Bridget St. John

"Ask Me No Questions" 1969

Bridget St John was one of the first acts signed to John Peel's legendary Dandelion Records. Cherry Red are re-releasing her first three albums with several bonus tracks that are appearing on CD for the first time. The first two albums also feature John Martyn playing guitar on some tracks. Ask Me No Questions was originally released in 1969. 'The music within was a treasure trove -- friendly, poetic, organic, a little sparse maybe but played and sung for all the right reasons. John Peel served as producer and guide after hosting Bridget at the BBC studios. The album opened with the two songs chosen for her debut 7" and both were staples of her live repertoire. 'Curl Your Toes' was exactly what it said, sung in that sunny low register one always associates with Bridget. The album's title track was its piece de resistance -- a magnificent sound picture of pastoral England and a fine companion piece to the Floyd's 'Grantchester Meadow' -- an amazing number with harmony vocals and second guitar by John Martyn, with its middle section full of the sounds of the countryside before the guitars come back a second time. Sadly, Ask Me No Questions did not sell in huge quantities but it certainly gained her a small but dedicated following and laid the foundations for her albums that followed in the 1970s -- and its naive and minimal production values, delicate playing and heartfelt singing make it an album I return to often especially when I want to evoke the atmosphere of the late '60s.' --Nigel Cross, linernotes.


"Songs for the Gentle Man" 1971

This was Bridget St. John's second album, originally released in 1971. "If her debut album had shown little in the way of 'production values,' then her second LP tipped towards the other end of the scale. Recorded at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, where everybody from Fairport to Nick Drake had made albums, this was a far more sophisticated work than its predecessor. And a more confident and outward-looking Bridget had emerged from its shadows too! The album opened with 'A Day A Way,' with Bridget's gentle lilting voice and guitar gliding in and out of the lush woodwinds. Organized around a small chamber orchestra, Songs For the Gentle Man was replete with strings, horn and piano. As critic and author Kim cooper, writing about it in Lost in the Grooves, so eloquently expressed, this is 'a set of cool, pastel originals garnished with a pinch of John Martyn or a splash of Donovan... Imagine a Nico of the buttercups, all sunshine, smiles and cautious optimism... a small record, yet one that fills the room and lingers.'" --Nigel Cross, linernotes.

Buy