Songs For The Gentle Man - BRIDGET ST JOHN***

A Day A Way/City Crazy/Early Morning Song/Back To Stay/Seagull Sunday/If You'd Been There/Song For The Laird Of Connaught Hall Part 2/Making Losing Better/The Lady & The Gentle Man/Downderry Daze/The Pebble & The Man/It Seems Very Change

Songs For The Gentle Man was the follow up album from British singersongwriter Bridget St John. She recorded on John Peel’s Dandelion label and was a featured on his radio Peel Sessions programme, being also familiar on the college and festival circuit.

“The second release from singer/songstress Bridget St. John is nothing short of a masterpiece of British contemporary baroque style folk music. The album has earned its cult legendary status over the years by capturing the romanticism and allure of the UK folk scene at the opening of the seventies.”

“Although there are moments of pure sixties folk rock revelry, the more dominant musical sensation is that you are being transported back to a time when there were country fairs with prize hams dangling from a spit in the warm spring air. You are eating strawberries and drinking milk with the actor and his wife. Minimal instrumentation and winding melodies lend this album an old-time feel, shying away from the commercial elements of record making.”

“Among the plethora of singer/songwriters who emerged at the tail end of the 1960s, Bridget St. John tends to be overlooked, partly because she never had a whiff of commercial success despite vigorous marketing by her record label, and possibly because her lyrics are not nearly so personal or revealing as many contemporaries. The rather distant tone of her first album is softened to give the songs added impact, and the addition of orchestration on a number of tracks adds immeasurable melody and depth to what were already extremely good songs.”

“In tone, Songs For The Gentle Man differs quite a bit from traditional acoustic folk, being not sharp and crisp, but distinctly quiet and blurry owing to the extensive use of orchestration, which is used to amazing effect on the mesmerising opening two songs. The everyday tone of the lyrics adds greatly to the songs by making communication with the aware listener very easy.”

“The only female singer/songwriter who reminds me of Nico, both in her vocal style, which is dry and monotonic, and her sound, which is at times quite harsh and demanding. The minimalist arrangements and the use of classical and minor key instruments also gives a hint to the Nico solo albums.”