From: Pete Fyfe [petefyfe_at_aol_dot_com]
Sent: 06 August 2012 12:26
Subject: Pete Fyfe: Book Review - Wayward Daugther
Attachments: Wayward Daughter.jpg
SOPHIE PARKES Wayward Daughter: The official biography of Eliza Carthy
(Soundcheck Books)
I confess to being an intermittent fan of Eliza Carthy throughout the whole of
her career so when this tome arrived on my doorstep for review I wasn’t sure
if I’d enjoy it even though I have numerous other ‘music’
artist biographies in my collection. I (wrongly as it goes) assumed it would
be written by a ‘fan’ (Sophie is but very eloquent) therefore perhaps the book
would be written in a ‘gushy’ outpouring that like so many other previous
experiences have cluttered my dusty shelves forgive me ladies but I am a bloke
after all. This book thankfully has no traces of ‘that’ style of writing and
from the beginning Parkes gets straight into the background of how the legacy
of Eliza’s parents (the ‘king & queen’ of the British folk music scene Martin
Carthy and Norma
Waterson) was soaked sponge-like by Eliza at a young age. Of course the
indoctrination of twee ‘folk’ music (knowingly or otherwise) in one so young
played a major part in her early music ‘career’ and although perhaps not
rebellious in the truest sense forged an ‘attitude’ that would become an
established calling card within the ‘folk’ community.
In a way, falling between two camps (the staunch ‘traditionalists’ who had
first dibs followed by a creative need to be heard as a
singer-songwriter) would split Carthy’s audience and ultimately create a
conflict that would have mortally wounded any lesser ‘artist’ she’s ultimately
a strong personality who knows her own mind brandishing her ‘gut-instinct’
(and a strong sense of right for her ‘English’ heritage) like a badge of
honour. If, with my bias towards her more ‘traditional’
background there are many references to her associations with (amongst
others) Nancy Kerr, The Kings Of Calicutt and Boden & Spiers and less towards
the Eliza Carthy Band then I could be accused of waving, not drowning as I
personally feel that this is where a majority of those reading this article
will be interested in. As mentioned before, this is a tremendous ‘read’
particularly if you are a musician who wants an insight about the pitfalls of
working in ‘the industry’ succumbing to the Yankee Dollar and I look forward
to hearing more from what promises to be a ‘fine’ career choice by Ms Parkes.
www.soundcheckbooks.co.uk
PETE FYFE