V.A. "Folk Heritage" (Windmill 1973)

Very rare british folk compilation from 1973, originally released on Windmill. A compilation of obscure British folk from the early '70's including the excellent Folkal Point and Gallery (who had their album issued on Kissing Spell) as well as The Blue Horizon, Blue Water Folk,Combine Harvester, and more. A period artifact.




01. Folkways - October Song
02. Combine Harvester - Rawtenstall Annual Fair
03. Blue Water Folk - Matt Highland
04. Horden Raikes - Maid Of The Mill
05. Blue Water Folk - Willie's Gone
06. Folkal Point - Sweet Sir Gallahad
07. The Yardarm - Lancashire Fusilier
08. Parke - Whitby Smuggler's Song
09. Gallery - Staten Island_Harvest Home
10. Paul And Glen - A Beggin'
11. Mike Raven & Joan Mills - Queen Of The Night
12. The Jovial Crew - Johnny Lad
13. Parke - Dancers Of Stanton Drew
14. The Blue Horizon - I Never Will Marry

Sample pic: 1, 2

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Robin Williamson & His Merry Band

"Journey's Edge" 1977

Although undisputed genius Robin Williamson must have had a pretty clear vision of the direction he intended to take after the demise of the Incredible String Band in 1974, it took him a few years to settle to a musical formula which enabled him to express his richly varied ideas. This first album featuring the excellent Merry Band shows him still experimenting, nearly always with very enjoyable results. The overall sound is relaxed and easy on the ear, with a gentle swing to tunes like "Border Tango" and "Red Eye Blues", although there is no shortage of of ISB-style vocal and instrumental magic from Robin as he swoops and soars through "Tomorrow" and waxes suitably deep and, well, mythic on "Mythic Times". To say that this is the album's standout track and that it would not be out of place on "Wee Tam" is not a put-down of the Merry Band, just a reflection of the huge reputation Robin had built up from the glory day of the Incredibles. "The Maharaja of Mogador" is a typical example of Robin's humorous songs (be warned!)In many ways, this album represents for Robin what "461 Ocean Boulevard" was for Eric Clapton - getting back to the kind of music he always loved to write & perform while retaining much of the "feel" of the music which made him famous. The Merry band went on to make better albums with Robin, but "Journey's Edge" has its own great charm and no fan of the String Band, or of Robin's later solo work, will want to be without it.


"American Stonehenge" 1978

Hans Wigman:
In the build-up to his masterpiece "Glint at the Kindling" Robin produced two albums: "Journey's Edge" and "American Stonehenge". Both albums show he was still looking for the right formula, even though he had already collected the right musicians for the job.
"American Stonehenge", though more in tune with the mentioned "Glint", is less satisfying than "Journey's Edge", mostly, I think, because of a lack of consistency. Some songs are quite good, especially the instrumental pieces "Port London Early" and "Her Scattered Gold" and the Celtic-flavoured "These islands green" and "When evening shadows". Also, the whisky-praising and good-humoured song "Rab's woollen testament" is a definite highlight on this album. The other songs are shaky. Somehow, Robin doesn't sound right when trying to incorporate elements of other than British or Irish nature in his songs (and I think that's true to this very day).

This album presents us the work of a man who doesn't know if he wants to be a Scottish American or an American Scotsman. In the end, as we all know, his Britishness took over completely and I think we can be very satisfied with that result. Considering this, "American Stonehenge" can be seen as a sort of diary of a man who was already on his way home.

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Amazing Blondel "England": De musica alterque

"Little Free Rock" (UK Heavy-Rock 1969)

This group was a later version of Purple Haze who included ex-David John and The Mood guitarist Peter Illingworth. Their album is basically heavy psychedelia with some Cream influences. The songs are well structured with fine melodies and good guitar, with the best tracks being "Roman Summer Nights", "Lost Lonely Castles In The Sky", "Dream", "Tingle" and "Evil Woman".
Frank Newbold was later involved in the Astral Navigations Thundermother project.

