Sounds Like West Cornwall in Melody Maker

Journalist, pop obsessive & all-round good egg Richard Morton Jack recently forwarded me a review of Sentinel's debut release, which he stumbled upon in his Melody Maker archives recently. This review appeared in the October 3rd 1970 edition of the paper, and Richard tells me that the Melody Maker's coverage of the Cornish folk scene was fairly widespread in the late 60s/early 70s, so hopefully we can expect more from his collection in the future. Please?! Either way, thanks very much for this snippet; how delightful it is to see my Uncle Douglas mentioned not once but twice in its text! Richard's excellent blog can be found here: http://galacticramble.blogspot.com/

This also seems as good a place as any to reproduce some of the sleeve notes (since the music isn't much to my taste) from "Christmas In Cornwall" by the Climax Choir (SENS 1010). These notes are, for me, as pure a statement of a label's intent as "the greatest recording organisation in the world" or "it was easy, it was cheap, go and do it".

"We at Sentinel are endeavouring to present something of the true Cornwall on all our records. We firmly believe that Cornishmen & lovers of Cornwall alike, want to hear the fine sound of our choirs, bands & artists as they really are, and in a natural setting.
"To this end, we refuse to put a 'studio polish' on the sound from our LPs, and shun all studio gimmickry, even though this does present us with many technical problems. Letters from all over the world and reviews from many critics make this point & encourage us in what we are trying to do. We hope that you, the listener, agree with this policy."

Happy Christmas all!

Don't Mention Wogan

The problem with writing a blog about a label like Sentinel is knowing that, sooner or later, I’m going to have to write about a form of music for which I have little enthusiasm. Thus it is with brass & silver bands, which make up a sizable portion of the Sentinel catalogue. Still, this 45 issue of The Helston Flora Dance by the Helston Town Band (SENM 003) is certainly a curio. Released in 1972, it’s a recording I remember from airplay on BBC South West & Radio Cornwall. I always felt a little cheated by the studio sheen on the 1977 hit version by the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band (the label bills the recording as “The Authentic Helston Flora Dance” making it THE REAL DEAL, guys), not to mention Katie Moss’ extreme re-writing of the piece, so it was something of a nostalgia-fest to find a copy of this single recently. It certainly feels authentic, & bears all the hallmarks of a field recording, definitely lacking the polish of its Yorkshire cousin. Hurrah!

The flip is a location recording of another traditional Cornish festival, that of the Padstow Obby Oss. Now, as a former Newlyn resident, Padstow was a bit “up country” for me, but I gather Obby Oss Day served a similar purpose to that of the Helston Flora Day, in that it marked the passing of the winter months and the arrival of spring (both festivals occur at the start of May within days of each other). If these recordings are anything to go by, Padstow sounds like a rather more rambunctious celebration than its Helston equivalent. That’s North Cornwall for you.

The Flora Dance



Padstow Obby Oss

The Sound of the Crowdy

If any artist is associated specifically with Sentinel, and indeed with Cornish music in general, it’s folksinger Brenda Wootton. Something of a legend in her home county (and in France too), Brenda deserves a website all her own, although the website that *is* all her own, www.brendawootton.com , is frustratingly lacking in context. There’s no denying that her voice is an acquired taste, but I’m sure we’ll be returning to her recordings again as this blog expands, so if you’re new to her, you can find more background here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Wootton , or, for the purist, here: http://kw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Wootton


Among her most renowned work is the music she made with Robert Bartlett under the name Crowdy Crawn. The duo had a shared past, but were brought together musically by singer-songwriter Michael Chapman while on holiday in the early '70s at his home in Northumberland. Brenda’s voice & persona was never far from the Cornwall she loved, but with Crowdy Crawn there seems to be an attempt to push things beyond being “merely” a cultural ambassador for the west country, and to incorporate occasional pop/rock, latin & blues influences into the mix. Compositions by the likes of Bob Dylan & Antonio Carlos Jobim are included on 1974's “No Song To Sing” SENS 1021, the first LP on which the duo worked together (rather confusingly, Wootton’s previous Crowdy Crawn album was recorded with Cornish language maven Richard Gendall), suggesting a wider worldview than the usual songs of tin mines & pasties. Even so, this music couldn’t have been recorded without the performers being richly steeped in Cornish culture, and Gendall is again on hand to contribute a number of evocative pieces in Wootton’s mother tongue.

