Nic Jones
Nic Jones (full name Nicolas Paul Jones) was born on 9 January 1947 in the English town of Orpington, Kent. He is one of the most enduring artists to come out of the 70s English folk revival. Although he originally styled himself as a folk singer, his fame rests largely on his skill as a guitarist and in composing memorable arrangements for traditional songs.
Biography
His early musical interests included acts like Ray Charles and The Shadows. He first learned to play guitar while at school. His interest in folk music was aroused by some old school friends who had formed into a folk band called the Halliard. When the members of the Halliard decided to turn professional, one of them left to pursue a different career and Nic was invited to take his place. Whilst playing with the Halliard, Nic learned how to play the fiddle, and also how to research and arrange traditional material.
The Halliard split up in 1968 as the members decided to pursue individual interests. For Nic, after a period at home with his family, this meant forging a career as a solo artist. At first finding work as a session musician, his solo career eventually took off and he recorded five solo albums, plus contributions to another album with the folk act Bandoggs.
In February 1982, he was involved in a serious car accident while driving home after performing at Glossop Folk Club. He broke a large number of bones and suffered some brain damage and was hospitalised for eight months. Although he survived, he still suffers co-ordination problems and feels he is unable to play the guitar well enough to perform and record. He can no longer play the fiddle at all.
Nic now lives in Devon and continues to play guitar and write songs for his own pleasure. He has also developed a passion for chess. His wife, Julia, set up the record label Mollie Music which has issued three albums of re-mastered live recordings from Nic's early career.
Guitar Style
Nic's guitar style was unique in its day and has often been imitated since. He played with a plastic thumb pick but not his fingernails. Instead he opted to grasp and pluck the strings of the guitar which led to the slapping down onto the fingerboard with no small force. The off-beat, percussive 'ping' sound which became his signature on the later albums is produced by a technique known as frailing, used by banjo players. The middle fingertip of the plucking hand is held behind the base of the thumb and then quickly flicked out and back in, striking the D-string with the main part of the nail.
He was also frequent user of open tunings, particularly in C and G.
It is interesting to note that Nic started out styling himself as a folk singer who played the guitar simply to accompany his singing on a few songs but his lasting fame rests largely on his hugely impressive guitar work.
Discography
Nic's first four albums were originally released on vinyl on the Trailer label. All four albums are highly regarded. However, the label that now owns them, Celtic Music, has made only the first two available on CD. Even then, their availability is limited to Amazon UK, being sold there by Music By Mail, a sister company of Celtic Music. Celtic Music, for reasons best known to themselves, are reluctant to issue the remaining two on CD stating, in early 2008, that they may become available soon.
With the Halliard:
- It's The Irish In Me - The Halliard (1967)
- The Halliard and Jon Raven (1967)
As a member of Bandoggs (Pete and Chris Coe and Tony Rose)
- Bandoggs (1978)
As a session musician with Maddy Prior and June Tabor
- Silly Sisters (1976)
- Nic has made vocal, guitar and violin contributions on many other recordings with numerous folk artists
Solo, now Unavailable:
- The Noah's Ark Trap (1977)
- From the Devil to a Stranger (1978)
Solo, still available:
- Ballads and Songs (1970)
- Nic Jones (1971)
- Penguin Eggs (1980)
- In Search of Nic Jones (1998) (remastered live material)
- Unearthed (2001) (remastered live material)
- Game Set Match (2006) (remastered live material)
In 1999, John Wesley Harding released a tribute album entitled Trad Arr Jones.
In 2001, Penguin Eggs was voted the 2nd best folk album of all time by listeners of the Mike Harding show on BBC Radio 2. The opening track on this album, Canadee-I-O, besides being an excellent example of Nic's guitar style is notable because it was recorded by Bob Dylan and included on his 1992 album Good as I Been to You. Whilst Canadee-I-O is a traditional folk song, some critics have accused Dylan of stealing Nic's arrangements for this song without credit or the offer of royalties. Others disagree, and believe the arrangements to be different. Another school of thought is that the arranger's copyright on recordings of traditional songs is little more than a legal fiction, allowing artists to receive "mechanical royalty payments" that would otherwise be kept by their recording labels. See the links below for further discussion on this issue.