On our travels we decided to visit Ripon Cathedral before breakfast. This was one of the highlights of our trip, for me. I do love Yorkshire and would go to Ripon frequently when I lived in Knaresborough. The cathedral was always a place I would want to go to but seldom had the time. On this occasion we decided to set off a little later and took in this gorgeous landmark. Its full name is the Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid and was founded in the 660s as a monestary. The church we see today is the fourth iteration of the original.
The church became collegiate in the tenth century, and acted as a mother church within the large Diocese of York for the remainder of the Middle Ages. The present church is the fourth, and was built between the 13th and 16th centuries. In 1836 the church became the cathedral for the Diocese of Ripon. In 2014 the Diocese was incorporated into the new Diocese of Leeds, and the church became one of three co-equal cathedrals of the Bishop of Leeds. Wikipedia
This was a highlight of the trip for me by Harrold Gosney of York. It is titled Mother and Child and was commissioned in thanksgiving for the life of Simon Staveley (1949-1998). Some might choose to observe this as St Mary with the child Jesus but I shall leave this to the viewer. I was touched by this. The haunting glare, the delicate affection of the physical contact as well as the joy from the child at seeing his mother was particularly moving. A joyful piece on permanent display.
The Great East Window was also a highlight of the visit. You will forgive the long inset quote below but each part of it is pertinent. We were not able to get very close to it as there was an event occurring at the time, I believe it was the rosary.
The wonderful medieval “Geometric” East window, “almost the length of a cricket pitch”, celebrates in stone the living and eternal God as the Trinity. The vibrant 19th century stained-glass portrays the risen Christ and his apostles. Below, the high altar is surrounded by the glittering, golden screen created by Sir Ninian Comper and were given in tribute to those to who lost their lives in World War 1. The many gold figures recall the story of the Christian faith and hope coming to the North of England from both Celtic and Roman Christian traditions. The figures above celebrate the triumph of life over death and of good over evil, with the youthful, beardless, risen Christ perhaps being a reference to the young men who lost their lives in World War 1. Ripon Cathedral
And finally a bit about the bells at the Minster for any campanologists and/or bell ringers who might be reading.
A ring of 12 bells with an additional ‘flat sixth’ bell is hung in the south-west tower. A diatonic ring of ten bells was cast in 1932, and three additional bells were installed in 2008 with two new trebles being added to give a diatonic ring of twelve, and an additional ‘flat sixth’ bell to give a light ring of eight. Wikipedia
Moving into August with my five favourite album covers, we have some cracking ones for you below. Let’s lunge right in, as Lady C often says.
Fela Kuti and the Afrika 70 – Gentleman – 1973
I mean come on. This is superb. I advise you to listen to the track ahead of appreciating the cover. Fela had come back from a trip to the West radicalised against the powers who had oppressed Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Fela was particularly aggrieved by Africans going to the West and coming back with airs of grandeur, dressing in the Western way despite the heat of Nigeria and being generally superior. In this record, he eviscerates those he considers ‘been tos’ in a most excellent way. The cover is a continuation of this, with Fela dressing a monkey in a suit to highlight the idiocy he perceived.
Deee-Lite – World Clique – 1990
I have purchased the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die book. This was one of the first in the 1990s chapter. This used to be one of my favourite albums. I had not realised until recently how excellent the cover art is. One reflects while listening that this is one of the albums which defined the sound of the 90s. The album itself is excellent but the cover is next level. Look at the damn shoes! Look at the colours in the trousers. Look at the facial hair. This is so deliciously whacky.
Julian Cope – Fear – 1984
He’s taken enough LSD to kill lesser mortals, was once photographed naked under a turtle shell on a slag heap for an LP cover… PRS For Music
Julian Cope, wearing a turtle shell, looking at a toy truck, on a slag heap in Alvecote Warwickshire. No further comment needed. The album itself is triumphant but the cover is almost as great. He was nude under the shell, by the way.
Prince – Lovesexy – 1988
Speaking of nudity, this cover by Prince is immense to me. The pride Prince must have had in himself and the body confidence to pose nude on a bed of superimposed flowers, quite blazé, is astonishing to me. Fun fact: I was once in a band. A few of us in high school were in a band called Tokyo Train. One of my bandmates asked me “if the combination of a movie and music is a musical, what would be the combination of a musical and a game?”, “why, a gaysical, I responded”. Thus was born the concept of a gaysical. My bandmate Daniel, who was and remains a man of profound genius, made a game from scratch and added our music to it. I got to choose my character and I asked for a character in the style of the above cover, wearing only white gloves and socks. Daniel pulled through, though my character could only walk backwards. I wish I could find a photograph for you, it was magnificent.
Grace Jones – Warm Leatherette – 1980
Finally staying with tradition, feast your eyes on Grace Jones’ 1980 cover of Warm Leatherette. The stern stance, the piercing stare, the exaggerated arms and the double letters all lend themselves to almost a violent cover. It seems meant to destabilise you. Her skin is resplendent and her hair is precision cut – the holistic visual result of this is very powerful to me. It reminds me of some of the lyrics in Private Life, one of her first breakout hits:
Your sentimental gestures only bore me to death
You’ve made a desperate appeal now save your breath
Attachment to obligation through guilt and regret
Shit that’s so wet
And your sex life complications are not my fascinations
Well that is about it from the August Edition of Five Favourites. I trust you enjoyed!
Our penultimate day of travel, from Ripon to Bishop Wilton, saw us stop for breakfast at Oliver’s Pantry. I recall Nick asking me if we could go to some lesser cafe because there was a statuette of Tin Tin in the window. I did away with his Aryan proclivity and put my foot down on Oliver’s, and what a triumph it was. I would have to say this is among the finest breakfasts I have had in Yorkshire and wish I could have eaten more.