Personal picks from the album are Jan Knuckey, a Trad Arr. singalong primary school favourite of mine (thanks Mrs Ellery!), and the rather more reflective Michael Chapman-composed title tune. Great cover too; the drapes, scatter cushions & half-empty Courviosier bottle casually resting atop Bartlett’s Telecaster evoke the spirit of the times as precisely as the music itself does. And more intriguingly, at least in the context of this blog, hidden in the photomontage on the cover is –unless I’m mistaken- a small picture of Job Morris in his Riverbank Studio on The Strand in Newlyn...

Jan Knuckey



No Song to Sing

School Of Rock

Record collecting is a funny old game. It only takes one appearance in a dealer’s catalogue at an inflated price, or a showing on a tastemaker’s list, to send the cost of a record through the roof. Such is the case here, with “Nearly All Our Own Work” SEN LPP 503, performed by the singers, instrumentalists, composers & arrangers of Newquay School, Cornwall. Though its £100+ pricetag rather oversteps the mark, the album is, in fairness, a surprisingly competent –if somewhat ragtag – collection of folk, showtune, balladry, heavy rock and showy instrumental prowess.

The music teacher at Newquay School at the time of this recording was one Goff Richards. Goff was later to become world renowned as an arranger of brass bands, but he was already proving to be something of a visionary in the field of education. He was an acquaintance of Basil Tait, who ran the TC Recording facility in Polzeath, and the two came to an agreement whereby Tait would record a selection of the work of Richards’ students, which would then be “processed” by Sentinel. The recordings were made at the school itself on a single day in 1973 using Tait’s mobile facility (a 4-track in a horse box), and were later issued on both Sentinel & TC Records. Richards went on to fame as an arranger, while Tait & Job Morris returned to recording brass bands & male voice choirs.

So what of the music? The nature of the beast makes it a fairly hit-&-miss affair, but the hit rate of this one is surprisingly high, with many of the folk numbers having a dark, sinister edge. “Jowanet’s Song”, written by Goff & sung by Pip Old, is an evocative solo vocal piece enhanced by tape effects of gulls & crashing waves (if ever there was a “sound of Cornwall”, here is that sound). Peter Brown’s florid piano instrumental “Gift Of The Wind” is strangely redolent of Beach Boys obscurity “The Nearest Faraway Place” (must have been the surf in the air), while “Full Circle” by Company is an engagingly charming harmony folk piece. Sticking out sore-thumb-like are the two rock numbers, ”Turn Around” by Jester, and Effigy’s “Do You Wanna Try It?”, the latter in particular sounding like a harbinger of DIY punk three years before its time. Dig that cowbell! Remarkable stuff.

I’ve not been able to track down an original issue of this one, so many thanks to Rupert Cook for the CD. If you, dear reader, have a copy for sale or trade, do get in touch!


Pip Old - Jowanet's Song

Company - Full Circle

Effigy - Do You Wanna Try It?

Call the Cops

Let’s begin our trawl of the Sentinel catalogue with perhaps its least typical title. Blue were a harmony pop combo from Newquay comprised of five police officers (d’you see what they did there?). This novel angle, together with their smooth sound, led to local tv appearances, success on the touring circuit, and –in November 1975- to victory on Opportunity Knocks, though their success on the show was usurped a week later by Pam Ayres, who went on to effectively define Op Knocks as the 70s equivalent of Britain's Got Talent.
The band's vinyl appearances seem to be limited to this one "souvenir edition" EP SEMS 009, recorded in 1976 at the tail end of their career as a fond “goodnight & thank you” to their fans.

Titles covered on the EP are harmony faves California Dreaming & See You In September, Wings’ perennial Bluebird, and rather less predictably, My Little Girl, originally recorded by Tony Rivers’ sunshine legends Harmony Grass. Find this below, together with their wah-wah-heavy take on Bluebird. Thanks again to Richard at Kernowbeat.

Kernowbeat

I've had some email back-and-forth with Richard Prest from the excellent Kernowbeat http://www.kernowbeat.co.uk website , who has -along with much other info & reminiscences- helped fill in some of the gaps in the discography (now updated). Many thanks, Richard. He also implies that the listing thus far barely scratches the surface of Sentinel's substantial output. Yikes!

