Penguin Eggs

Artist: Nic Jones
Label: Shanachie
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 016351799029
EAN: 0016351799029
ASIN: B000000E8D

Release Date: 1994-05-01

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British Folk

| Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General

| Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General

| Folk | Styles | Music

Irish Folk

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General

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Celtic

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| Celtic | International | Styles | Music

Ireland

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Necessary Celtic Music

Tracks:

Canadee-I-O
The Drowned Lovers
The Humpback Whale
The Little Pot Stove
Courting Is A Pleasure
Barrack Street
Planxty Davis
The Flandyke Shore
Farewell To The Gold

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Anthology of English Folk: 2 CD Deluxe Edition
Game Set Match
Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man
Trad Arr Jones
Shearwater

Customer Reviews:

Re-release of a classic.......2004-06-29

Kate Rusby describes him as being only second to her father in his influence on her work. His influence can be heard in Eliza Carthy's fiddling. He hasn't performed in public since 1982, and his stuff is devilishly hard to find.

I first bought this album in 1983. The vinyl copy I've had all these years is now filled with scratches and pops when I listen to it. But I haven't been able to replace it till now, and that's been a pity.

If you know Nic Jones' work, I'm preaching to the choir, because you've already got this cd. If you don't, you should. Penguin Eggs was the last recording Jones made before the traffic accident that ended his career in 1982. It's good. It's better than good. It captures his loving approach to traditional material - I get goosebumps even now, every time I hear "Flandyke Shore" - and introduces some then-contemporary stuff as well (Farewell To The Gold). It may not be as good as The Noah's Ark Trap, but it's very, very close. It's also available.

The finest folk musician and singer England ever produced........2002-03-06

Nic Jones is one of the finest folk musicians and singers that England has ever produced. His lyrical style of singing and his percussive and rhythmic guitar playing has been wildly imitated but never equalled. "Penguin Eggs" is widely regarded as his best album, although "The Noah's Ark Trap", long since deleted, is equally as good. "Penguin Eggs" consists of traditional English folk songs, and what tremendous songs they are. Each song tells a story and due to the skill of these forgotten songwriters, each song is a minor masterpiece of story telling. There are the usual stories one finds in folk music: cross-dressing on a sailing ship; having your money and clothes stolen by a prostitute while on shore leave; the perils of hunting whales on the high seas; and the usual spate of jealous murders. The quality of the lyric writing is masterly, the tunes strong and melodic, and the arrangements clear and uncluttered.

Despite the car accident that finished his playing for good in 1982, he remains one of the most famous folk artists in England today. This is despite the fact that most of his recordings are not available to the public. He recorded four albums for Bill and Helen Leader's Trailer label: "Ballads and Songs", "Nic Jones", "From a Devil to a Stranger", and "The Noah's Ark Trap." These should have been all released on CD and made available for the music buying public by the present owner of the recordings. Yet, for reasons unfathomable, the owners are sitting on the master tapes. Only "Penguin Eggs" is available. This is a disgrace and should be rectified immediately. Until then, get this CD if you like English folk music, because you don't get much better than Nic Jones.

One of the best albums ever recorded........2001-10-26

A wonderfully evocative collection of nine traditional and neo-traditional tunes: revamped sea shanties, gothically bleak tales of doomed and drowned lovers, raunchy tavern humor, and -- above all -- the intensely soulful guitar and vocals of Nic Jones. Jones is one of England's most elusive folkies, in part because of an auto accident that sidelined his career, and also because his early work on the Trailer label is all, perversely, still out of print... This album is his masterpiece, filled with extraordinary material and picture-perfect melodic and dramatic delivery. Includes his version of "Canadee-I-O", which caused a stir in the folk-rock world when Bob Dylan recorded a version which used Jones' arrangement without giving credit (or money) to Jones... Bob caught flak from all sides for ripping off the beloved Jones... but besides all that, it's a great song, revisiting the popular theme of a woman who disguises herself as a sailor in order to follow her own true love when he goes out to sea. Great record... a real must-have.

STUNNINGLY POWERFUL -- AND ALL-ACOUSTIC.......2001-10-09

This cd sounds as fresh and energetic today as on its original lp release in 1980 -- the music is played with enthusiasm and great ability, recorded cleanly, with no unnecessary embellishments.

Nic Jones' talents as an interpreter of traditional English folk songs, as well as his dexterity on guitar, are at their height on this, his last recording before the tragic accident that left him unable to perform. From the breathtaking guitar figure that carries the opener, 'Canadee-i-o' along like a ship on the ocean, through the entire program, the playing is first-rate, the arrangements as perfect as they can be -- tasteful, uncluttered and unpretentious.

Accompanied simply by his guitar and fiddle, Jones is joined here by Tony Hall on melodeon, Bridget Danby on recorders and vocals, and Dave Burland on vocals. Jones has a classic voice for this genre -- it gives these songs credibility, soul and power. In the hands of some practitioners, they might acquire scholarly airs -- in Jones' hands they are as vital as when they were born. Even a song as 'politically incorrect' today as 'The humpback whale' is seen in the light of another day, before the animals were hunted to near extinction -- and the listener is able to focus on the hardships endured by the sailors, their joys and sorrows and hopes and fears.

Every album Jones recorded is of extremely high quality, in both selection of material and performance -- he never succumbed to the temptation to allow a producer to 'polish' his sound for a wider appeal, much to his credit and honor. Hopefully, Topic will eventually release all of his recordings in the digital format -- they're all good enough to warrant preservation and continued listening.

A "MUST HAVE" recording for fans of British Folk!.......1999-03-31

Most reviewers will continue to allude to Nic's tragic accident as if that says something about his music. The truth is that Nic Jones is one of the finest guitarists and interpreters of traditional folk songs who has graced either vinyl or CD formats. It is disgraceful that Trailer Records has not released his other recordings. While PENGUIN EGGS may be his crowning achievement, it is important to note that Nic had an uncanny way of making these traditional tunes sound as if they were new and contemporary pieces. This was true on each of his releases.

If you need a handle, try to imagine Bert Jansch playing "Rosemary Lane" or "Reynardine' with one hell of a lot of enthusiasm or Lal and Mike Waterson belting out any of the wonderful tunes from BRIGHT PHOEBUS. Nic's renderings of "Canadee -I-O", "The Little Pot Stove", and "Flandyke Shore", some of the highlights from PENGUIN EGGS, give us a clear picture of his brilliant playing and interpretive skills.

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