British Eagles. But alas, someone's
drinking problem (just whose is never mentioned) got in the way, the
band argued, broke up, and never toured the album or made another.
In Search Of Amelia Earhart is all we had to go on,
until 2002 when the CD with the full album, previously unreleased
demos, and work for a second album that was never issued was
released.
This album is a truly great find, search for it and you'll be
rewarded.
A
few samples can be found here.
Much thanks to David at Jive Time who loaned me
his personal, pristine, and near-mint copy for the photos.
- After leaving Fairport Convention in
1969, and scoring a UK no.1 with Woodstock the following year, hopes
were high for Ian Matthews' new, supposedly permanent outfit Plainsong.
In Search of Amelia Earhart was lavished with critical praise on its
1972 release, but its folk-tinged country in clipped Limey tones passed
the public by.
-
- Tensions during the recording of a second
album caused the band to knock it on the head, but the results are
gathered here for the first time, more than 30 years later, in the
second disc of this terrific package. Plainsong were the closest the UK
ever came to producing a rival to the Flying Burrito Brothers, a
gloriously harmonic marriage of olde English folk, Appalachian gospel
and dustbowl travelogues.
-
- It's not often you hear mandolins
duelling with wah-wah guitars on the same track, or a traditional tale
of northern millworkers preceding a Merle Haggard saloon lament, but
Plainsong had no use for rulebooks; they were far too busy crafting
intelligent acoustic soundscapes and toying with accepted pop
sensibilities, and to be presented with 40 examples of such joyousness
in one tidy case is a rare and wonderful thing. Undoubtedly one of the
rediscoveries of the year.
Album: Journeys from Gospel Oak
Artist: Ian
Matthews
Genre: Folk
Billed as a
contractual obligation record by the artist, Journeys from Gospel Oak is
easily as good as Matthews' best work. It is most assuredly a companion
piece to Plainsong's In Search of Amelia Earhart (an album loosely based on
the disappearance of Amelia Earhart), this time loosely based... [+] Expand
Billed as a
contractual obligation record by the artist, Journeys from Gospel Oak is
easily as good as Matthews' best work. It is most assuredly a companion
piece to Plainsong's In Search of Amelia Earhart (an album loosely based on
the disappearance of Amelia Earhart), this time loosely based around the
night Hank Williams died. This album includes such solid tracks as Gene
Clark's "Polly," "Bride 1945" by Paul Siebel, and the
haunting Jimmy Webb tune, "Met Her on a Plane." A strong (but
often overlooked record) and well worth the effort it takes to find a copy.
~ Jim Worbois, All Music Guide [-] Collapse
After recording two acclaimed solo albums on Vertigo
Records, under the sponsorship of former Yardbird
Paul
Samwell-Smith and surrounded by a who's who of likeminded British
semi-folkies (notably another ex-Fairporter, Richard
Thompson), he formed Plainsong,
who signed to Elektra
Records and in 1972 produced In
Search of Amelia Earhart, which solidified Matthews' songwriting
reputation with the critics, if not with the general public. The album
included a cover of Dave McEnery's "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight",
plus a song of Matthews' own, "True Story of Amelia Earhart's Last
Night" based on the research that suggest that Earhart on her
round-the-world flight may have been spying on Japanese
bases in the Pacific
islands. It also included "Even the Guiding Light", a spiritually
positive answer to Thompson’s powerful but bleak "Meet on the
Ledge".
[edit]
"Bouncing around"
After Plainsong collapsed due to a bandmate's alcohol problem, and with
his career now based in Los
Angeles, he released several more albums with ad hoc bands,
including one produced by ex-Monkee
Michael
Nesmith (Valley
Hi), but none met with commercial success. He bounced from Elektra to CBS
Records, to the small Rockburgh label, where he finally scored a hit
single in 1978 with a cover of Terence
Boylan's "Shake It", which peaked at #13 in the U.S.
charts, and a moderately successful follow-up covering Robert
Palmer's "Gimme an Inch". However, the North American rights
for his album were held by the small Canadian
label Mushroom.
Label-owner Shelly Siegel, died suddenly in 1979, leaving the label
rudderless.
As Matthews' official web site writes, at this point he "had been
struggling for nearly 15 years now and was still living hand to mouth, with
nothing to show for his efforts but a string of out-of-print albums, and the
loyalty of those musicians and fans who shared his vision." [2]
He moved from Los Angeles to then-inexpensive Seattle,
where he teamed up with David
Surkamp, formerly of the St.
Louis band Pavlov's
Dog, to form the power-pop band Hi-Fi, whose repertoire included
Matthews originals, but also covers of Neil Young's "Mr.
Soul" and Prince's
"When U Were Mine". Neither this nor a return to solo recording in
England turned his luck. He worked for a while in an A&R capacity at Island
Records and then new-agey Windham
Hill Records.
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I LOVE this record, I found it a few months ago. So good. It's amazing how many of the "lost gems" from the 60s/70s are actually worth listening to - the cream didn't always rise to the top, or the market was just too crowded or something. That Alan Stivell record you mentioned the other week is really great too - pretty "virtuoso" but that's not always a bad thing.
Have you heard Dorothy Ashby? I found a record by her called the Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby that blew my brains out - it's like, pastoral-ish jazz harp w/ amazing Japanese koto playing (both by Ms. Ashby), weird cosmic-religious lyrics, AND these crazyyyy soul beats and basslines. And sonically it's all incredible - those perfect loose 70's drum sounds and a really clean and present vocal w/ some reverb. Every song sounds like something the RZA would sample and have a huge hit with, but in this cool semi-"psychedelic" (boo to that word) context. I was pretty shocked!
That's a neatlooking album cover, almost like Corianton's artwork inside Every Scene Needs a Center.
My hands down fave person from Fairport Convention is Sandy Denny.
Cool post Terry, very grunge.
Have you heard Dorothy Ashby?
Yes. Also check out Afro-Harping.
"psychedelic" (boo to that word)
Nah, it's a perfectly fine word. Frequent misuse has cheapened it, but that's not the word's fault.
I was pretty shocked!
Ashby was on Cadet Records--the epitome of psychedelic soul (see Rotary Connection, Ramsey Lewis, Charles Stepney, Phil Upchurch). Get on down to Jive Time or Dusty Groove and catch up, son.
Yeah! Cool cover. Terry always has the best album art.
definitely digging this music. way to mine the gold, terry.
im prepping a story on citay, a band from SF playing the sunset on jan 18. "battle of evermore" by led zep + "fearless" by pink floyd=citay. 70s folk meets 70s metal in a modern studio w a lot of psychedelics. its very california and very, very good.
somehow all this stuff seems related to me.
Well, I just got put in my place.
Nice Terry! I actually never knew the narrative suggestion of that record until you mentioned it, and have gotten it back out since and enjoyed it that much more.
I love pretty much everything this guy has recorded, even the soft rock stuff like "Shake It" which kinda seems creepy when you hear it in the soundtrack for Little Darlings. Any idea why he changed his name to Iain Matthews later on?
Also, dig this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELVsWYC9_EA
@6
I apologize for the somewhat grouchy tone of my post, Robin. Most of it was written in the spirit of what I hope was helpful guidance.
Excellent album. Also try Pure & Crooked (1990) and Go For Broke (1976).
I once sat by Mathews at a Sonics game, '79. Nice guy. He lived in Seattle from '78 to '84 and played local bars in the power-pop band Hi Fi with David Surkamp (Pavlov's Dog) and Bruce Hazen, most recently with Billy Moon.