So perhaps I should narrow this blog's remit. While Sentinel studios certainly produced many demo cassettes & custom acetates over the years (let's hear it for The Rusty Bottles! The Vendettas!), I'm trying to rein in the scope of this site by restricting the discography to just the mass-produced vinyl issues of the label. For the time being, at least....

Welcome to Penzance

Hello.
This website is an attempt to document the output of Sentinel Records, the Newlyn-based independent label set up by Job Morris in 1970. Information on the web concerning the label is scant; the discography I've compiled here, while incomplete, is as close as I can get to a complete listing of the label's releases. I'm hoping to add further information to the discographies as I find it, and also include reviews of Sentinel's more folk/pop-oriented releases, as well as document -hopefully- a little about the label's history. If you have any information about Joby or his studio set-ups in either Newlyn or Paul, feel free to get in touch!

I was born and raised in Newlyn, and as a pre-teen music fan in the 1970s, I would often encounter these albums in the racks of Chy-An-Stylus, Whites of Alverton or the West Penwith Music Shop. They didn't hold much appeal back then, but I now see them as a real connection to my past.

Here's the discography. Additions & corrections most welcome!

minor updates 11/11/11, 29/11/11 & 21/12/2011
major update 27/02/12
further update 17/03/15

1000 series (S suffix: vinyl+cassette; C suffix: cassette only)

SENS 1001: Various – Sounds Like West Cornwall
SENS 1002: Newlyn Male Choir – Say It with Music
SENS 1003: Newlyn Male Choir - Sounds Like A Golden Jubilee
SENS 1004: St Stithians Silver Band – Sounds Like Silver
SENS 1005: Ron Mason & his Jass Band – By The Beautiful Sea
SENS 1006: Brenda Wootton & John The Fish – Pasties & Cream
SENS 1007: Mousehole Male Voice Choir – Sounds Like Mouzel
SENS 1008: John Barber & The St Ives Minstrels – Cornwall Is Calling
SENS 1009: Devon & Cornwall Police Choir – Sounds Arresting
SENS 1010: Climax Male Choir – The Season’s Best
SENS 1011: Various – Sounds Like North Cornwall
SENS 1012: Cynthia Glover & Company - Victorian Evening
SENS 1013: Climax Male Choir – Born In Song
SENS 1014: The Raymon Hale Singers - Sounds Easy
SENS 1015:
SENS 1016: Brenda Wootton & Richard Gendall – Crowdy Crawn
SENS 1017: Polperro Fishermans Choir – Sounds Like Polperro
SENS 1018: Marian - Easy Listening Piano
SENS 1019: Climax Male Choir – Born In Song Vol 2
SENS 1020: Climax Male Choir/Camborne Town Band – The Reason Why
SENS 1021: Brenda Wootton & Robert Bartlett – No Song To Sing
SENS 1022: St Stithian’s Silver Band – Cornish Silver
SENS 1023: Apollo Male Voice Choir – Apollo 70
SENS 1024: Nankersey Singers – This Is Nankersey
SENS 1025: The Twintones: Eleven Plus Two
SENS 1026: John Austin Big Band – From Glen Miller To Us
SENS 1027: Various – Welcome to North Devon
SENS 1028: Charles Causley – Reads Causley
SENS 1029: Music From Truro Cathedral
SENS 1030: Taw Folk – Devonshire Cream & Cyder
SENS 1031: Brenda Wootton – Starry Gazey Pie
SENS 1032: Treverva, Mabe & Police Choirs - Edgar Kessell Conducts
SENS 1033: Rod Mason – The Plymouth Sound of Rod Mason
SENS 1034: Polperro Fishermens Choir – Polperro Sings Again
SENS 1035: Nankersey Male Voice Singers - With a Voice of Singing
SENS 1036: Brenda Wootton – Children Singing
SENS 1037: Richard Gendall – Tam Kernewek (A Bit of Cornish)
SENS 1038: Holman Climax Male Voice Choir - Sounds Like...
SENS 1039: Holman Climax Male Voice Choir - Collected Hymns & Sacred Songs
SENS 1040: Camborne Town Band
SENS 1041: Stithians Combined Choirs – Sing Again with Sankey
SENS 1042: Camborne Band – Christmas
SENS 1043: Nankersey Male Voice Choir - Deep Harmony
SENS 1044: Various - We wish You A Merry Christmas
SENS 1045: Mousehole Male Voice Choir – Way Down South
SENS 1046: St Stythians Band - Summer Selection
SENS 1047: Climax Male Voice Choir - Born In Song vol 3
SENS 1048: A L Rowse – An Cornishman at Oxford & in America
SENS 1049: Raymon Hale Quintet - I Can Dream
SENS 1050: Camborne Town Band - Camborne In Concert
SENS 1051: Stithians Choirs - Sankey Vol 3
SENS 1052: Polperro Fishermens Choir – When Evening’s Twilight
SENC 1053: Marek Gundelach & Henryk Patecki - Choc Z Dala Jestem Z Kraju
SENC 1054: Eventide at St John's, Torquay
SENC 1055: A L Rowse - Shakespeare's Sonnets & His Dark Lady
SENS 1056: Brenda Wootton – The Way Down To Lamorna
SENS 1057: St Austell Youth Band
SENC 1058: A L Rowse - Cornish Stories & Poems
SENC 1059: Various - West Cornwall Christmas
SENC 1060: A L Rowse - The Elizabethans & America
SENC 1061: Peter Bartle - The Hammond Sound
SENC 1062: Beaufort Male Voice Choir - The best of Beaufort
SENC 1063: St Stythian's Silver Band - Summer Evening Concert
SENC 1064: A L Rowse - Shakespeare's Self Portrait
SENC 1065: A L Rowse - Famous People I Have Known
SENS 1066: Stithians Male Voice & Ladies Choirs -  Sankey, the Fourth Album
SENS 1067: St Dennis Male Voice Choir – In The Male Voice Mood no.3
SENC 1075: Camborne Town Band - Celebration


