CBS - Anne Briggs - The Time Has Come (UK) 1st Press

	£		123
	$		163

Artist:  Anne Briggs
Title:  The Time Has Come
Label:  CBS
Catalogue No:  S 64612
Matrix Nos:  A1 / B1
Year:  1971
Track Listing: >>>

Side One
Sandman's Song
Highlodge Hare
Fire And Wine
Step Right Up
Ride, Ride
The Time Has Come

Side Two
Clea Caught A Rabbit
Tangled Man
Wishing Well
Standing On The Shore
Tidewave
Everytime
Fine Horseman

In English folk music Anne Briggs is a defining and slightly mysterious figure.  Coming to prominence in the mid 60s as a traditional unaccompanied singer she started recording her own songs but then gave up music in 1973, had a child moved to Scotland and hasn't recorded since.  Her recorded legacy is only three albums, one collecting her mainly unaccompanied songs, this album and the subsequent last release with band Ragged Robin.  The first album collects old traditional songs and the last album was recorded while Anne was pregnant.  She has written that the last album wasn't as good as she had hoped (although it's excellent) so really this sole album stands as the only way of listening to Anne's own songs as she intended. 

Anne had grown up in Nottinghamshire and found her initial fame in London where she lived with Bert Jansch and performed on the folk circuit.  In 1967 Anne traveled around Ireland with the band Sweeney's Men.  On returning to England she began to prepare the songs for this album which reflected her travels and interest with a more isolated, rural existence.  Indeed it was this way that Anne would then go on to live from the early 1970s onwards.

Musically the album is spare, just Anne and her acoustic guitar playing a mixture of self written songs. and those of her friends.  The album starts with Anne's own 'Sandman's Song' which is a perfect evocation of the simple, giving emphasis to the beauty of folk songwriting at its best.  'Highlodge Hare' is a Celtic guitar instrumental that has been influenced by Anne's time in Ireland.  Anne's guitar work is often overlooked but she was a highly individual, sympathetic player who deprecated her own talents on the instrument even though she was accomplished at retuning the guitar to produce highly interesting settings.

Track three is her version of Steve Ashley's 'Fire and Wine'.  He would go on to record this song himself for his first album and create a folk-rock classic .  However Anne's version is much simpler and performed in her own acoustic style, it is almost a different song in this performance.  Steve Ashley would then go on to form Ragged Robin who providing the folk-rock backing to Anne on her last album.  Next is a version of 'Step Right Up' followed by a beautiful song called 'Ride, Ride' about traveling on the railroad.

The album's title song 'The Time Has Come' is a stunning classic song written by Anne with a nagging melodic refrain and a performance that truly does span the years and step our of time.  This was amazingly Anne's first self written song and before she recorded it herself her friend Bert Jansch recorded it and then introduced it to legendary folk-jazz band 'Pentangle'.  'Clea Caught A Rabbit' is an instrumental chase song played on the bouzouki.  This instrument was first played in folk by Sweeney's Men and has become synonymous with it since. 

'Tangled Man' is almost blues like in tone but has an English folk melody of the type performed by Norma Waterson.

'Wishing Well' is a short joint composition of a few years vintage at that point with Bert Jansch.  it hangs suspended in the air, like a whisp of smoke quickly gone.

Perhaps the best song and one of the best folk performances ever is Anne's version of Sweeney's Men's 'Standing On Your Shore'.  This is a definitive, inspirational track fusing Irish and English folk music together indivisibly.  The vocal her has a slight reverberation either natural or created in the studio, but this adds to the atmosphere even further creating a distant, pensive quality as though observing the song's narrative rather than being inside it.

'Tidewave' is a simple almost child like folk song followed by 'Everytime'.  The last track is a version of Lal Waterson's Fine Horsemen' that would then appear on their classic album 'Bright Phoebus'.  The difference of course is that Anne sticks to the traditional folk performance style although filtered through her own personality.  Here the song sounds ancient and a lament beyond death.

When many folk musicians were being inspired by Fairport Convention and including rock structures or such elements as psychedelia or jazz, Anne here kept to the original template but produced the definitive album within the style.  It is a cornerstone and treasure of any building folk collection and a direction connection back to an imagined simpler existence that Anne was able to then go on and live.

VINYL
The vinyl is in truly beautiful Excellent+ condition with a couple of light non-sounding surfaces marks, the vinyl still retains an 'as new' sheen.

LABELS
The orange CBS labels are clean and bright on both sides.  There are no scuffs, writing or stickers, no wear around the centre hole.

INNER SLEEVE
The inner sleeve is the original CBS "The Inner Sleeve" newspaper type sleeve.  It is completely intact with no tears or seam splits, no stickers or writing.

COVER
The sleeve is in excellent condition.  It is completely intact with no tears or seam-splits.  The opening edges are still crisp and sharp.  There is a little ring wear to the sleeve which looks worse in the photo than it really is.  The spine is clean and bright.  The top and bottom edges have a little mild wear.  There are no stickers or writing.

Rare UK folk album which went on to influence many of our greatest Folk Singers.

• Mint - The record is in brand new condition With no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover & any extra items (inserts, etc) are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Un-played should be Mint.
• Excellent - The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging may have slight wear and / or creasing.
• Very Good - The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.
• Good - The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, may have some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discoloration etc.

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           Finally, thank you for taking the time to look at my auction and good luck.