Robin Williamson & His Merry Band – Journey’s Edge
(Flying Fish Records 1977 FF033 US Press)
Gatefold Sleeve in Excellent+ condition
– some wear to edges with a dink on top right corner, some rubbing on front and some ringwear on back
Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
Robin Duncan Harry Williamson (born 24 November 1943) is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and storyteller who was a founding member of The Incredible String Band.
Williamson lived in the Fairmilehead area of Edinburgh and attended George Watson’s College before leaving at the age of 15 to become a professional musician. He performed in local jazz bands with Gerard Dott (later to be a member of the Incredible String Band) before turning to traditional music as a singer and guitarist. By 1961 he had met and begun sharing a flat with Bert Jansch, and in 1963 they traveled to London to play the metropolitan folk circuit. By 1965 he had returned to Edinburgh and formed a duo with Clive Palmer, specializing in fiddle and banjo arrangements of traditional Scottish and Irish songs. Joe Boyd signed them to Elektra Records in 1966, by which time they had hired a third member, Mike Heron. As resident band at Clive’s Incredible Folk Club in Glasgow, they called themselves the Incredible String Band.
Between 1966 and 1974 the Incredible String Band, based around Williamson and Heron, released some 13 albums. The group also included Williamson’s girlfriend Licorice McKechnie.
Williamson released his first solo album, Myrrh, in 1971 when still a member of the Incredible String Band. After the band split up in 1974, he began living in Los Angeles and, for a while, turned his attention to writing, co-writing an espionage novel, The Glory Trap. Many of his albums are released by his label, Pig’s Whisker Music.
By 1976 he had returned to music, forming The Merry Band with Sylvia Woods (Celtic harp), Jerry McMillan (fiddle), and Chris Caswell (flutes, and wire-strung harp). They toured extensively for three years throughout the US, Canada, and Europe, and released three albums: Journey’s Edge, American Stonehenge, and A Glint at the Kindling.
After the breakup of the Merry Band, Williamson returned to the UK and started to tour as a solo act, offering sets dominated by traditional stories set to song. Releases of this period include Songs of Love and Parting and Legacy of the Scottish Harpers. He has also written a tutorial book of English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish fiddle tunes as well as one for the penny whistle .
Williamson’s live album with John Renbourn, Wheel of Fortune (1995), was nominated for a Grammy Award, as was the Incredible String Band album Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter in 1968.).
In the late 1990s he took part, with Palmer and Heron, in a reformed Incredible String Band. Williamson left the band some time around the start of 2003. The reformed band disbanded again in 2006.
Williamson resumed his solo career on record with a series of albums for ECM: The Seed-at-Zero (2000), Skirting the River Road (2002), The Iron Stone (2006), and Trusting in the Rising Light (2014). As well as his own words these albums featured material from Dylan Thomas, William Blake, and Walt Whitman.
Journey’s Edge is the second solo album by Scottish folk artist Robin Williamson and his Merry Band. The work was released in 1977, and re-released in 2008 by Fledg’ling Records with ten bonus tracks.
Journey’s Edge was the beginning of a creative period for Williamson. It is the beginning of Williamson’s interest with the harp, then played by Sylvia Woods, and ancient bardic poetry. These new interests would be increasingly evident in later albums and storytelling by Williamson. This is the first post Incredible String Band era album by Williamson. It is a mixture of folk, baroque, pop, and Celtic music. Tracks like “Border Tango” and “Red Eye Blues” deal with remembering and travel. It is not until the track “Tomorrow” that there is a sense of the future. Overall, there is a sense of emotional integrity expressed by Williamson in his vocals that give a deeper meaning to the lighthearted songs. Williamson masterfully prolonged syllables within the tracks that is reminiscent of his Incredible String Band days.
The Merry Band’s exceptional musicianship aid in creating the style Williamson had desired in the past. He and the troupe would tour regularly in the mid-seventies. The addition of the Celtic style and acoustic ensemble would be a trademark of Williamson and The Merry Band on further works. “Likky Lambert”, guesting on the album, is actually former String Band member Licorice McKechnie. Her final recording appearances are on the tracks “Tomorrow” and “The Bells”.
Track listing
- “Border Tango”
- “The Tune I Hear So Well”
- “Red Eye Blues”
- “Tomorrow”
- “Mythic Times”
- “Lullaby for a Rainy Night”
- “Rap City Rhapsody”
- “The Maharajah of Magador”
- “The Bells”
- “Voices of the Barbary Coast”
- “Out on the Water Coast”
Personnel
- Robin Williamson – Vocals, Guitar, Fiddle, Flute, Mandolin, Percussion
- Sylvia Woods – Glockenspiel, Harp, Harpsichord, Vocals, Celtic Harp, Pedal Harp
- Jerry McMillan – Fiddle, Vocals
- Chris Caswell – Flute, Percussion, Accordion, Concertina, Drums, Gong, Vocals, Wire-Strung Celtic Harp
with
- Mark Bensi – Percussion, Strings, Cymbals, Drums
- Dmitri Bovaird – Viola
- Larry Drummond – Guitar, Mandolin, Mandola, Bell Tree
- John Fare – Cello
- Jamie Faunt – Bass, Fretless Bass
- Jay Hosler – Violin
- Brian Lambert – Guitar
- Gerald Walker – Oboe
- Likki Lambert (Licorice McKechnie) – Vocals
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