A look back at recordings I made over my career.
Part 25 TAPPING
AT THE BLIND Steel Carpet Music MATS025 CD 2003
This was the other half of The
Outlandish Knight and was the mirror image. It was mainly stories with just one
song, The Man in the Woods, and that tells an age old story. Tapping at the
Blind is one of my ‘hits’ - always a favourite when I tell it, which I do often; The Maestro is a
good story but for some reason I don’t think I’ve ever told it in a live
performance. The Armless Maiden is the ultimate horror story. It makes Stephen
King look mild! The Woman Who Married A Bear is another favourite. I’ve
told it many times and where circumstances are suitable I’ve included getting
the audience up to do The Bear Dance. At Last We’re Alone is very short but
leaves you with a shiver!
I mentioned somewhere before in
this series that storytelling albums do not sell as well as song ones. That is
the case here. The Outlandish Knight sold out a short while ago but there are
still copies of Tapping available.
“Pete Castle has a relaxed not-quite-gravelly voice and the inborn storyteller's tone of pleasure in his tales that make these two CDs a joy to listen to.” Polly Bird NHI Review
“I can't help feeling that "Tapping At The Blind" might have benefited from the reactions of a live audience. However, the studio recording does have an undeniable immediacy and combines with Castle's unedited little fluffs to convey the impression that the teller is recounting his frequently bizarre tales in your own living room. "Stories For Grown-ups" is an appropriate subtitle; the casual incest and ultra violence of "The Armless Maiden" is certainly not the stuff to play to the kids at bedtime if horrific nightmares are to be avoided. Dave Tuxford, Living Tradition
Tracks:
Tapping at the Blind
The Maestro
The Armless Maiden
The Man in the Woods
The Woman Who Married a Bear/The
Bear Dance
At Last We’re Alone.
I don’t have any of these stories on You Tube so here is The Old Man in the Woods
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3aHpa8WFmE
and another story which would have fitted nicely, The Pickpocket... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrafxJw_4KQ&t=88s
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