Russell asked: "clearly different musical groups that we all like are influenced by and have influence on each other. Can anyone explain which of our favorite groups had this kind of influence on the nields, and which bands have been influenced by them. In other words, when exactly did this unique blend of folk and rock, evident in bands such as Dar and the Kennedys, start?"
Um, nice try there, Russell. ;-)
There's way too much information for one post here. So I'll try to be brief, like I'm ever that.
I've always felt that the Byrds started folk-rock, especially with their mega-hit versions of Bob Dylan (Mister Tambourine Man) and Pete Seeger (Turn, Turn, Turn). Of course Dylan getting booed at Newport for "plugging in" may well have been a watershed moment for folk-rock as well.
"Sounds of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel was a major early folk rock hit on the radio, as was Judy Collins' cover of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now." There was a lot of other cross-pollination between folk and rock going on in the 60's, besides. I think at once of PP&M crossing over with "I Dig Rock and Roll Music" and of Donovan crossing over with any number of his own psychedelicized folk-rock classics.
Jangly Byrds-influenced folk-rock had a renascence of sorts in the 80's with the likes of Tom Petty, World Party, REM, and 10,000 Maniacs grabbing chart attention. One Maniacs hit was a sendup of Cat Stevens' "Peace Train," which they later regretted doing, if I remember correctly. Folk-rock went underground in the 70's during the disco era but never really died out. In the 90's, all heck broke loose with more folk-rock and jangly poets than you could shake a stick at. Dar, the Nields, the Kennedys, EFO, Moxy Fruvous, and even the Maggies are all evidence of that. I think immediately, too, of the boom in women artists such as Jewel, Natalie Merchant, Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman, Sarah McLachlan, Loreena McKennitt, Michelle Shocked, Lisa Loeb, the Story, the Indigo Girls, and tons of others besides who sounded very folky indeed in many of their rockin' anthems for the New Generation.
Nerissa said recently that "On the Range" was influenced by Dar. And Nerissa has often cited Dar as a big influence on other occasions as well.
Personally, I think both "Strawberry Girl" and "Yesterday's Girl" betray the influence of The Kennedys, but that may just be me.
When TN did their "Leaving On a Jet Plane" mock disco version in '97, it just had to be the direct influence of Moxy Fruvous, whom they had just toured with.
"Where Did It Go" sounds a lot like an Aimee Mann song, "I've Had It." Both TN and Aimee Mann sound very Beatles influenced to me, but then the Beatles have undoubtedly influenced just about everyone, I suppose. "Jeremy Newborn Street" is very reminiscent of "Penny Lane," at any rate.
TN have covered more than one Hank Williams song over the years. "He Loves the Road More Than Me" was directly influenced by Willie Nelson, and "Me & Little Andy" is a cop from Dolly Parton. Influences run everywhere, like electricity through the nation's power lines, like water in the bedrock under everyone's sinkholes and wells.
"Goodnight Irene" is from Leadbelly; "For What It's Worth" is from Buffalo Springfield (one of the very best unrecorded Nields Apocrypha versions IMO). At last summer's festivals, TN or the Probe covered Phil Ochs (Clearwater) and Woody Guthrie (FRFF).
Nerissa has been playing a few bars of Arlo's "Alice's Restaurant" off and on for months now, when the full-band (may she rest in peace) did "Superhero Soup." Arlo's a lot folkier than the Who (Baba O'Riley), the Led Zep (Stairway to Heaven), and the Deep Purple riffs (Smoke on the Water, in 95) they've done in the past for that song!
See, Russell? You should not have asked. :)
© 2001