Jackson C. Frank has one of the more sad stories in music history.
The good news is the music he created is fantastic.
He was a part of the folk music scene in the early/mid 60s. He only released one full length album in
1965, which is self titled and beautiful. It's a melancholy collection of songs, but it's one of my favorite records. Frank's voice is strong and deep. I feel like it brings a lot of emotion to the songs he sings. I like the fact also that the songs sound a little faraway, like the equipment they were recorded on was old and on the brink of death. Oh yeah, and it was produced with said eloquence by Paul Simon-- yeah, the Paul Simon.
Although he was American, Frank was thick in the scene of musicians in London in the mid 60s, and that's also where Paul Simon happened to be. Frank was also friends with Sandy Denny, even dated her for a while, Bert Jansch, who covered "Blues Run the Game," Al Stewart and more. Nick Drake also covered several of his songs and Roy Harper is said to have written a song about him.
Frank was able to pay for his initial boat ride to England due to a long-awaited insurance check-- when he was 11, while he was in music class, his school caught fire and he was one of the injured students, with bad burns covering much of his body. Ten years later and with that check in hand, he lived the high life in England for a while, arriving at just the moment when folk and music in general was really taking off in swinging London.
The good news is the music he created is fantastic.
He was a part of the folk music scene in the early/mid 60s. He only released one full length album in
1965, which is self titled and beautiful. It's a melancholy collection of songs, but it's one of my favorite records. Frank's voice is strong and deep. I feel like it brings a lot of emotion to the songs he sings. I like the fact also that the songs sound a little faraway, like the equipment they were recorded on was old and on the brink of death. Oh yeah, and it was produced with said eloquence by Paul Simon-- yeah, the Paul Simon. Although he was American, Frank was thick in the scene of musicians in London in the mid 60s, and that's also where Paul Simon happened to be. Frank was also friends with Sandy Denny, even dated her for a while, Bert Jansch, who covered "Blues Run the Game," Al Stewart and more. Nick Drake also covered several of his songs and Roy Harper is said to have written a song about him.Frank was able to pay for his initial boat ride to England due to a long-awaited insurance check-- when he was 11, while he was in music class, his school caught fire and he was one of the injured students, with bad burns covering much of his body. Ten years later and with that check in hand, he lived the high life in England for a while, arriving at just the moment when folk and music in general was really taking off in swinging London.
pain! The woman who plays her, Marion Cotillard, truly becomes Edith and is likely to garner an Oscar nomination for her acting skills. I liked how the film flashes between Edith's life at all different stages and ages-- it's not a linear narrative and that makes it all the more compelling. In rapid succession we see both what Edith becomes and why she became that way, where she has come from.
From there Edith's life takes off in many different directions and she eventually became the singer we have all enjoyed. She's got such a dramatic and intense personality and it bleeds right into her performances! Before watching this film I really had no idea about her back story, other than (of course) that she was French and called "The Sparrow." Her life was full of roughness and not much love, except when she was on stage performing. The film does a good job of showing how Edith becomes addicted to many things, but especially to performing on stage. It's the one place she can feel flawless. Her life shifts quickly and often between the highest highs and the lowest lows. It's both compelling and painful to watch.
It's a simple but complicated film about two people who meet in Dublin and begin writing songs together. There's not terribly much plot to it, but I thought it was fantastic. Nothing seems contrived in this movie, it all feels completely real. It truly captured a tone, a beautiful feeling of not only melancholy but also joy and inspiration. There's not much dialogue and most of the communicating actually goes on through the music, which really makes this film different and intriguing. 
em (without ever having seen the movie) and discover how fantastic and genuine they truly are. Watching the film last night reminded me of the feeling I had when we met: Once, like Glen and Marketa themselves (and their equally tremendous road manager Howard), kinda grabbed me right away and I could tell everything was going to be great from just a few minutes in. 
attention. There's no pandering to the audience in this movie, and that's one of its most refreshing details. There's also a hell of a lot of chemistry between the two main characters and it's compelling to watch and become absorbed in. When I finished the movie, I wanted to watch it again right away, which is an unusual feeling!
KL: George. I wept the day he died. I think I always identified with him. John was wonderful, but in a more outspoken way, whereas George was always thoughtful and understated. He lived his live quietly and peacefully. I once cut a quote out of a magazine where George tells what he said to the intruder who stabbed him at home: “I just shouted 'Hare krishna, hare krishna!'” Oh, George.
different, absorbingly evocative element to the song, creating an almost hymn like sound, and I'm always most pleased with Antony's work when he just accompanies himself with an acoustic piano.