Sentinel Scotland (5000 series)

SENS 5001: Various – Welcome To Oban
SENS 5002: Hundred Fiddlers – In Concert


Private Record Division (SEN LPP/C series)

SEN LPP 501: Whitstone Male Voice Choir
SEN LPP 502: Stithians Choirs - Echoes of Stithians
SEN LPP 503: Nearly All Our Own Work - Pupils of Newquay School
SEN LPP 504: St Dennis Male Voice Choir - In The Male Voice Mood
SEN LPP 505: Stithians Male Voice Choir and Ladies Choir - Echos Of Stithians
SEN LPP 506: Pheasant Pluckers - Live At The Plume of Feathers
SEN LPP 507: Blue Bayou – Feelin` Blue
SEN LPP 508: Joe Pengelly - Western Sunset Commentary
SEN LPP 509: Binder Twine - Live at the Grampus
SEN LPP 600: Hazel & Ruth –Sing Folk & Gospel
SEN LPP 601: St Gennys Nelson Silver Band -  Memories
SEN LPP 602: Hatherleigh Silver Band - Silver Sounds From Devon
SEN LPP 603: Truro High School - Sing Brown & Gold Days
SEN C 605: Barnstorm
SEN C 606: Port Isaac Singers - There Is Sweet Music Here
SEN C 607: Newlyn Male Voice Choir - On Newlyn Hill

Miscellaneous

BW 1: Dance to the Happy Sound of Bill White & his Crumar Organ
JW 1: An Enthusiast Remembers - British Railway recordings compiled by Jonathan Wood


7” series (standard play & extended play)

SENP EP 001: Axminster School Folk Group EP
SENP 002: Tell Mann - Sings EP
SENP 003: Penryn Infant School EP
SENM 003: Helston Town Band - The Authentic Helson Flora Dance
SENP 004: Cornish All-Stars - Hiawatha Rag / Shine
SENP 005: Cedar - Orange Blossom Special/Ring Of Fire
SENP 006: Bude Town Band - The Hippopotamus Song/ East Penge Taphouse Quartet - ?
SEMS 009: Blue – Souvenir Edition EP
SENP 210: The Bill Matthews New Sound EP
SENM 1080: Alan Opie/Kathryn Allen - In The Bleak Midwinter/Just Another Star
SENM 2001: Rod Mason's Jass Band - Follow That Black Sedan/Saratoga Shout
SENM 2002: Camborne Town Band - The Entertainer/St Louis Blues March
SEN.RC 001: The Cornwall Rugby Squad - Trelawny's Army/Trelawny