Peter Illingworth - Guitar, Vocals
Frank Newbold - Bass, Vocals, Percussion
Paul Varley - Drums

For more information check the bands website: Click

Kan Mikami "19 Years 2 Months 16th Night" (Live 1970)

A monster of a reissue - by a long way the rarest item in Mikami's discography, a fanclub-only DLP released in an edition of 100. These are the very earliest recordings by surrealist folk legend Mikami, captured on tape in 1970 at the legendary Shibuya underground club and hangout, Station '70. The club used to host regular sessions by free-jazz heroes like Motoharu Yoshizawa and Kaoru Abe, while the cream of the city's avant-garde community rubbed shoulders with Japanese Red Army terrorists and Yukio Mishima's private army. Thrust into this ferment comes a nineteen year-old police academy dropout from the far north of Japan, armed with nothing but his guitar and a satchel full of coruscating, carnal songs of anger, lust and hate. This reissue isn't going to stick around for long either - an edition of 777 copies, in a special card digipack.

Disc.1
01. Yonaka no 2-ji
02. Kinshinsoukan no Uta
03. Odo
04. Okasaretara Nakebaii
05. Yume wa Yoru Hiraku
06. Okappa Atama no Shoujo no Mensu ga Akai
07. Shouben darake no Mizuumi
08. Shojo Hikou
09. Shouwa no Daikikin Yokokuhen
10. Mashitabushi
11. Juzu no Tama Kireru Hini
12. Kichigai
13. Karasu

Disc.2
01. Imoutobaika
02. Kinshinsoukan no Uta
03. Jigoku
04. Aomori-ken Kitatsugaru-gun Tokyo-mura
05. Yume wa Yoru Hiraku
06. Shouwa no Daikikin Yokokuhen
07. Goshogawara no Hibi
08. Oyamasa
09. Okappa Atama no Shoujo no Mensu ga Akai
10. Odo
11. Shouben darake no Mizuumi
12. Kichigai
13. Juzu no Tama Kireru Hini

Sample pic: 1, 2

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Amazing Blondel "Blondel" 1973

Following the departure of chief writer/guitarist Gladwin, Baird and Wyncott elected to continue the band as a duo. Having shortened the band name to 'Blondel', 1973's cleverly-titled "Blondel" marked a major change in musical direction. While the sound remained predominantly acoustic, with the exception of the pretty instrumental "Solo" and "Weaver's Market" (cool backing sounds), the band's earlier penchant for traditional English folk was replaced by a much more pop-oriented sound. Entirely written by Baird, material such as "The Leaving of a Country Lover" and "Young Man's Fancy" boasted some of the band's prettiest harmony work and several wonderful melodies. Maybe its just us, but on songs such as "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "Lesson One" Baird's vocal delivery recalled Gerry Rafferty and Stealers Wheel. The LP may not have hit the same creative heights as earlier releases and the change in direction certainly upset longstanding fans, but Baird and Wyncott turned in what proved to be a surprisingly impressive and commercial set. One of those unexpected charmers, its a set that we're consistently drawn back to - one of the few LPs we've transferred to CD-R. Elsewhere, Bad Company's Simon Kirke and Paul Rodgers and Traffic's Steve Winwood provided backing vocals and instrumental support on several tracks. (The album was originally released with an embossed gatefold sleeve.) ~Bad Cat Records

Principal Edwards Magic Theatre
"The Asmoto Running Band" 1971

The second album from Principal Edwards Magic Theatre -- and arguably even better than the first, thanks to some really focused production from Nick Mason! The sound here has more of the building elements of psychedelia you'd expect from Mason's history with Pink Floyd -- and a bit less of the flowery looseness of Principal Edwards' debut -- and the new focus is a really welcome addition, as it helps the group find a new level of power in their music they might never have attained! There's still plenty of folksy instrumentation and trippy themes in the tunes -- but the guitars are more electric, the studio tricks more dynamic, and the overall record is a much more pleasing bit of ear candy that stands up well to the test of time.

