Penguin Eggs

Folk musician and singer Nic Jones first emerged in the late 1960s as a member of the trio The Halliard, who achieved a Spanish hit with "The Irish in Me" but soon split up when its members fancied different career paths. Jones began a solo career, taking strong influence from Martin Carthy, whose percussive style of guitar playing was adopted by Jones for his own work. Part of Jones' style was regularly writing his own material and discreetly passing it off as traditional folk music. This was consistent with Jones "turning his back" on his audience if he felt they were not paying attention, where in such instances he would sing gibberish or play the same song two times in a row to see if people would notice, which he later claimed they didn't. Jones said: "People didn't want me to write my own songs, they only wanted to hear traditional material. Other times I'd rewrite traditional songs or stick in new verses. Nobody ever knew." After leaving the Trailer label, Jones recorded Penguin Eggs at Livingston Recording Studios in late 1979. It was produced by Tony Engle, who also designed the album's packaging, and engineered by Nic Kinsey. Billy Kinsley also helped engineer. ==Music==

(pictured 1981) who wrote "Farewell to the Gold". Penguin Eggs is a work of the English folk revival, The instrumentation is entirely acoustic and dominated by Jones' acoustic guitar. The singer's virtuoso acoustic guitar playing on the album is elegant, brawny and lyrical. His modern guitar arrangements on Penguin Eggs display a contemporary feel, including DADGAD, The following two songs "The Humpback Whale" (originally "Ballina Whalers") and "The Little Pot Stove" (originally "Wee Pot Stove") are both compositions by the Scots-Australian whaler and singer Harry Robertson, although uncredited ("The Humpback Whale" is listed as "trad./arr. Jones") and were originally recorded by Robertson on his 1971 album Whale Chasing Men; they deal with aspects of whaling in the subtropics (off Byron Bay in Australia) and South Georgia in subantarctic waters, respectively, the latter song also providing the phrase used for the album title ("Salt fish and whale meat sausage, fresh penguin eggs a treat"). The Celtic song "Courting Is a Pleasure" concerns "a broken heart and emigration to America". It features subtle counterpoint guitar lines that complement the lead vocals. The Guardian also cited his arrangement of "The Flandyke Shore" as iconic. ==Release and reception==

Penguin Eggs was released by Topic Records in June 1980, Penguin Eggs has for many years been the only easily available Nic Jones studio album, An audiophile, 200g heavyweight LP reissue of the album was issued by Three Black Feathers in 2009, while a 180g LP edition was released by Vinyl180 in 2017, with the first 500 copies being on white vinyl. The Telegraph said that, while Jones' first three albums from 1970 and 1971 have not been reissued for many years, Penguin Eggs itself is a "neglected classic". He returned to the stage in 2010. Retrospective reviews In a very positive retrospective review, Bruce Eder of AllMusic named Penguin Eggs an "Album Pick" and called it Jones' magnum opus. He wrote that the album "stands in a virtual class by itself – a folk record built on playing of such virtuosity that anyone who enjoys guitar, of any type or style, should hear it; a body of traditional songs played with an immediacy and urgency that transcends any dry notions of scholarship; and a record that stands astride the opposing virtues of youth and antiquity, in its execution and source, respectively." Journalist Jon Dennis of The Guardian wrote in retrospect: Penguin Eggs is listed as Jones' finest album in the Rough Guides book World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, where it is referred to as a "seminal album from the English revival" which marks Jones' "sudden transformation from accomplished but more or less straightforward interpreter of folk song, to innovative arranger and intricate performer. It remains a classic." In The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, writer Colin Larkin gave the album a perfect score and wrote that the album contains "some excellent performances", including "The Humpback Whale". with "The Humpback Whale" as the first track on the first CD in the set. ==Legacy==

, who named it her favourite album ever. Colin Irwin of The Guardian called Penguin Eggs "groundbreaking", writing that it took British folk music "to a new level, with Jones channelling his inner rock psyche into the unlikely format of a solo singer playing mostly traditional songs on an acoustic guitar." The album has since repeatedly been cited as an influence by folk and pop singers, including English folk singers Eliza Carthy and Kate Rusby. Describing the album's enduring influence, Irwin noted that while British folk music was "largely barren" in the decades following Jones' accident, a new generation of folk musicians eventually emerged who "all appeared to carry a copy of the one Nic Jones album they could easily get their hands on, Penguin Eggs", with singers such as Jon Boden, Jim Moray and Seth Lakeman citing Jones as an influence. Bob Dylan recorded "Canadee-I-O" for his album Good as I Been to You (1992), imitating Jones' arrangement of the song, "The Flandyke Shore" has also been recorded by Joni Mitchell. In a 2001 poll conducted by Mike Harding of BBC Radio 2, Penguin Eggs was named the second best folk album of all time, after Fairport Convention's Liege & Lief (1969). Of those whose lists were featured, Stuart Maconie named it the 7th best British album. Journalist Peter Paphides named it the 7th best English folk album ever in 2005, saying it "has deservedly continued to feed Jones’ legend". He praised "Jones’s plangent delivery and exquisite harmonies". The album is featured in the 2007 book The Mojo Collection, listing what its authors deems to be the 1,000 best albums ever, ==Track listing==

The detail after the title below is either the composer's name or references from the three major numbering schemes for traditional folk songs, the Roud Folk Song Index, Child Ballad Numbers and the Laws Numbers. Nic Jones sings on all tracks, and plays guitar on all tracks except track 6. ==Personnel==

• Nic Jones – vocals, guitar, fiddle, arrangements • Dave Burland – harmony vocals • Bridget Danby – recorder, harmony vocals • Tony Hall – melodeon • Nic Kinsey – engineering • Billy Kinsley – engineering • Tony Engle – production ==References==