Plainsong - Reinventing Richard (2015)

The return of Plainsong! After producer Joe Boyd suggested “Reno Nevada” for Fairport Convention, Iain Matthews became intrigued with the work of Richard Fariña (1933-1966) – songwriter, author, and counter-culture icon. Even though his band Plainsong “retired” in 2012, when founders Matthews and Andy Roberts joined with later member Mark Griffiths, and decided to pay tribute to Fariña, there was no doubt the resulting album, Reinventing Richard: The Songs Of Richard Fariña, should be a Plainsong release. Fariña was tragically killed in a tragic motorcycle accident in 1966, just after the release of his classic novel Been Down So Long It Looks Up To Me. Aside from that book’s stature, it was the trio of albums he released with his wife Mimi (sister of Joan Baez) that solidified him as a folk legend. Celebrations for a Grey Day (1965) was chosen by Robert Shelton of The New York Times as one of the ten best folk albums of the year. Reflections in a Crystal Wind followed. The third came after his passing. A labor of love and remembrance from those who admire his work, Plainsong’s Reinventing Richard takes this incredible writer’s material and weaves it in the harmonies and instrumentation of Matthews, Roberts and Griffiths. To make it more special, Reinventing Richard contains a performance with Clive Gregson (“Another Country”), as well as the first release of a previously unrecorded Fariña track, “Sombre Winds.” With Reinventing Richard, Plainsong has produced a classic album that imagines how his songs might have sounded if written and first recorded in a 21st century electro/acoustic setting. Ever inventive and sonically stunning, Reinventing Richard is destined to be judged amongst the very best of 2015.