Martin Carthy 'Along The Road Forever: Live At The BBC' 20xCD

Pre-order. Due 17th July.

Though he eschews such terms himself, few would deny that Martin Carthy MBE is the godfather of English folk - a singer, tradition bearer & guitar stylist of colossal quality & influence with 60 years of celebrated recorded work as a solo artist, as a duettist with Dave Swarbrick & with his daughter Eliza Carthy, & as a member of ground-breaking ensembles 'Steeleye Span', 'The Albion Country Band', 'Brass Monkey', 'The Watersons', 'Waterson: Carthy' & 'Wood, Wilson, Carthy'.

All of these collaborations & more are represented in this stunning collection from Martin's extraordinarily extensive career of interactions with the British Broadcasting Corporation - as a studio session guest & concert performer over a span of 1965-2022, across BBC Radios 1, 2, 3 & 4 & BBC television, with early performances from 1960s regional channel ABC TV as a bonus.

What survives of Martin's BBC output is perhaps a fraction of what once aired over the course of nearly 56 years of moments on the usually ephemeral medium of broadcasting, yet its range & heft is remarkable - an alternative career history & testament to a truly singular artistry: 221/2 hours, 328 tracks (two thirds from a master source) of which there are 237 distinct items of repertoire.