THANK YOU FROM AMERICA

Having recently read your piece about Brian Jones, and part two of the Island Records feature in RC335, I have to say that I appreciated the fair treatment given to the much-maligned Brian. I almost passed on the article because I’d grown so tired of the nastier press regarding his treatment of women, his drug abuse, his petulant behaviour, and the mysteries surrounding his sensationalised death. But then I told myself you would rise above all this, and so what do we get? An examination of his musicianship. Nice work.

Growing up in America I was always a fan of the Island label itself, but many of the artists appeared in America on a number of different labels, especially A&M, Chrysalis, Polydor, Atlantic and Cotillion. When I was buying all those records back then I was completely unaware of their affiliation with the Island which I recognised primarily through buying Traffic records. To now discover that they were all products of the Island roster is a revelation, and just reinforces what a superb label Island was.

Barry Winton’s evaluation of the records is mostly dead on, and it was interesting to me what a large role those Various Artist samplers played in giving listeners their first exposure to many of Island’s artists. Your magazine reads like a letter from an overseas buddy who listens to the same music as I do, and who never tires of discussing it into the wee hours of the morning. I wonder, does England realise what an enormous impact British music has had on the lives of millions of Americans like me who came of age in the 1960s and 70s? This subscription is turning out to be the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.

by Tim Frueh
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