I have known Nick a long time and I think only on one occasion did he opt not to eat the Full English. At Olli’s the full English was absolutely lovely. The sausage was local, rather than Danish as in full English breakfasts across the land. The bacon was likely Danish but the egg was poached beautifully, wherever it was from. Clean plate and positive grunt is always a positive from Nick.
I had the chorizo hash which consisted of, you’ve guessed it, chorizo, sauteéd potatoes, poached egg and delicious red peppers. This was an explosion of flavour which was only enhanced by the enormous amount of oozing cheese poured all over it. I pity their washing machine. The potatoes were a triumph I thought, beautiful fluffy and soft but still solid. The acidity of the chorizo pierced through the other softer flavours on the plate and delivered a balanced and excellent breakfast, which gave me plenty of energy for the ride ahead.
Finally I should like to draw your attention to this delightful doggy that we saw on our way back to the hotel. A highlight in our brief sojourn through Ripon.
Knaresborough Castle is not on the route for the Way of The Roses. However, the ride from Grassington to Ripon was not challenging enough for me so I undertook to ride to Knaresborough and back, partly to bulk up the mileage and partly to revisit the town where I spent many of my formative years. Also in honesty I did want a photograph of my beautiful cycle with the viaduct in the background, which I got.
Knaresborough castle was first built around 1100 by a Norman Baron and later worked on by King Henry I, or more likely one of his subordinates. As an interesting historical tidbit, Hugh de Moreville and his followers took refuge there after assassinating Thomas Becket in the 1170s. The castle was taken by Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War in 1644 and largely destroyed in 1648, on Parliament orders to destroy all Royalist castles. We can see Knaresborough castle stone in buildings throughout the town itself. See if you can spot some on your next visit.
The view from Knaresborough castle was one of my favourite views in the town. Indeed it was likely one of my favourite places in the whole world. I think it remains so, along with Montrésor, France, Clent Hills in Birmingham and Belvedere del Gianicolo in Rome, to name a few. The view of the viaduct, conceived by Thomas Grainer in 1851 and now owned by Northern Rail, is quite sensational. Taking a train either towards York or Leeds, going through Knaresborough, one can actually cross the viaduct. The view is difficult to capture on account of Northern Rail’s characteristically grubby windows, but can be seen very well with the naked eye.
While on your way out, I cannot recommend enough sampling one of Mrs Hirst’s apple squares from Hirsts Bakery, next to the bus station. This was one of my favourite treats in my years in K Town Massif, as the youth used to call it. Further, when I told Mrs Hirst that I had cycled from Morecambe to sample it, I was informed that had to be a new record!
Four tracks, 45 minutes 30 seconds. This is as close to prog soul as can be. Elongated jam sessions by the Bar-Kays (The Bar-Kays are an American soul, R&B, and funk group formed in 1966) contribute to making this one of the most astonishing soul / funk albums ever. Recorded at the end of the 60s, the album provided something to music which was totally new. It is up there with Parliament, James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone. The album was recorded in Ardent Studios in Memphis.
Though not quite as definitive as Black Moses or as well-known as Shaft, Hot Buttered Soul remains an undeniably seminal record; it stretched its songs far beyond the traditional three-to-four-minute industry norm, featured long instrumental stretches where the Bar-Kays stole the spotlight, and it introduced a new, iconic persona for soul with Hayes’ tough yet sensual image. Allmusic
Walk On By
The album opens with a 12 minute version of Walk on By (original by Dionne Warwick, composed by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David). The definitive version of this is the one by the Stranglers for me. However, this is a really excellent and strong track. At points it is ethereal almost, and makes the listener feel as though they are floating on music. The track is so ambitious and excessive, throwing you into the deep end right from the start and not letting up until the end.
It stood as a newer, funkier phase of Southern soul, but it hinged on a sound more opulent than the most sharp-suited Motown crossover bid. It’s an exercise in melodrama and indulgence that lays it on so heavy it’s impossible not to hear it as anything but the stone truth. Pitchfork
Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic
A sensational Memphis soul / funk hybrid, this is for me the greatest on the album. The opening piano does not prepare you for the magnificence that is to follow. His butter smooth lyrics are so cool. Pitchfork described Hayes’ voice as ‘like a velvet sledgehammer, and rightly too. The progressive encroaching beat gradually takes over the whole track to finish in a crescendo like all encompassing musical medley. This touches my soul in a way which I can hardly put into words.
One Woman
This is the only track on the album which resembles a nominal pop track. To be honest by comparison to the other three this one fades into obscurity but I suppose that was part of the point.
By the Time I Get to Phoenix
With the statement, “I’m talking about the power of love now, I’m telling you what love can do” at the start of Jimmy Webb’s By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Hayes single-handedly launched the ‘love man’ genre that was soon to prevail; the roots of Barry White’s sensual symphonies and Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On can be traced right back to here. BBC Music
This is for me a type of genius in song. Hayes raps extensively and slowly for 8 and a half minutes with no melody, spelling out the story which supports the song, before bursting into melody for the final ten explosive minutes.
And when it finally does transition from Hayes’ conversational murmur to the first actual sung line from the Jimmy Webb composition he’s covering, it’s the beginning of a metamorphosis that gradually transforms the dynamic of the song from sweet-stringed orchestration into full-fledged, brass-packed, explosively-cresting soul. Pitchfork
Over 50 years on, Hot Buttered Soul remains a leading Soul album which has far reaching influence, being sampled extensively in various Hip Hop songs. This is a four track soul masterpiece which holds a high place in my pantheon of great albums. It is no wonder this is number 829 in the 1001 Albums You Should Hear Before You Die.
