Bridget St. John - Songs To Keep You Company (1974)

Bridget St John (born Bridget Anne Hobbs) was born on 4 October 1946 in Surrey, England, and grew up in a musical household where her mother and sisters were all accomplished pianists. She took piano lessons at her mother's behest, but she did not get along with her teacher and quit when she was 11, later studying the viola for two years and then the trumpet for two years, before she bought her first guitar with £20 that her grandmother gave her shortly before she finished high school. In 1967, she spent three months in Aix-en-Provence as part of her French studies, and during this period she met American singer-songwriter Robin Frederick, who introduced her to John Martyn when they both returned to London. He was instrumental in getting her music out to a larger audience, and a mutual friend, Pete Roche, put her in touch with John Peel, and in 1968 she recorded four songs for his 'Nightride' radio show, using Al Stewart's ReVox tape recorder. Peel and Clive Selwood originally formed Dandelion Records just to release St John's music, and her 1969 debut album 'Ask Me No Questions' was produced by Peel, and recorded in nine to ten hours. In 1970, she duetted with Kevin Ayers on 'The Oyster And The Flying Fish for his 'Shooting At The Moon record, and her own second album was released the following year, with 'Songs For The Gentle Man' being was produced by Ron Geesin. This was a significant step up from her debut, and contained string arrangements mostly by Geesin himself, particularly striking on the opening track 'A Day A Way' and 'Seagull- Sunday'. Her third album 'Thank You For...' was released in 1972, and was even more ambitious using more musicians to create a folk-rock sound. The was her last album for the Dandelion label, however, which folded due to its artists' lack of commercial success, and St John's adventurous fourth album 'Jumblequeen' was released through Chrysalis Records in 1974. St John emigrated to Greenwich Village in 1976 and virtually disappeared from the public eye for over 20 years, re-emerging in 1993 for the Strawbs 25th Anniversary festival, and three years later she rleased a 'come-back' album, 'Take The Fifth', and appeared at a Nick Drake tribute concert in New York City in 1999. John Peel was always a huge fan of her wotk, describing her as "the best lady singer-songwriter in the country", and she recorded a number of sessions for his programmes, one of which included her affectionate ditty 'Pig And Peel' dedicated to Peel and his wife Sheila, who's nickname was The Pig. This collection of rare recordings includeds a number of those sessions tracks which never appeared on any of her albums, plus a few non-album singles and their b-sides, and a lovely live take of John Martyn's 'Head And Heart from 1974.   

Track listing

01 The River (John Peel session 1969)
02 Song To Keep You Company (John Peel session 1969)
03 Night In The City (John Peel session 1969)
04 If You've Got Money (single 1970)
05 Yep (b-side of 'If You've Got Money')
06 The Leaves Of Lime (John Peel session 1970)
07 There's A Place I Know (b-side of 'Fly High' 1972)
08 Suzanne (b-side of 'Fly High' 1972)
09 Passin' Thru' (single 1973)
10 The Road Was Lonely On My Own (b-side of 'Passin' Thru')
11 Choosing You Lose One (John Peel session 1973)
12 Head And Heart (Radio 1 In Concert 1974)
13 The Present Song/Pig'n'Peel (John Peel session 1974)