Martin Carthy - interviewed by Hugh Taylor, about his first Album

This sound file, is an interview which Hugh Taylor recorded for Celtic Music Radio, exploring Martin's first album on a track by track basis. The following text, credit: Topic Records / Proper Distribution, gives some background to the recording:

In the early 1960s, the approach Martin Carthy took to folk music was nothing short of revolutionary. He plied his trade in the folk clubs, which is where the likes of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon sought him out, enamoured of his traditional repertoire and keen to learn songs like 'Scarborough Fair' and 'Lord Franklin' directly from him before adapting them for their own purposes. 

Originally finding its way into the world in 1965, courtesy of Fontana Records, Martin Carthy pulled together 14 songs from his burgeoning repertoire. The album introduced Carthy's earliest collaborations with Dave Swarbrick, an enduring partnership that lasted, off and on, until Swarbs death in 2016. In the years since, Martin Carthy has become the veteran of over 40 studio albums. Pressed to name his favourite, he needs no time to think it over. "I always stand by the first album," he says of his 1965 debut. "I love it. There are some things on it I think I couldn't have done better. There was a clarity of purpose."