ERNIE GRAHAM
''ERNIE GRAHAM''
1971
45:55
**********
1 Sebastian 05:32
2 So Lonely 03:27
3 Sea Fever 04:50
4 The Girl That Turned The Lever 06:14
5 For A Little While 06:34
6 Blues To Snowy 03:59
7 Don't Want Me Round You 04:25
8 Belfast 05:11
9 Romeo And The Lonely Girl (Bonus Track) 02:31
10 Only Time Will Tell (Bonus Track) 03:06
All Tracks By Graham
**********
Bob Andrews/Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Dave Charles/Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Chris Cunningham/Fiddle, Violin
Ian Gomm/Guitar, Vocals
Ernie Graham/Guitar, Vocals
Nick Lowe/Bass Guitar, Vocals
Malcolm Morley/Guitar, Piano
Billy Rankin/Drums
Brinsley Schwarz/Guitar
Richard Treece/Guitar
Davey Payne/Saxophone
Andrew Bodnar/Bass Guitar
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REVIEW / AMG
Bruce Eder
This is one of the most hauntingly beautiful solo albums to come out of the whole English pub rock scene, and references to Bob Dylan and the Band are appropriate because the rootsy/folk-like intersections with their work are here. It's also a rival to the best work of Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe, Eggs Over Easy, et al. (and no surprise -- the Brinsleys played on this album). Opening with the gorgeous, Dylanesque "Sebastian," built on a lyrical acoustic guitar part, Graham reveals himself a songwriter and player of extraordinary sensitivity -- he might easily have been another Alan Hull, or even bigger than that, had he been able to join a band with legs or hold his own career together. As it is, from that Dylan-like start, he and the Brinsleys deliver a brace of full electric numbers that rival the classic sound of the Band, starting with "So Lonely" -- the roots rock sound here is so authentically American that it will fool lots of listeners about its origins and source. For this album, "The Girl That Turned the Lever" and "For a Little While" are two of the finest working-class/folk-style compositions this side of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and "Blues to Snowy" takes Graham into Lynyrd Skynyrd territory. "Belfast" finally takes listeners to Graham's real roots, in a bracing, fiddle-driven folk-based piece from that side of the Atlantic.
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BIOGRAPHY / AMG
Bruce Eder
Singer/guitarist Ernie Graham was an active part of the British pub rock scene during the first half of the '70s, shuffling between several bands and also recording solo. Graham started out in Belfast during the mid-'60s in professional music when he joined Tony & the Telstars, a local band, as their rhythm guitarist, working as an apprentice auto mechanic during the day. Eventually, Graham and two other members of the band decided to leave Belfast for England, and potentially bigger rewards. It was there that he met guitarist Henry McCullough and the two, on returning to Ireland, began putting together their own band, which was initially known as the People. They saw some serious success in the swinging London music scene of the second half of the 1960s, enough that they were persuaded to change their name to Eire Apparent in a bid for major stardom. That didn't quite happen, but they came close, the psychedelic-flavored band touring with Jimi Hendrix, who also played on their only album, Sunrise (1969).
McCullough left the group -- to form the Grease Band -- and Eire Apparent later dissolved, Graham signed with UA/Liberty as a solo artist, just at the time that the British arm of the label had begun building a new, bold roster of acts representing a new generation of performers. It was all a happy coincidence that brought Graham into the studio backed by no less an act than Brinsley Schwarz, and the result, coupled with Graham's exceptional singing and songs, was one of the finest albums of the entire decade. Ernie Graham failed to sell, however, and soon after, he joined Help Yourself as a guitarist, entering the studio for their second album, Strange Affair, but departing the group before the record was completed.
Sad to say, the rest of Graham's career was a similar study in unfulfilled promise. In 1973, Graham formed another band called Clancy, along with ex-Help Yourself bandmate Jojo Glemser. Clancy signed to Warner Bros. in 1974 and issued two albums the following year; however, the group imploded following one last Warner single in 1976 and Graham drifted away from performing. His personal demons, including a strong alcohol dependence, gradually got the better of him, and his health began to fail late in the 20th century. He passed away in 2001, forgotten by all but the most loyal fans and serious music scholars. The following year, his 1971 album was reissued on CD in Japan.
