Rob Young investigates how the idea of folk has been handed down and transformed by successive generations - song collectors,composers,Marxist revivalists,folk-rockers,psychedelic voyagers,free festival-goers,experimental pop stars and electronic innovators.
In a sweeping panorama of Albion's soundscape that takes in the pioneer spirit of Cecil Sharp; the pastoral classicism of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Peter Warlock; the industrial folk revival of Ewan MacColl and A. L. Lloyd; the folk-rock of Fairport Convention,Sandy Denny,Nick Drake,Shirley Collins,John Martyn and Pentangle; the bucolic psychedelia of The Incredible String Band,The Beatles and Pink Floyd; the acid folk of Comus,Forest,Mr Fox and Trees; The Wicker Man and occult folklore; the early Glastonbury and Stonehenge festivals; and the visionary pop of Kate Bush,Julian Cope and Talk Talk,Electric Eden maps out a native British musical voice that reflects the complex relationships between town and country,progress and nostalgia,radicalism and conservatism.
An attempt to isolate the'Britishness'of British music - a wild combination of pagan echoes,spiritual quest,imaginative time-travel,pastoral innocence and electrified creativity - Electric Eden will be treasured by anyone interested in the tangled story of Britain's folk music and Arcadian dreams.
Publisher: Faber & FaberISBN: 9780571349654Number of pages: 672Weight: 523 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 40 mmEdition: Main - Faber Greatest Hits
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