Several reviews and comments have been received from listeners of the limited vinyl issue of the album ‘The Acetate’ and are listed below:
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Etienne Reyser from Belgium
“Hi Rob,
I received my exemplary of the vinyl (and the bonus CD) yesterday and everything is perfect. I already listened to the album several times and it’s truly a great record.
Thanks so much for providing us so great music.
Please let me know about a future re-issue on vinyl of the “Follow the Sun” album.
I would like to be your first customer for the R.Van Spyk LP.
Best regards.”
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Allen in the USA
“I played the whole album through last night and really enjoyed it! This took me back to the days of 60s folk and folk-rock and the era of political/protest songs that had meaningful lyrics. I’m not sure how much younger people can relate to the songs, but to those who lived during Vietnam and the Civil Rights wars of the 60s, it was all very relevant. I wasn’t sure who was doing most of the singing. Was that your voice as a younger dude? I was listening on my headset, which I really prefer when I want to focus entirely on what I’m hearing, and really enjoyed the rich sounds of the acoustic guitars, one of my favorite instruments. Also liked the sparse, minimalist “live” sounding production; very refreshing.
I’ve loaded this onto my iPod and will doubtless play it again.”
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Alexandre from France
“More than five years have passed since I reviewed “Follow the Sun” and “Come the Day” the lesser known of the Terry Friend commercial releases (who is more famous for his now cult underground folk band Stonefield Tramp). It is therefore high time to have a few words about his beginnings as a musician and his first musical project, which was just reissued in late December 2016 on the Tramp label (or released for the very first time if you consider that the number of original copies of “Going Nowhere”, also known as “The Acetate” can be counted on one hand). The story of this recording is interesting because Terry not only never had the intention to release an album at the time but thought that he was writing poems, not song lyrics. He realized he was wrong, started learning music, called his friend Rob Van Spyk (a folk singer and songwriter) and it’s how a great but unexpected song writing partnership started. All the songs are self-penned and mostly a combination of voices with guitar only with the exception of “Doing Thing Naturally”, “A Country Divided”, “Lady of the East” (three beautiful tunes with flute, among the best pieces on the album) and the opening title (a lovely spoken word song with a typical British feel). The recording quality of the album is obviously raw, there are hit and miss, the guitar playing is sometimes plain (particularly in the more energetic songs) and the duo was still searching for its identity, but there is a lot to like in this recording. The moodier songs are excellent, the quality of the lyrics is very good, and most importantly, Going Nowhere offers a fascinating lost-in-time atmosphere.
If you only own like three UK private pressing records, I don’t think that “The Acetate” needs to be your fourth, but if you’re a fan of the genre – in other words, if you’re the kind of person who like reading the reviews of the more obscure folk albums on Galactic Ramble and searching all the time for new gems on labels like Deroy, John Hassell Recordings or Acorn – this will be right up your alley and like many of the albums put out by these prestigious labels “Going Nowhere” will perhaps someday become a collector’s item knowing the fact that this reissue is a limited edition of 250 copies. “The Acetate” comes in an elegant cover accompanied by a CD version of the album.”
“The most greatest reissue album of all times !!!
Only one time played, I was fascinated by this record. It sound So simple and pure but deep hollow sound which really brought happiness and charm to my ears. Also as being one of the listener, I was really impressed and satisfied.”
Moon also wrote a review in Korean and we show an English translation below her original review
“이 음반은 70년도에 녹음되고 제작한 앨범이지만 아세테이트로 (테스트 프레싱)으로만 만들어지고 비닐로는 나오지 않다가 올해 처음으로 비닐과 시디로 나오게 되었네요. 음악은 처음 듣는 순간 단번에 마음을 빼기게 되는 음반이였어요. 귀를 사로잡는 소박하지만 풍부한 소리에 포크에 아름다움이 바로 이런것이 아닐까 생각이 들어요. 지쳐있는 나에게 오랜 가뭄 끝에 단비처럼 따뜻한 마음의 위로가 되었네요.”
“This album was recorded and produced in 1970, but it was made only with acetate (test pressing) and it did not come out with vinyl, but it came out as vinyl and CD for the first time this year. The music was a record that I would like to lose my mind at first when I first heard it. I think that beauty is the kind of simple but rich sound that catches your ears. At the end of a long drought, I became a comforting warm heart like Danbi.”
