"The Compleat Angler" (Tribute to Isaak Walton) - Johnny J. Blair

“As no man is born an artist, so no man is born an angler.”—Isaak Walton.

“The Compleat Angler” is the title of a wildly successful book published in 1653, written by an iron-monger named Isaak Walton (a contemporary of John Donne). With light-hearted wit, Walton expounded on the virtues of bait and water, good friends and nature. After the book's big splash, Walton spent the last 40 years of his life as a Celebrity Fisherman “gone fishing” (mostly in the company of clergymen). He lived to be 89 years old, and in his lifetime the book had over 13 reprintings. The book has since been name-checked in popular culture in films and by writers including Charles Dickens, Zane Grey, and Thomas Hardy.

My introduction to “Angler” came via keyboardist-singer-songwriter Gary Brooker (Procol Harum). He referenced Walton’s book on his excellent 1982 album, LEAD ME TO THE WATER—which was an inspiration for my album DOOR IN THE WATER. On my recording, the keyboard and water layers were inspired by Mike Oldfield’s “Hergest Ridge.” The Yamaha DX7 keyboard gets a workout (it was once owned by Michael Jackson and has some of his sounds). The busy tapping-bass imagines dragonflies skirting over a forest stream, with fishermen about, waiting in quietude for the fish to bite. My friends are amused by my interest in this topic as I am not a fisherman. However, I appreciate the culture.

Places where Walton fished are shown in this video, which also features numerous paintings and sketches by Nathan Wagoner (https://nathanwagoner.com) as well as photography by Larry Ziegenfuss (http://www.larryzphoto.com).

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All instruments arranged, composed, performed, & produced by Johnny J. Blair (c) 1985 Singnorbertmusic, Inc. BMI. Recorded in Knoxville TN.

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