FILE UNDER...
Sibling Revelry
Seasons are serenaded in a family’s folk classic that’s stood the test of time.
By Jim Irvin.
Family affair: The Watersons (from left) Lal Waterson, John Harrison, Mike and Norma Waterson, Hull, Yorkshire, December 1966.
WITH ITS CHILLY black and white sleeve bearing an enigmatic im-age and linernotes by folklorist supreme, A.L. Lloyd, wrapped around a suite of antique songs delivered without adorn-ment bar the fleeting thump of a drum on one track (“We have found that slightly worn styli [styluses] tend to be thrown out of the groove at this point,” warns the original sleeve), the 1965 debut album by The Watersons – previ-ously known briefly as The Mariners and The Folksons – was an unexpected shot of purity into the folk canon. Frost And Fire: A Calen-dar Of Ritual And Magical Songs ★★★★★ (Topic) had a measurable impact upon a moribund folk scene, in those days just before electricity was about to strike it. Said Anne Briggs in 2018, “First hearing The Watersons live was a shock, a revelation. Their voices and their musicality were unique. Raw, passionate and brilliant… They redefined the possibili-ties of the British folk scene, they opened a door wide and it’s still open.”