“For many people and especially artists, even more so musicians, recalling old, long gone, youth amateur creations from a time when things were more innocent and much less anxious than today, without the older age problems, brings welcome memories. In some cases also, due to the current revival interest for old ‘long lost’ recordings to be reissued, pushes them to present that old material for which they are proud today, but did not even realize it back then. One of those cases (much more information and the history beside it can be dug from the ‘www.stonefield-tramp.com‘ page) is the one by Rob van Spyk and Terry Friend. Their never really issued before, apart for a few demos, nice acoustic folk album from the early 70s known as ‘The Acetate’ just got it’s private limited release. It is a product from that creative era, when success and promotion was not sought or easy to achieve. A very welcome one pressed on vinyl accompanied by the CD, will surely please all those collectors and fans of this type of music, enabling them to fully enjoy at last this gem. It certainly contains interesting arrangements and flows very nicely all together. Lyrics with a meaning and criticism and the whole dreamy atmosphere and melodies push for repeated listening. Similarities with other folk albums of the era exist but holds it’s place securely and the lo-fi recording helps. I recommend it for sure to all those who treasure the 70’s for the fine music that showed up back then in big contrast to what mostly happens today. “
“best wishes to all!”
Greek Translation:
“Πολλοί άνθρωποι, κυρίως καλλιτέχνες και δη μουσικοί, ενθυμούμενοι τα παλιά, που έχουν περάσει προ πολλού, και τις νεανικές ερασιτεχνικές τους δημιουργίες από χρόνους, όταν τα πράγματα ήταν πιο αθώα και πολύ λιγότερο άγχος από ό, τι σήμερα, χωρίς τα μεγαλύτερα προβλήματα της ηλικίας, φέρνουν στο νου τους ευπρόσδεκτες αναμνήσεις. Σε ορισμένες περιπτώσεις, επίσης, λόγω του τρέχουντος ενδιαφέροντος για αναβίωση παλαιών «χαμένων» ηχογραφήσεων σε επανεκδόσεις, τους ωθεί να παρουσιάσουν αυτό το παλιό υλικό για το οποίο είναι περήφανοι σήμερα, αλλά δεν το συνειδητοποιούσαν αρκετά τότε. Μία από αυτές τις περιπτώσεις (πολύ περισσότερες πληροφορίες και την ιστορία τη σελίδα «www.stonefield-tramp.com») είναι ηχογραφήσεις από τους Rob van SPYK και Terry Friend. Δεν έχουν εκδοθεί πραγματικά πριν, εκτός για λίγα demo και περιέχουν θαυμάσια ακουστική folk από τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του ’70 που ήταν είναι γνωστές ως «THE ACETATE» πλέον σε προσωπική περιορισμένη έκδοση. Είναι ηχογραφήσεις από μια δημιουργική εποχή, όταν η επιτυχία και η προώθηση δεν επιζητήθηκε ή ήταν εύκολο να επιτευχθεί. Μία πολύ ευπρόσδεκτη έκδοση σε βινύλιο που συνοδεύεται από το CD, θα ευχαριστήσει σίγουρα όλα αυτά τα συλλέκτες και τους οπαδούς αυτού του είδους της μουσικής, δίνοντάς τους τη δυνατότητα να απολαμβάνουν πλήρως επιτέλους αυτό το στολίδι. Περιέχει σίγουρα ενδιαφέρουσες ενορχηστρώσεις και μουσική και μουσική που ρέει με συνέχεια πολύ όμορφα. Στίχοι με νόημα και κριτική στα τότε δρώμενα, ονειρική ατμόσφαιρα και μελωδίες πιέζει για επαναλαμβανόμενη ακρόαση. Ομοιότητες με τα άλλα folk άλμπουμ της εποχής υπάρχουν, αλλά κρατά τη θέση του με ασφάλεια και η lo-fi εγγραφή βοηθά. Θα ήθελα να συστήσω σίγουρα σε όλους όσους αυτό το θησαυρό των 70s για τη τίμια αυθεντική μουσική που περιέχει σε μεγάλη αντίθεση με ό, τι συμβαίνει συνήθως σήμερα. “”
“τις καλύτερες ευχές σε όλους!”
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Chris, England.
Artist and Graphic designer.
‘Wow Terry! These songs would not have been out of place at Woodstock!’ On hearing the test pressing for the Acetate album.
Thanks for reading.