Judy Dyble could hardly be described as a major success, but she has had a colourful career. The first female singer in Fairport Convention, she was replaced by the brilliant Sandy Denny, but went on to work with Robert Fripp and others, before disappearing from the music scene and then making a comeback. She is currently involved in a nostalgia blitz that includes this intriguing but curious set, available on vinyl and covering the period 1964-82.
There’s a chaotic, clattering improvisation recorded with her then boyfriend Richard Thompson in 1966, a couple of unreleased early Fairport demos, including a well-sung treatment of Judy Collins’ Both Sides Now, and swirling psychedelic ballads recorded with Giles, Giles and Fripp, before Fripp became famous with King Crimson. Finally, there’s a 1982 advert for a cassette company, in which Amazing Grace becomes Amazing Tape, and Bob Harris supplies the whispered voiceover. Hilarious.