Cherry Red Records:
There are whispers of Cherry Red Records releasing a luxurious Dandelion 45's (singles) Box Set with the participation of Clive & Shurley Selwood and many of the legendary label's artists? Whilst John Peel fans and music collectors alike wait with anticipation to see if the rumours are true, Cherry Red releases two albums from the Dandelion catalogue to whet the appetite, both from the curiously spectacular, Principal Edwards Magic Theatre.
The multi-media PEMT cut a compellingly original swathe through a late-1960s music scene seemingly inhabited by wall-to-wall blues bands. Their first ever gig was witnessed by benefactor and producer John Peel. The legendary DJ promptly signed them to his Dandelion label. 'I guess he liked what he heard,' says guitarist and chief songwriter Root Cartwright.

A stand-alone single released before the first album, 'Ballad (Of The Big Girl Now And A Mere Boy)'/ 'Lament For The Earth', is included in this package as a bonus track.

'Soundtrack' hit the record racks in August 1969, the third Dandelion long-player to be released in short order following debut efforts from folksingers Bridget St John and Beau.

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Ferris Wheel - Supernatural Girl: psych_folk

Thanks for the info, Pagost.
I'll delete this from my upcoming title list.

Ron Sexsmith "Other Songs" (Canadian SSW 1997)

The quandary of the whole solo singer/songwriter thing is that one listener's deeply personal and affecting music is another's boringly self-absorbed slop. And the fine line between them, between naked emotion and unadulterated pap, is the production, its intent, and above all, the talent trapped in it -- so highly exposed, after all. In this second LP by Sexsmith, it's clear he's a composer of ability, as his lyrics have a quietly moving air and his delicate picking and fingering of his acoustic silently charms. The drums bubble so lightly in the back you never notice them, and the pretty piano on tracks such as "Average Joe" is employed with grace. Best of all, Sexsmith's voice is a dead ringer for 1966-1967 Tim Hardin (circa his best work, Tim Hardin I and Tim Hardin II), only without Hardin's more breathy trills (and without the late legend's incredible, arrestingly sweet melancholia, woeful lamentation, and bleeding heart). Sexsmith's throat is smoky menthol, yet gentle and soothing, the kind that wraps around the melodies like a mother's most serene lullaby. Maybe there's a little 1971 Jackson Browne in Sexsmith, too, only without the reedy dweebness. On the negative side, ubiquitous producer Mitchell Froom elicits nice takes but envelops them in a slightly glossy sheen. He makes Sexsmith fall in line with so much ho-hum singer/songwriter pop, when the playing and singing suggested more direct emotional immediacy, like Hardin, or young Neil Young, or the late-'60s Paul Simon before he regrettably lost his Garfunkel. That Sexsmith has the stuff to overcome such sanitation for listeners' protection is a credit to a modest prize at work. And love that mellifluous voice. ~ Jack Rabid, All Music Guide

Kan Mikami "Sendo Kouta: Mikami Kan Enka no Sekai"
(Japanese "Enka" 1973)

A folk singer who plays extreme music like later punk rock. The antithesis to the sophisticated and soft folk music. 'Hiraku Yume nado Arujyanashi' (I Have Never Had a Dream that Opens), 1972 Includes the cover of female singer Keiko Fuji's hit song "Keiko no Yume wa Yoru Hiraku (Keiko's Dream Opens in the Night)" in the "Enka (grudge song)" style." ; Recordheaven : "Kan Mikami – an underground radical protest folk singer/shouter and actor who was involved in the Tenjo Sajiki and Tokyo Kid Brothers troupes, and by extension, with J.A. Caesar. His first album, "Mikami Kan No Sekai" ("The World of Kan Mikami") [1971] apparently contained a kind of folk rock with intense presence and dark, harrowing, "real" lyrical subject matter. I'm not sure if there were any albums between this and the next one I'm aware of, "BANG!" [1974]. It features Yosuke Yamashita's group and other jazz musicians as his backing, and is reputedly a weirder, more progressive affair, mainly for the title track. This has been described as "a bewildering psychedelic collage of free jazz blasts, musique concrete, tapes and Mikami's unique voice, silky and caressing one moment, soaring and screaming in agony the next". Mikami apparently didn’t do much again until the late 80's, collaborating with Keiji Haino of Fushitsusha for the group Vajra.

