THINK LIKE A KEY MUSIC

A classically trained composer and an American folk legend, writing songs by post across the Atlantic — and nobody noticed.

Ed Welch was just 23 but already a seasoned arranger, having written for Françoise Hardy and The Fortunes while still at music college. When he crossed paths with Tom Paxton — the folk troubadour championed by Pete Seeger — the two began an unlikely collaboration: Welch posted cassette tapes from London; Paxton added lyrics in New York and sent them back. The result was Clowns, an album of rare poise where pop hooks meet classical orchestration. From the painstaking multi-tracked chorus of "Maybe It's Today" to the rain-soaked warmth of "It's Another Beautiful Day," Welch's arranging is exquisite. "Down in the City" carried a lyric so striking that Cilla Black later recorded it. Comparisons to Elton & Taupin were inevitable — but the press moved on and Clowns slipped through the cracks.

Fifty-three years is long enough.