Tilston, Steve

***An instantly captivating, all-original acoustic album of great depth and incredible maturity, the debut album (1971) by acoustic guitarist and songwriter, STEVE TILSTON. As for the making of the album: “It was Ralph McTell who very kindly contacted Ian Anderson of Village Thing on my behalf," Tilston explained. "I followed it up and secured a meeting with Ian and a gig at the Troubadour Folk Club. I’d met Ralph through Wizz Jones at Les Cousins in Soho, and he’d been very complimentary about my playing and writing.” One hears echoes of Tilston's mentors and contemporaries in England’s vibrant folk scene of the time: Bert Jansch (the fifth track, 'Train Time,' sounds to these ears eerily like early Jansch); John Renbourn; Ralph McTell; Wizz Jones; Davey Graham; and Nick Drake. Solo guitar and vocals, all recorded without over-dubbing, plus group performances with Village Thing label-mates Dave Evans, John Turner (Hunt & Turner), and others. The end result was an important piece of Britain’s folk tapestry, which launched Tilston into the limelight, and onto Transatlantic Records, just in time for their implosion. This deluxe edition of “An Acoustic Confusion” includes five bonus tracks, including three not included on any previous editions, in-depth notes by Tilston himself, lyrics, excerpts from Mark Jones' fascinating Bristol Folk book, plus a mini-history of Village Thing by label co-founder Gef Lucena; there's also a Village Thing discography to round out the twenty-eight pages of information. "At twenty, I was pretty single-minded in my quest to make an album; looking back, probably a bit pushy with it, but I was sitting on this powder keg of songs and it felt like I had to get them recorded or I’d explode." —Steve Tilston