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TO THE TOP
**********
''ERNIE GRAHAM''
1971
45:55
**********
1 Sebastian 05:32
2 So Lonely 03:27
3 Sea Fever 04:50
4 The Girl That Turned The Lever 06:14
5 For A Little While 06:34
6 Blues To Snowy 03:59
7 Don't Want Me Round You 04:25
8 Belfast 05:11
9 Romeo And The Lonely Girl (Bonus Track) 02:31
10 Only Time Will Tell (Bonus Track) 03:06
All Tracks By Graham
**********
Bob Andrews/Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Dave Charles/Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Chris Cunningham/Fiddle, Violin
Ian Gomm/Guitar, Vocals
Ernie Graham/Guitar, Vocals
Nick Lowe/Bass Guitar, Vocals
Malcolm Morley/Guitar, Piano
Billy Rankin/Drums
Brinsley Schwarz/Guitar
Richard Treece/Guitar
Davey Payne/Saxophone
Andrew Bodnar/Bass Guitar
**********
REVIEW / AMG
Bruce Eder
This is one of the most hauntingly beautiful solo albums to come out of the whole English pub rock scene, and references to Bob Dylan and the Band are appropriate because the rootsy/folk-like intersections with their work are here. It's also a rival to the best work of Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe, Eggs Over Easy, et al. (and no surprise -- the Brinsleys played on this album). Opening with the gorgeous, Dylanesque "Sebastian," built on a lyrical acoustic guitar part, Graham reveals himself a songwriter and player of extraordinary sensitivity -- he might easily have been another Alan Hull, or even bigger than that, had he been able to join a band with legs or hold his own career together. As it is, from that Dylan-like start, he and the Brinsleys deliver a brace of full electric numbers that rival the classic sound of the Band, starting with "So Lonely" -- the roots rock sound here is so authentically American that it will fool lots of listeners about its origins and source. For this album, "The Girl That Turned the Lever" and "For a Little While" are two of the finest working-class/folk-style compositions this side of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and "Blues to Snowy" takes Graham into Lynyrd Skynyrd territory. "Belfast" finally takes listeners to Graham's real roots, in a bracing, fiddle-driven folk-based piece from that side of the Atlantic.
**********
BIOGRAPHY / AMG
Bruce Eder
Singer/guitarist Ernie Graham was an active part of the British pub rock scene during the first half of the '70s, shuffling between several bands and also recording solo. Graham started out in Belfast during the mid-'60s in professional music when he joined Tony & the Telstars, a local band, as their rhythm guitarist, working as an apprentice auto mechanic during the day. Eventually, Graham and two other members of the band decided to leave Belfast for England, and potentially bigger rewards. It was there that he met guitarist Henry McCullough and the two, on returning to Ireland, began putting together their own band, which was initially known as the People. They saw some serious success in the swinging London music scene of the second half of the 1960s, enough that they were persuaded to change their name to Eire Apparent in a bid for major stardom. That didn't quite happen, but they came close, the psychedelic-flavored band touring with Jimi Hendrix, who also played on their only album, Sunrise (1969).
McCullough left the group -- to form the Grease Band -- and Eire Apparent later dissolved, Graham signed with UA/Liberty as a solo artist, just at the time that the British arm of the label had begun building a new, bold roster of acts representing a new generation of performers. It was all a happy coincidence that brought Graham into the studio backed by no less an act than Brinsley Schwarz, and the result, coupled with Graham's exceptional singing and songs, was one of the finest albums of the entire decade. Ernie Graham failed to sell, however, and soon after, he joined Help Yourself as a guitarist, entering the studio for their second album, Strange Affair, but departing the group before the record was completed.
Sad to say, the rest of Graham's career was a similar study in unfulfilled promise. In 1973, Graham formed another band called Clancy, along with ex-Help Yourself bandmate Jojo Glemser. Clancy signed to Warner Bros. in 1974 and issued two albums the following year; however, the group imploded following one last Warner single in 1976 and Graham drifted away from performing. His personal demons, including a strong alcohol dependence, gradually got the better of him, and his health began to fail late in the 20th century. He passed away in 2001, forgotten by all but the most loyal fans and serious music scholars. The following year, his 1971 album was reissued on CD in Japan.
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TO THE TOP
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