Gimmer Nicholson – Christopher Idylls (1994)

Quote from the booklet:

Sometime in 1968, someone walked into my office and handed me a well-worn brown paper sack. Inside the sack were home recorded reel-to-reel tapes.
“My brother wrote these songs”, the stranger said.
Needless to say, I was not at all impressed with the presentation; but as I began listening to the rawly recorded demo tapes, an enchantment set in – an enchantment that has not subsided for a day since that time. For on these ‘Wollensack creations’ were some of the most beautiful melodies I had ever heard.

So far Terry Manning, producer of this album. He’d remain a friend to Gimmer Nicholson, as would William Eggleston, photographer of the album cover (and the most famous of the three).

Who is Gimmer Nicholson? Good question. Nobody knows. He was a session musician and a knowledgeable studio technician. Was around when legendary band Big Star recorded at the Ardent studios, and rumour has it his guitar playing would have influenced band member Chris Bell.
Try and find any more information on the writer of these tracks, it’s useless. Or if anyone knows more, be so kind as to tell us in the comments.

The album was made in 1968; sometime in the seventies a tiny pressing was released. It was rediscovered in 1994. That’s all there is to know about it.
It’s funny to notice how critics label Nicholson’s style: some call it an amalgam of folk and classical, others define it as jazz fusion (what?!!), and then again others prefer the term New Age. That is to say, pre-New Age, of course. The genre didn’t exist at the time. And if it’s New Age – well, in that case I apparently like a New Age album. I won’t say it’s entirely my first, but usually I don’t go there. As it is, I found this as an mp3 on the net and instantly knew I had to get a lossless copy of it. And got it.

So, what is it that you’re about to hear…let’s see. Nicholson is not Fahey, Kottke or Blind Willy McTell. His music isn’t blues related at all. Which is quite surprising, for it’s kind of hard to write music outside the blues when you’re an American playing acoustic guitar, finger-picking style.
Further, he’s not a Segovia (classical) or Paco de Lucia (flamenco) or Pat Metheny (jazz). If anything, associate Gimmer’s style with the uncannily steadfast playing of a Nick Drake, who made his guitar sound like an orchestra on its own and never faltered, never dropped a note; or with the acoustically orientated Pink Floyd albums. I’m thinking of Meddle and More here. Yes, that’s a good guess, I think. Nicholson’s music has a similar dreamy mood..but… something is added. It is difficult to define what. Am I going far astray when I say there’s a touch of the mystical harmonies of the Finnish kantele virtuosos (= some kind of dulcimer) on this album? I may be right, I'm not sure.

The first track already, “Millenial Harbinger”, will make you wonder how anybody could have invented a melody of such beauty. And the best thing is, the album doesn’t stop being beautiful after that.

There’s six tracks waiting to capture you.

Tracks:

01. Millenial Harbinger [0:05:09.47]
02. Charon's Crossing [0:02:36.73]
03. Red and White Ship [0:10:45.32]
04. Hermetic Waltz [0:03:43.60]
05. Venus Cumulus [0:05:39.00]
06. Wesak [0:08:18.70]