Simon Harper is the Editor in Chief of Clash Magazine and our latest creative recruit of CITIZENS OF FARAH.
Simon has put together an EXCLUSIVE SOUNDTRACK to document the history of FARAH VINTAGE. Our style has always been deep rooted in music and Simon demonstrates that perfectly with his eclectic mix of tracks and personal song notes.
Sit back and immerse yourself in a musical heritage we are very proud to be so strongly associated with.
| SOUNDTRACK |
1. Lightning & Group
‘Long John’
Farah’s heritage stretches back to the turn of the century in the USA. A large percentage of manufacturing labour was in the country’s prison camps. Black prisoners, working in gangs to break rocks or other such hard, menial jobs, chanted work songs to set the pace for their labour. This song, recorded by father and son folklorists John and Alan Lomax, can be traced to Darrington State Prison Farm in Texas in 1934. Its lyrics, both religious and secular, sing of the hope of freedom and the removal of their shackles – from both prison and slavery.
2. Lead Belly
‘Midnight Special’
Perhaps the most famous bearer of prison songs was Hudson Ledbetter. Numerous incarcerations from 1915 to 1933 saw the musician acquire a huge catalogue of songs, and in 1933, while serving in Angola Prison Farm, Louisiana, the Lomaxes discovered and recorded him, leading to a celebrated career outside of jail. ‘Midnight Special’ counts infinite versions, each with diverse lyrics, but its sentiment remains the same throughout: the hope that one day, that train that passes the prison and shines its light through my window, will someday carry me out of here.
3. Chuck Berry
‘Thirty Days’
World War Two saw American companies, including Farah, focus their attentions on working to aid their country, producing fatigues and uniforms for those fighting the cause. After the war, in a country rebuilding itself, and more affluent than ever, a new generation embraced individuality, youthfulness, and began to drive a wedge between their parents and the old order that has never healed. The teenager, and thus the generation gap, was born, and they wanted their own music, their own fashion, and their own future. This is the sound of young America in the ’50s.
4. Bob Dylan
‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’
Farah’s allegiance to their country was represented by a dedication to keep the operation wholly American in the 1960s. Bob Dylan was similarly respectful of his compatriots – inspired by dustbowl troubadour Woody Guthrie, Dylan established himself as the voice of social issues for that symbolic decade. As America cowered under the threat of Soviet power in the Cuban Missile Crisis and the possibility of a nuclear fall-out, Dylan was becoming a folk hero – a voice of a generation – and ‘A Hard Rain…’ was a bleak warning of portentous depths to anyone who’d listen.
5. The Band
‘King Harvest (Has Surely Come)’
While all employees, suppliers and distributors of Farah were all proudly American, the ’60s generation were far from patriots. They were paranoid, distrustful of their government (who were sending them to a war they had no right to fight in), and refuting the social order by which their parents abided. The Band – four Canadians and one American – believed in the sacred heart of America. Indebted to The Grapes Of Wrath and Woody Guthrie, this song imagines the plight of sharecroppers and farmers through the Depression, suggesting to the Love generation that the real American heroes are not necessarily those who achieve the American Dream, but those who work all their lives in its pursuit.
6. Elaine Brown
‘Until We’re Free’
Civil rights rocked America to its foundations, and Farah felt the wind of change blow through its operations. Martin Luther King preached of peaceful protest, demanding black Americans shun segregation with non-violent demonstrations. His progress was effective yet slow, and impatient opponents, such as the Black Panthers, pushed for more direct action. In the wake of King’s assassination, America felt the full force of black power – riots, burning, and looting rocked cities across the country. Elaine Brown was a political activist who became the first chairwoman of the Black Panther Party, whose radical methods and militant stance was provocative and dangerous. She recorded the song in 1971 to propagate their cause. It’s very rare so below her track ‘The End Of Silence’ which demonstrates voice and message beautifully.
7. The Faces
‘Had Me A Real Good Time’
In 1971, when Farah opened their first UK store in London, The Faces were at the forefront of culture when it came to influencing men’s fashion and music. They evolved from the ashes of The Small Faces, a glorious musical and sartorial encapsulation of ’60s mods, replacing lead singer Steve Marriott with Rod Stewart and guitarist Ronnie Wood, and pioneered a booze-fueled laddish rock, wherein the latest threads and a blonde on each arm was the ultimate acquisition. This song, more than any, summarizes the feelgood vibe of the gin-soaked Faces.
8. Dobie Gray
‘The In Crowd’
Another American export that took the UK by storm, Dobie Gray is one of the icons of the Northern Soul scene – an extension of the underground mod movement which exploded in the ’70s with venues in the North of England (such as the Wigan Casino, the Blackpool Mecca, or the Twisted Wheel in Manchester) delving into soul vinyl rarities and playing them to enthusiastic, stylish and energetic fans, who’s dance from dusk til dawn. This song, as relevant to the mods as to the Northern fans a decade later, perfectly describes their propensity for staying ahead of the pack.
9. The Jam
‘In The City’
As a new generation of disaffected youth sneered at the bloated and irrelevant rock stars that were supposed to be speaking to them, along came punk and swept all the dinosaurs away. The Jam were caught up in the signing frenzy of labels cashing in on the craze, but were more than three-chord yobs with spiky hair. In Paul Weller they had a mod-obsessed lyricist whose evocative tales of English social minutiae drew comparisons with The Kinks and The Beatles, while his love of well-ironed trousers set him apart as a fashion icon – a position he still holds today.
10. Willis Earl Beal
‘Take Me Away’
Twenty-first century blues may have been embraced by the likes of The White Stripes and The Black Keys, but the most exciting torch bearer of America’s homegrown roots music is 27-year-old Willis Earl Beal, a self-styled cult artist whose spare, lo-fi recordings have been creating great interest of late. ‘Take Me Away’ evokes prime Tom Waits in his rasping rails, while the battered recording suggests Beal is an artist who’s more concerned with getting his (tortured) message out than how it’s presented. The American influence continues unabated, breathing new life into the blues.
We hope you enjoyed the journey !
For more on Clash Magazine visit www.clashmusic.com
