Penguin Eggs

Nic Jones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 20, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Topic Records
• ASIN: B00000590J
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,786 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The finest folk musician and singer England ever produced., March 6, 2002

By 

Penguin Egg (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Penguin Eggs (Audio CD)

Nic Jones is one of the finest folk musicians and singers that England has ever produced. His lyrical style of singing and his percussive and rhythmic guitar playing has been wildly imitated but never equalled. "Penguin Eggs" is widely regarded as his best album, although "The Noah's Ark Trap", long since deleted, is equally as good. "Penguin Eggs" consists of traditional English folk songs, and what tremendous songs they are. Each song tells a story and due to the skill of these forgotten songwriters, each song is a minor masterpiece of story telling. There are the usual stories one finds in folk music: cross-dressing on a sailing ship; having your money and clothes stolen by a prostitute while on shore leave; the perils of hunting whales on the high seas; and the usual spate of jealous murders. The quality of the lyric writing is masterly, the tunes strong and melodic, and the arrangements clear and uncluttered.

Despite the car accident that finished his playing for good in 1982, he remains one of the most famous folk artists in England today. This is despite the fact that most of his recordings are not available to the public. He recorded four albums for Bill and Helen Leader's Trailer label: "Ballads and Songs", "Nic Jones", "From a Devil to a Stranger", and "The Noah's Ark Trap." These should have been all released on CD and made available for the music buying public by the present owner of the recordings. Yet, for reasons unfathomable, the owners are sitting on the master tapes. Only "Penguin Eggs" is available. This is a disgrace and should be rectified immediately. Until then, get this CD if you like English folk music, because you don't get much better than Nic Jones.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best albums ever recorded., October 26, 2001

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Penguin Eggs (Audio CD)

A wonderfully evocative collection of nine traditional and neo-traditional tunes: revamped sea shanties, gothically bleak tales of doomed and drowned lovers, raunchy tavern humor, and -- above all -- the intensely soulful guitar and vocals of Nic Jones. Jones is one of England's most elusive folkies, in part because of an auto accident that sidelined his career, and also because his early work on the Trailer label is all, perversely, still out of print... This album is his masterpiece, filled with extraordinary material and picture-perfect melodic and dramatic delivery. Includes his version of "Canadee-I-O", which caused a stir in the folk-rock world when Bob Dylan recorded a version which used Jones' arrangement without giving credit (or money) to Jones... Bob caught flak from all sides for ripping off the beloved Jones... but besides all that, it's a great song, revisiting the popular theme of a woman who disguises herself as a sailor in order to follow her own true love when he goes out to sea. Great record... a real must-have.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "MUST HAVE" recording for fans of British Folk!, March 30, 1999

By 

Gary Cornelius "Gary Cornelius" (Winnipeg, Manitoba) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Penguin Eggs (Audio CD)

Most reviewers will continue to allude to Nic's tragic accident as if that says something about his music. The truth is that Nic Jones is one of the finest guitarists and interpreters of traditional folk songs who has graced either vinyl or CD formats. It is disgraceful that Trailer Records has not released his other recordings. While PENGUIN EGGS may be his crowning achievement, it is important to note that Nic had an uncanny way of making these traditional tunes sound as if they were new and contemporary pieces. This was true on each of his releases.

If you need a handle, try to imagine Bert Jansch playing "Rosemary Lane" or "Reynardine' with one hell of a lot of enthusiasm or Lal and Mike Waterson belting out any of the wonderful tunes from BRIGHT PHOEBUS. Nic's renderings of "Canadee -I-O", "The Little Pot Stove", and "Flandyke Shore", some of the highlights from PENGUIN EGGS, give us a clear picture of his brilliant playing and interpretive skills.