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and thoughts. The fact that Vacca is much younger and Italian means that the responses have to be more explicit than if he were talk- ing to an older Brit and this in itself is useful in uncovering MacColl’s opinions.
Mavericks Of Sound
David Ensminger Rowman and Littlefield (ISBN 978-1-4422-3590-8). Hardback £27.83 / Kindle £26.44
This is, simply, a book of transcribed inter- views most of which have appeared in small, probably privately-published magazines, which gives the subject freedom to be less guarded in the knowledge that the reader- ship may be mostly musical anoraks. More than a few were conducted over the phone, taking away a layer of contact between inter- viewer and subject.
I transcribe just one question to prepare you for the book, to Robert Schneider, leader of indie band Apples In Stereo. “You make pop music, and I mean that in the best sense of the word. I don’t mean to denigrate the form but I think the idea is: What makes the Beatles Love Me Do as transcendent for a lot a of people as listening to Chopin.” If you are interested in more questions like this, or indeed the answers, then read on.
Sometimes Ensminger’s weighty ques- tions miss their mark. To Mike Scott, a follow- up question: “Would this relate to DH Lawrence’s idea of the “Roaring God-stuff” that makes up the universe and the shimmer- ing electricity of life?” Answer: “I have no idea. Never read DH Lawrence”. On the other hand there are reasonable, well-constructed interviews with the likes of Tom Russell, Peter Case, Billy Joe Shaver and Robert Earl Keen but Ensminger often gets hung up on his own theories where a legal process would accuse him of leading the witness. Richard Thomp- son does not buy into the theory that Dylan failed to merge the folk and rock traditions, and neither does Ralph Stanley respond favourably to a quote, allegedly from his own press release, that his music is original, unlike Bill Monroe.
Not all of the interviewees will be as familiar to the reader as the names above, but the claim is of conversations with the artists who shaped indie and roots music,so an interest in both would help. I have to con- fess in conclusion that, having finished this book, whilst I am deeply interested in the who, the when and sometimes how of music, I am much less bothered about the why. It often seems that exploring the why and ref- erences for same is the main premise of this book. Both in price and content I find it just a little too heavy.
https://rowman.com John Atkins Legacies Of Ewan MacColl:
The Last Interview Allan F Moore & Giovanni Vacca (eds) Ashgate (ISBN 978-1-4094-2430-7)
A young student, Giovanni Vacca interviews MacColl at length twice at his home in June 1987 and August 1988 not long before his death the following year.
A major impression is that MacColl is being extraordinarily generous with his time
There is a keen and informed mind behind the formation of the questions. At times there is a disciple / master approach before he produces some stinging questions that unsettle the interviewee, particularly over his continued adherence to Communism in view of the big issue at the time – Solidari- ty in Poland – but in the main MacColl is at ease and it is difficult not to be very impressed by the breadth of his autodidactic reading and how well he has absorbed it and applied it. With no foreknowledge of the questions, the thoughtful answers generally reveal a disciplined, incisive mind. At the time of the first interview Vacca is under the musical spell of Alan Stivell; when these pan- Celtic views are introduced, MacColl gives a long well-argued dismissal of the concept of ‘Celtic Music’ that has this reader nodding vigorously throughout. MacColl’s well- known antipathy towards Bob Dylan is dealt with and once again we see that his scrutiny is careful and clearly the result of much more thought than a passing dismissal.
Another extended line of questioning talks about Ewan and Peggy’s development of contact with the Scots travellers. Extremely rich in all aspects of their traditions, this out- cast group are initially very suspicious of out- siders. It was illuminating to read of the care, persistence and sensitivity that they felt they had to bring to these meetings and how closely this mirrored personal experience with these lovely people.
Much of the dialog has this quality of engaging with an intense and interesting mind. It is just a pity that MacColl often overstates his case and is not attentive to detail – and this brings us the third voice in the interviews.
Ewan MacColl
The extensive footnotes to both inter- views are by Matthew Ord. He makes a few minor errors but in the main they are clearly the result of meticulous research and will be particularly useful to those who have not lived through the MacColl years. He makes many corrections of date, name, source etc, and even allows himself to make such comments as Ewan being “rather wide of the mark”.
The number of corrections is interesting in itself. Those of us who have interviewed Ewan’s great friend and colleague, AL Lloyd will remember a similar encyclopaedic know - ledge but that Bert would refer the inter- viewer to the source of his reading to check his memory of the facts rather than giving bald statements.
The second part of the book is four essays; by far the best of them are by the two editors. Vacca gives a superb analysis of Mac- Coll the songwriter, placing this in a pan- European context. It does seem likely that his songs will prove to be what he is best remembered for. Moore scrutinises his singing style in comparison with other mem- bers of the Critics Group and with traditional singers. The investigative methods are origi- nal and innovative. Towards the end he says, “…the type of enquiry that I have tried to develop appears to be novel… pertaining to British folk song”. Yes, but also very stimulat- ing and well worth pursuing. Elsewhere in Maccoll In Italy, Franco Fabbri casts doubt on the claims made in the interviews of the extent of the support given to Alan Lomax during his time in Italy.
We are marking the centenary of the birth of two central figures of the folk revival in 2015; Bob Copper and Ewan MacColl. The legacy of one is assured whilst the position of the other remains controversial even 26 years after his death; but then, humility is a more attractive personality trait than boastfulness.
www.ashgate.com Vic Smith
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