Singer-songwriter Ralph McTell has been an influential figure in folk music since the release of his debut album Eight Frames a Second in early 1968.
It was no surprise that an artist of Ralph’s standing drew a packed audience to Newport’s Riverfront Theatre. Ralph had been selected as one of the key acts to launch Newport Festival's Big Splash events on October 7th 2011.
Ralph McTell's Inspirations From Woody Guthrie To Citizen Kane
Performing solo on stage with his Gibson J45 guitar; Ralph entertained the Riverfront audience with an uninterrupted set that lasted for over 100 minutes. The list, chosen from a repertoire of over 300 songs included compositions written by heroes such as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Arthur Blake as well as several of Ralph's own signature compositions.
Following Ralph’s arrival on stage to a rapturous applause, he began the concert with an anecdote about his first pen friend, the musician Woody Guthrie. Ralph would regularly write to his guitar hero as a young boy, though he jokingly revealed that Woody "never wrote back" before launching into a version of Travelin' Man.
Ralph then followed up with a blend of his own songs including the awe-inspired London Apprentice, about England’s capital city and people's misconceptions of it.
Other memorable McTell compositions included You Were My First Song, and the beautifully constructed The Girl from The Jersey Ferry which was inspired by the film Citizen Kane.
Ralph McTell Pays Tribute To Bob Dylan and Bert Jansch
There were further tributes to Ralph's guitar heroes, including a performance of Bob Dylan’s The Girl from the North Country, on which Ralph also played harmonica in true Dylan style.
Ralph revealed he had recorded a demo of The Girl from the North Country back in his youth and successfully wooed back an ex-girlfriend from California to England after sending her a copy of the recording, though as Ralph testified they still managed to split up!
Ralph also talked about another inspiration, the Blues and Gospel artist Reverend Gary Davies. Ralph mentioned that he had met his hero in London during the early 1970s and ultimately modelled his guitar on Davies' 12-String J200 before performing Reverend Thunder (Blind Faith) in his memory.
There was also a warm tribute to Ralph’s friend, Scottish folk musician and Pentangle founder Bert Jansch who had only passed away days before the concert.
Ralph said of Bert "It will be a tough old dark road without him" before launching into a version of the instrumental Anji, though Ralph confessed that his interpretation of the composition was probably closer to Davy Graham’s version.
Ralph McTell's Magical Performance Of Streets Of London
Midway through the concert, Ralph performed his major hit Streets of London without any introduction. His clear crisp vocal and concise guitar playing set against the back drop of the participating Welsh audience was pure magic to hear.
The audience also enjoyed many of Ralph’s anecdotes, many of which spanned back to the 1960s. These included reminiscences of a 1965 Folk Festival at Bexhill-on-Sea in which he shared the bill with Paul Simon and the American Junk Band.
There were also recollections of Ralph’s appearance on Top Of The Pops alongside Queen and Elton John and the funny tale of how his album Not Till Tomorrow accidentally acquired its title due to a confused message between Ralph’s record company and the artwork designer.
Ralph rounded off the concert with two beautiful songs Moon on Dark Water and Kettle Wine, the latter of which was inspired by the Welsh mountains and lakes of Penygroes bringing a suitably inspired close to the concert.
- Ralph McTell will continue to tour the UK for the rest of 2011, to check out venues and other information on Ralph visit www.ralphmctell.co.uk
