This debut album contains some of
Briggs’ most notable songs, including ‘Blackwater Slide,’ which she famously
taught to Bert Jansch, (who recorded it on his ‘Jack Orion’ album) and ‘Go Your
Way,’ co-written with Jansch. As with the 1971 original, the sleeve here
contains song notes by the highly-regarded English folk singer and collector of
folk songs, A.L. Lloyd.
Anne Briggs began
singing in local folk clubs in her teens. In 1962, she became part of the
Centre 42 – a leftist group of artists, writers, actors and musicians whose aim
was to make arts and culture accessible to the masses. Ewan MacColl first heard
Briggs’ remarkable voice and persuaded her to join the group and tour. There
Briggs met MacColl’s comrade, A.L. ‘Bert’ Lloyd who became her mentor,
producing her debut EP, ‘The Hazards Of Love,’ and recording Briggs for Topic
landmark albums, ‘The Iron Muse’ and ‘The Bird In The Bush.’
Briggs went on to
record a follow-up album, ‘The Time Has Come,’ for CBS which, at the time, sold
poorly and was rapidly deleted. Two years later, she recorded again but blocked
the subsequent album’s release, disheartened as she was by her singing. She
retired from the limelight, seemingly for good, although Topic’s 2019 re-issue
of this debut heralded a huge resurgence of media and fan interest in this most
reclusive of folk doyennes.
