STEVE
TILSTON
“An Acoustic Confusion”
An instantly captivating, all-original
acoustic album of great depth and
incredible maturity, the debut album
(1971) by acoustic guitarist and songwriter,
Steve Tilston. As for the making of the album:
“It was Ralph McTell who very kindly contacted
Ian Anderson of Village Thing on my behalf,"
Tilston explained. "I followed it up and
secured a meeting with Ian and a gig at the
Troubadour Folk Club. I’d met Ralph through
Wizz Jones at Les Cousins in Soho, and he’d
been very complimentary about my playing and
writing.” One hears echoes of Tilston's
mentors and contemporaries in England’s
vibrant folk scene of the time: Bert Jansch
(the fifth track, 'Train Time,' sounds to
these ears eerily like early Jansch); John
Renbourn; Ralph McTell; Wizz Jones; Davey
Graham; and Nick Drake. Solo guitar and
vocals, all recorded without over-dubbing,
plus group performances with Village
Thing label-mates Dave Evans, John Turner
(Hunt & Turner), and others. The end
result was an important piece of
Britain’s folk tapestry, which launched
Tilston into the limelight, and onto
Transatlantic Records, just in time for their
implosion. This deluxe edition of “An
Acoustic Confusion” includes five bonus
tracks, including three not included on any
previous editions, in-depth notes by Tilston
himself, lyrics, excerpts from Mark Jones'
fascinating Bristol Folk book, plus
a mini-history of Village Thing by label
co-founder Gef Lucena; there's also a Village
Thing discography to round out the
twenty-eight pages of information. "At
twenty, I was pretty single-minded in my quest
to make an album; looking back,
probably a bit pushy with it, but I was
sitting on this powder keg of
songs and it felt like I had to get them
recorded or I’d explode." —Steve Tilston
Track list:
1. I Really Wanted You (3:54)
2. Simplicity (3:43)
3. Time Has Shown Me Your Face (3:44)
4. It's Not My Place To Fail (3:59)
5. Train Time (3:33)
6. Sleepy Time On Peel Street (3:44)
7. Prospect Of Love (2:24)
8. Green Toothed Gardener (3:22)
9. Normandy Day (3:05)
10. Rock & Roll Star (4:50)
Bonus tracks:
11. The Price Of Life (4:10)
12. Show A Little Kindness (5:00)
13. Time Is Your Gaoler (4:02)
14. Here You Go Again (3:18)
15. When I See Your Face Again (2:45)
Catalogue number: LION 662
UPC: 778578066222