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CD Description
First released in 1967, WATCH THE STARS is a remarkable long-lost gem from the mid-'60s British folk revival. A beautiful collection of folk, blues and haikus, the album melds a folk-boom topicality with a fine "beat" sensibility; uniting the Afro-American West Coast with suburban London. Long out-of-print, the record is an early milestone in the careers of Dorris Henderson and John Renbourn. On the album Dorris and John are joined by the classical guitarist Tim Walker and Danny Thompson (from Pentangle) on double bass. Contains two songs written by Anne Briggs. For this carefullly remastered edition Fledg’ling have restored all the elements of the original artwork and added several previously unpublished photographs. Not previously available on compact disc. Deluxe slipcase packaging. Tracks: When You Hear Them Cuckoos Hollerin' / It's Been A Long Time / 30 Days In Jail / No More My Lord / Watch The Stars / There's Anger In This Land / Mosaic Patterns / Tomorrow Is A Long Time / For Lovin' Me / Come Up Horsey / God Bless The Child / The Time Has Come / Poems Of Solitude : Poems Of My Heart : Eighteen Tedious Ways : Magic String / Lonely Mood / Gonna Tell My / Message To Pretty.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
While I don't think this album is quite as rivetting and compelling as "There you Go," it is definitely a marvelous album-- and so good to see rereleased after nearly 40 years. This one is a bit 'grittier' than that 1st DH/Renbourn collaboration-- but it's nice to hear John playing a bit more straightforwardly, and there are some interesting 'experimental' moments like the three Chinese poems-- recited over musical backing.
And nice to hear alternative versions of some songs that'll turn up in Pentangle's repertoire too like "Watch the Stars" (very charming-- DH uses voice differently than Jacqui MacShee), "The Time Has Come," & a gritty, engaging take on "No More My Lord." The final added 'poppish' "Message to Pretty" is a nice surprise & added variety
too, if not a great song. Important & engaging rerelease IMO.
And nice to hear alternative versions of some songs that'll turn up in Pentangle's repertoire too like "Watch the Stars" (very charming-- DH uses voice differently than Jacqui MacShee), "The Time Has Come," & a gritty, engaging take on "No More My Lord." The final added 'poppish' "Message to Pretty" is a nice surprise & added variety
too, if not a great song. Important & engaging rerelease IMO.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Whilst I would agree with anybody who says that this album is not quite as exceptional as Dorris's first with John Renbourn (There You Go), I think that anyone who either likes Dorris's voice or Renbourn's guitar playing or has an interest in the UK 60s folk scene will jump at the chance to purchase this CD re-release of an album which has long been unavailable (rumour had it that the original master tapes had been lost).
There's plenty here for everyone, including a sprinkling of Danny Thompson on bass (always welcome) and Dorris accompanying herself on auto-harp on a track or two (which is how she started out). Message to Pretty (the single not included on the original album) is a slight oddity (with drums -- Terry Cox or Gerry Conway perhaps?) -- but is very much a product of its year, 1967.
Perhaps the only track which doesn't quite make it for me is the Billie Holliday song, God Bless The Child, which seems slightly lightweight, especially when compared to Dorris's 2003 rendition of the song on Here I Go Again, where she created an interpretation worthy of standing alongside Billie Holliday's own! And if that seems an outrageous comparison, then you need to judge for yourself.
It has always seemed a shame and a bit of a mystery that an artist of Dorris's exceptional talents only got to record 2 albums in her heyday and a 3rd some 35 years later. But its quality that counts not quantity, and Dorris had quality in her bones. Maybe somewhere there are some more un-released recordings lurking; one can only hope that there are!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
On this, her second album, Dorris Henderson is - if possible - even better than on her debut. Unfortunately she is let down by various outside circumstances.
The wonderful thing about the debut was the tight, sensuous interplay between her and John Renbourn. With only one guitar and a voice (plus some very occasional harmonies by Renbourn), mono was just perfect for this kind of release. Unfortunately, 'Watch the Stars' is mixed in stereo with an image so widely spread it sounds as if the singer is in your kitchen and the vocalist is in the hall, while occasional visiting musicians are somewhere upstairs in your toilet. Pressing the mono button on your system will help an awful lot, but it won't solve all problems here. On the tracks where Danny Thompson is visiting, he sounds frightfully unprepared. He is of course a fantastic bass player, but even fantastic bass players need to know just a little bit more about what's going on around them. Even more surprisingly, Renbourn on some tracks isn't an awful lot better. On top of that, his guitar is so poorly recorded - particularly on the tracks also featuring Thompson - it sounds like a cigar box strung with elastic bands. Luckily, the vocals are much better sounding, as though they were granted the only decent microphone in the studio. I'm not putting this release down completely because the disc certainly has its moments of glory, particularly on the tracks featuring just Henderson and Renbourn. But generally a bit more time and care should have been taken. Folk records usually benefit from being recorded straight-forwardly, but this distinctly sounds as though it was made on too tight a budget. Occasionally - even on the title track - parts of the backing simply don't pass muster and would, under different circumstances, have caused a retake. Because the voice is so great and because of the occasional magic moments I will still recommend this CD, but if you plan to buy only one release by Henderson/Renbourn, you will be much better off with 'There you go' from two years previously.
The wonderful thing about the debut was the tight, sensuous interplay between her and John Renbourn. With only one guitar and a voice (plus some very occasional harmonies by Renbourn), mono was just perfect for this kind of release. Unfortunately, 'Watch the Stars' is mixed in stereo with an image so widely spread it sounds as if the singer is in your kitchen and the vocalist is in the hall, while occasional visiting musicians are somewhere upstairs in your toilet. Pressing the mono button on your system will help an awful lot, but it won't solve all problems here. On the tracks where Danny Thompson is visiting, he sounds frightfully unprepared. He is of course a fantastic bass player, but even fantastic bass players need to know just a little bit more about what's going on around them. Even more surprisingly, Renbourn on some tracks isn't an awful lot better. On top of that, his guitar is so poorly recorded - particularly on the tracks also featuring Thompson - it sounds like a cigar box strung with elastic bands. Luckily, the vocals are much better sounding, as though they were granted the only decent microphone in the studio. I'm not putting this release down completely because the disc certainly has its moments of glory, particularly on the tracks featuring just Henderson and Renbourn. But generally a bit more time and care should have been taken. Folk records usually benefit from being recorded straight-forwardly, but this distinctly sounds as though it was made on too tight a budget. Occasionally - even on the title track - parts of the backing simply don't pass muster and would, under different circumstances, have caused a retake. Because the voice is so great and because of the occasional magic moments I will still recommend this CD, but if you plan to buy only one release by Henderson/Renbourn, you will be much better off with 'There you go' from two years previously.
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