A Bit Partial

I'd strongly recommend Rob Young's Electric Eden to anyone interested in British music of the twentieth century, especially what we think of as folk music. It's a fascinating if somewhat partial account of a wide range of musical endeavour. Indeed, part of the fascination lies in just how personal an account it is. It was enjoyable to read enthusiastically detailed accounts of particular albums - like the early Incredible String Band stuff - but puzzling, though not in any bothersome way, as to why other seemingly worthy albums are given just brief nods, or ignored completely.

The essential thesis of the book - that a nostalgic drive to find once more, or somehow embody, a version of a lost paradise related in some sense to the landscape is central to the music of the British Isles - seems to me accurate and useful as a very loosely organising principle. And the loose organisation of Electric Eden I found delightfully relaxing. Above all, this music should be in some sense loose and fun. Actually there were more than a few examples of downright silliness involved on the parts of the various participants: always a good thing.