Duncan Browne

"Give Me Take You" 1968

Duncan Browne's melancholy first album, Give Me, Take You -- released on music impresario Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label in 1968 -- is one wonderfully tender album. Many who are discovering it more than 20 years after its original release are comparing its dulcet introspective tone to Nick Drake's albums. It does fall into a similar English folk vein, though Browne's arrangements are, on the whole, more Baroque, giving the album a semi-classical, regal feel. Browne charted his own classical arrangements and wrote out vocal charts for a choir, but turned to his art school friend David Bretton for song lyrics. It's Bretton's lovely Pre-Raphaelite style phrases, used here in the guise of lyrical content, that fans of this album often react strongly to, one way or another. True, there's a youthful innocence and melancholy that comes off as somewhat naïve sounding, mawkish, and awkward in our modern age -- "Better a tear of truth than smiling lies" is one example -- but this is a minor quibble. Immediate issued only one single from the album, "On the Bombsite," but it failed to connect with listeners. At the time of its release, Oldham's Immediate was reportedly falling apart. He was in financial ruin and reportedly cut the sessions short to save money. The album remained out of print until 2000, when it was issued for the first time on compact disc by the U.K.-based Castle imprint, this time with five bonus tracks dating from Browne's early-'70s sessions when he was recording for the Bell label. ~ Bryan Thomas, All Music Guide

01. Give Me, Take You 02. Ninepence Worth Of Walking 03. Dwarf In A Tree 04. The Ghost Walks 05. Walking You, Pt.1 06. Chloe In The Garden 07. Walking You, Pt.2 08. On The Bombsite 09. I Was, You Weren't 10. Gabilan 11. Alfred Bell 12. The Death Of Neil 13. On The Bombsite (Mono Single)* 14. Alfred Bell (Mono Single) * 15. On The Bombsite (Demo) * 16. Resurrection * 17. Final Asylum *