a r t i s t : julie driscoll
t i t l e : 1969
d a t e : 2006
l a b e l : Eclectic
g e n r e : Progressive Rock
r l s. d a t e : Feb/2008
t r a c k s : 08
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 52,3 MB
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Julie Driscoll was a respected vocalist of the late 1960s
British pop scene, christened "The Face" by the U.K. music
press. She made a number of albums with organist Brian Auger
and the Brian Auger Trinity, including a 1968 hit cover of
Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire." This debut inaugurated her
solo career and saw her supported by a crack crew of
'Canterbury'-associated musicians, almost all of whom would
show up again several years down the road to support her next
solo release, Sunset Glow. It was on this recording that she
was introduced to pianist Keith Tippett, and by the time of
this album's eventual release in 1971, she was Mrs. Julie
Tippett (and later "Tippetts"). This record draws upon the
influences in her stylistic repertoire, primarily folk and
brass-arranged R&B sporting the great British blues-rock
guitarist Chris Spedding on lead. There are two incredible
songs in particular on 1969 that simply should not be passed
up, each putting the spotlight on Driscoll and her acoustic.
"Those That We Love" tells the story of cruel Elaine, a
beautiful woman who leaves all men who pursue her in the dust.
Accompanied by bassist Jeff Clyne and Keith Tippett on piano
and a very fragile celeste, Driscoll's vocal simultaneously
pines and cautions in the chorus: "Yes it's those that we love
who will always forsake us/ and it's those that love us, we
will always forget..." "The Choice" finds Driscoll again
accompanied by Clyne, but with flute contributions by Bob
Downes in place of Tippett's keyboards. This is an outstanding
track, and my favorite song on the album.
The impressive stature of Driscoll's voice was already obvious
early in her career. One moment it has the gentle
expressiveness that reveals her to be very much a peer of
Sandy Denny though with her own unique tone; the next she is
belting out all the way with soul few others could match, such
as on "A New Awakening," "Leaving It All Behind," and "Break-
Out." But whether cool or fiery, throughout this album it all
comes out with an exceptional degree of heart.
The material of 1969 is consistently strong. There is neither
one bad track nor one out-of-sync musical performance among
the bunch. Yet another forgotten, buried treasure that has
been lost to time, but is ready to be unearthed by a new
generation of listeners searching for something of quality.
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01-A New Awakening [03:53]
02-Those That We Love [04:48]
03-Leaving It All Behind [04:51]
04-Break-Out [05:18]
05-The Choice [06:02]
06-Lullaby [04:23]
07-Walk Down [04:15]
08-I Nearly Forgot - But I Went Back [05:03]
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38:33 min