Sample pic: Click

I've never met such ads, spyware & toolbar when I using megaupload. I think you can avoid em by using some kind of anti spyware program or simply change setting of your pc. But, it seems serious problem for some people. So I decide to use RapidShare again.
Thanks

Vin Garbutt "Tossin' a Wobbler" (UK Folk 1978)

Born at South Bank on 20th November, 1947 and educated at St. Peter's School. At theage of fourteen, he began to play the guitar and a.year later, on leaving school, Vin became an apprentice turner at I.C.I. Wilton.
By the age of sixteen, he was making regular appearances at folk clubs and soon started to write his own songs, the first one being directed against his foreman at I.C.I. With singing appearances taking up an increasing amount of time he soon gave up his job and made a six month tour to Spain, Gibraltar and North Africa playing in bars and clubs.

On his return to England Vin Garbutt made the decision to take up a professional career and toured all the major folk festivals. A string of bookings ensured regular appearances throughout this country and overseas and allied to his talents as a singer and guitarist, is his tremendous skill as a whistle player. Vin's unique style is captured on the L.P.'s that have been produced over the last few years:
"Valley of the Tees", "The Young Tin Whistle Pest" recorded live, ”King Gooden ", "Eston California", "Tossin a Wobbler" and "Little Innocents", Many of his songs are based on local folklore and legends including "The Hermit of Eskdaleside" and others are linked with the legend of Roseberry Topping and the story behind Beggar's Bridge at Glaisdale.

As well as a full diary of local appearances, he had made annual trips to venues in Western Europe and a string of six annual tours of the U,S.A. during the late 1970's, Other far-flung tours include three trips to Australia, two visits to Yugoslavia and bookings in Bermuda but one concert that Vin singles out as a highlight is the date in September 1979 when he performed in the beautiful setting of an open air amphitheatre on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

"The Eighteenth Day of May" (UK Folk-Rock 2005)

This six-piece is based in London, UK consisting of members from UK, USA and Sweden.. They have become known for their live work with this debut album coming a couple of years after honing their music. The time gestating their music in a live setting has paid off with this album having a consistency and clarity that many debuts lack even though this album was recorded over a year ago. Their sound is based upon but not slavish to the emergent sixties era folk-rock of Fairport Convention and Trees. They make music that uses tight song structures and electric instrumentation but in a relatively controlled way rather than rocking out (at least on their recordings).

Folk-rock fans should imagine Richard and Mimi Farina fronting the classic Ashley Hutchings era Fairport Convention line-up. Fans new to the genre or the band will just be swept along in the songs and their arrangements. First song ‘Eighteen Days’ sets the tone with a rolling folk rock song that introduces sitar like sound as it reaches a surging climax. ‘Sir Casey Jones’ focuses on vocal layering over a large sounding, twelve string guitar led song. It’s like a UK sixties band writing in the style of The Byrds circa 1965. However as the instrumental sections introduce drama in the chiming guitars overlaid with mandolin and handclaps it becomes something of its own rather than a facsimile.

‘The Highest Tree’ takes thing down from the drama of the previous track giving a nice evolution to the music. This song is a lilting ballad delivered by co-lead singer Allison Brice in a mid-tempo arrangement that incorporates flute. When hearing Alison sing with the swirling folk-rock backing, often rather than the obvious Fairport Convention comparison it is instead Anne Brigg's Ragged Robin on her second (and last) solo album which is high praise. Fourth song is a version of Bert Jansch’s “‘Deed I Do” done notably by Donovan and notably by Elyse. Here the song is taken initially as a ballad and it’s a good version with a light start giving way to a surging second half. The instrumentation is great with a solo military drum pattern driving the atmospheric instrumental ending of swelling organ chords and harps over the guitars.

‘Hide and Seek’ has Richard singing and a great swinging rhythm. This song has a light rollicking feel which works well. The chiming instrumental ‘Twig Folly Close’ is excellent with an almost sea shanty aspect to it. This song shows off the intricate string work of the band, an area they excel in and are clearly fond of. Next we have their version of the traditional song ‘Lady Margaret’ which really is like Trees on their second album ‘On The Shore’, the strung instruments driving the song on excellently.

‘Cold Early Morning’ allows in a slightly more electric sound, giving it a crunchier sound that they really benefit from. The edge of the guitars really working against Allison’s light vocals to great effect and perhaps this is something to explore further. Fans of early Mostly Autumn or Steve Ashley’s version of ‘Fire and Wine’ would enjoy it a lot, almost approaching a Led Zeppelin like swagger towards the end. ‘Monday Morning’s No Good Coming Down’ is a nicely written country-rock tune performed gently with nice electric piano playing.

The traditional song ‘Flowers of the Forest’ is the penultimate song and is arranged in as an epic production. It starts sounding very Scottish with good viola from Alison Cotton. For most of the song it is very restrained and held in control then towards the end it becomes a great crashing folk-rock track with lead flute and haunting electric guitar notes. It’s one of their most psychedelic arrangements and particularly strong. You can feel this is where they want to go, to extend the form and allow themselves room on the tracks to really work on the interplay of instruments. On their next album they should follow this, they are very good at it and not many bands are doing it.

The final track ‘The Mandrake Screams’ was titled by the review as the unofficial title for their demo CD which they sent over. It seems to fit the short but psychedelically warped little gem of a track.

We have an excellent debut album but it feels as much that Hannibal have signed them not just for the moment but for the clear talent and ability to grow from here which is shown. When talking with them and hearing this, live work and the demos it becomes apparent they are more than the sum of their influences and have a path they want to follow. A difficulty for bands with expanded line-ups is the temptation to fill every gap in the mix with sound, this has mostly been avoided and on the next album they could perhaps allow more variation in the amount of instrumentation. This is a very enjoyable listen and keeps to traditional album length which becomes a strength, not in any way becoming a weary listen like so many modern albums.

Even though I know the album well, I turned on Radio 6 the other night to find some sixties folk-rock playing I didn’t know playing. Intrigued I stayed until the end when two tracks had been played only to find it was songs from the album here. Heard on the radio they worked well and sounded both new and a product of the sixties. For now this is delightful, the mission on the next album is perhaps to become even more themselves and explore even further the swirling epics they are striving rapidly towards.

Michael Raven & Joan Mills
"Can Y Melinydd (The Miller Song)" 1976

Record Seller:
This is real an ultra rare album. Never released!!! The total pressing is 65 and almost impossible to find a copy. In the HANS POKORA book it has three stars. In my opinion this is the best of the fourth albums on vinyl of this duo.This album is much more electric then the other ones.The album is recorded in 1976 and pressed on the STOOF label MU 7430.The sleeve is never made. The LP comes in a plane white sleeve.

Record Seller:
On the small DUTCH folk label, STOOF MU 7430, is this never released/lost album of this famous folk duo pressed. (1976) Realy beautiful folk, in my opinion better then there earlier albums on the FOLK HERITAGE label. This album is found in a quantity of 65 and will never turned up again.

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Mick Softley "Any Mother Doesn't Grumble" 1972
















A beautiful sensitive album, lyrically and musically, it has to be the best yet from Mick. Beautifully produced by Tony Cox, who also produced his two previous albums, and features on keyboards, Mick is augmented by Jerry Donahue, electric guitar, Pat Donaldson, electric bass, Gerry Conway and Barry de Souza, drums and percussion, and Lyn Dobson, soprano and tenor saxes, flute and harmonica.

Quite honestly, it's impossible to fault; every song has a beauty and significance of its own. Throughout, the arranging enhances Mick's songwriting abilities.

