When Spooky Tooth recorded Too Much of Nothing on their debut album in 1968, it was an unreleased Bob Dylan song and one wonders where they heard it, how they got access to such an exclusive gem and how they got permission to record it? Sandy Denny’s Fotheringay recorded the song on their own debut album in 1970. It seems unlikely that they were inspired by Spooky Tooth’s Rock version, they surely must also have heard an original by Dylan. (A Dylan version of the song finally appeared seven years later on The Basement Tapes in 1975). It seems hard to imagine that Dylan or his publisher were actively trying to place his unreleased material with other artists?
Whatever the answer, it’s interesting to feature a track from Fotheringay that doesn’t focus on the immortal Sandy Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978). Australian singer and later Denny’s husband Trevor Lucas (25 December 1943 – 4 February 1989) is singing here on a TV show, broadcast from Bremen in Germany. I reviewed the Fotheringay album in 2013 (link below) – a fantastic album that also features the impressive Jerry Donahue on guitar – Donahue played with Fairort Convention in the seventies and has a long list of sessions.The legend that is Gerry Conway was Fotheringay’s drummer, he played with Cat Stevens on his classic seventies albums, Fairport Convention, Pentangle and many more. Pat Donaldson is on the bass, he also has along list of impressive associations, too many to list here. Please check out their links.
Fotheringay have recently reformed with the three surviving original members adding two well known British Folk singers to the line up, Sally Barker from The Poozies and Kathryn Roberts also adding PJ Wright on second guitar. Fotheringay are one of the great Folk Rock bands that I urge you to investigate – or else.
http://www.fotheringay.com/#!tour/c1ehy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fotheringay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fotheringay_(album)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Denny
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Lucas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Donahue
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Conway_(musician)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Donaldson
Great Dylan song and great performance by Fotheringay. Dylan mentions in a 1969 interview that the the basement tapes were being circulated on purpose within the music industry with an eye for other artists to record these songs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Basement_Tapes?wprov=sfti1