Catherine Howe

[Iris]

Here's a songwriter and singer who deserved to find more listeners. Her first album What A Beautiful Place from 1971 is regarded as a lost classic. As I understand it, the album was released just at the time her record company was collapsing and she had to wait four decades for it to be re-released and for people to discover it. If anyone knows her work, it'll probably be through Harry, which is unarguably lovely and won an Ivor Novello award.

Every so often a new Catherine Howe album has seen the light of day and then pretty much disappeared. For English Tale from 2010, which is as good as if not better than the first album, she recruited no less a musical luminary than Fairport's Ric Sanders!

One last album from Catherine Howe might be on the way. Apparently it'll be unreleased stuff stretching back to 1974, mostly just piano and voice. It would be good if it happens.

Anyone else listen to her stuff?

[moecurlythanu]

I have her first on CD and Harry on LP. She's not one of my favorites, and the first album is the poster child for "twee," but I'm not getting rid of them either.

[soundsweird]

I have 3 albums on CD, and I like them quite a bit. Beautiful Place on Numero, and the two-fer Harry and Silent Mother Nature on BGO.

[GeneTull]

Two of her songs were recently the subjects of a listening party/commentary segment on this channel: