The Blue Thorn

I suppose I have a lot to thank my Dad for with regards to my love of Alt-Country, Americana and all music that falls under these rather loose categories. I have fond memories of family holidays in Cornwall and it was here in the surf shops where Dad heard American music he’d never heard before on mainstream radio. He would always ask the staff what they were playing and on return to Coventry would go out and buy the album then play it to death, particularly on a Sunday morning.

This would be around the early 70,s when I was still at Junior school. I didn’t know it at the time but the music my Dad was playing seeped into my subconscious and has remained there ever since. Bands and singers such as Neil Young, Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Buffalo Springfield and Gram Parsons.

So the first song I can recall that really struck a chord with me is’nt really an alt-country tune its a little more traditional, and of course it was my Dad who was responsible for this introduction.

The reason why this song made me prick up my ears was the voice, it was so different and unique from anything I had heard before.

It comes from the album “After The Gold Rush” which features other classic songs such as “Southern Man” and “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” songs which led other artists to follow Neil Young’s lead and bend country music into something edgier and less formulaic.