"The Song That I Sing," the opening track, starts off gently with Mick and guitar developing into an electric instrumental, highlighting Lyn's amazing reedwork, based on a mellow piano phrase from Tony. An effective atmospheric scene-setter for what follows.

"The Minstrel Song" exemplifies Mick's lonely plaintive sounding voice. "From The Land Of The Crab" is a personal favourite, which has a huge majestic feeling to it, creating images of some awe inspiring vastness. Tony Cox has given it almost a country arrangement, which features Lyn to good effect again. "Lady Willow" is a simple delicate song containing bird-like flutework.

"Great Wall Of Cathay" is another of Mick's songs that contains a haunting feeling of vastness and unanswerable questions. "Have You Ever Really Seen The Stars" has an intense beauty to it. Listening to it one almost feels an intruder into the man's soul.

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"Carolyn Hester Coalition" 1968

Hester had been away from the recording scene for a few years when she re-emerged in the late 1960s as the centerpiece of the Carolyn Hester Coalition, a psychedelic- and folk-tinged rock group. It's hard to read this as anything but an attempt to keep up with the times on the part of someone who missed the boat that made folk and folk-rock a commercial proposition. Purism aside, this unexpected move wasn't a bad thing; Hester wasn't the greatest or most original folksinger anyway, so why not try something different? Her voice is still thin and almost unnaturally high, although not unappealingly so, on both rocked-up versions of folk songs she probably sang acoustically at one point ("East Virginia," "Let's Get Together") and tunes that are closer to fairly commercial psychedelic folk rock. It's not the most organic combination, with trendy fuzz guitars flitting in and out of the arrangements from time to time. It's not bad, though, and the brooding cover of Ed McCurdy's anti-war song "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" is an effective interpretation of a significant composition that was overlooked by other folk-rock acts. Indeed the album, on that track and others, is more downcast than might be expected, Hester moaning at one point "half the world is starving, half the world is overfed, half take sleeping pills at night, half don't have a bed." ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

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Jancis Harvey "A Portrait of Jancis Harvey" (UK Folk 1976)

This time it is the 1976 album from one of the best, most obscure singer/songwriters in the 1970s UK folk circuit, released for the first time on CD! Recorded in Wales, a landscape which has inflected the album with a closeness and warmth absent from the work of many more prominent folk artists of the time, this is an album of innocence, intimacy, love of nature all with a touch of insular melancholy. Includes a small booklet with the lyrics. File next to Nick Drake, Sandy Denny & Richard & Linda Thompson... (Freak Emporium)

01. You And Me
02. My Father's Business
03. Swallow, Swallow
04. Man Of Galilee
05. Killing Me Softly (With His Song)
06. Catch Another Butterfly
07. I'm Gonna Be A Country Girl Again
08. City Of New Orleans
09. I Am The Morning Sun
10. Little Star
11. Take Two
12. No Regrets
13. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out

Sample pic: 1, 2

Brigitte Fontaine & Areski "L'Incendie" (French Folk Psych 1974)

01. 6 Septembre
02. Ragilia
03. Pleut Sur la Gare
04. Declaration de Sinistre
05. Murailles
06. Engourdie
07. Nous Avons Tant Parle
08. Borgias
09. Petites Madones
10. Abeille
11. Apres la Guerre
12. Tete Bandee
13. Chant des Chants

This album is the first collaboration between Areski and Brigitte Fontaine. A great album originally recorded for BYG. In a perfect symbiosis with Brigitte Fontaine's magnificent voice and surrealist texts, Areski creates a minimalist ethno-folk acoustic universe. In the French only dark chanteuse genre, this is a classic. (Freak Emporium)

Sample pic: Click

The Peelers "Banished Misfortune" (UK Folk 1972)

Early '70's hippie UK folk trio who released this album in 1972. Very much in the "tradition" of the genre the group perform assorted tunes new and old using acoustric instruments such as dulcimer, banjo, Tin Whistle, guitar and concertina. Excellent period folkie artwork as well. Enchanting! (Freak Emporium)

folk-rock band's much acclaimed sole album recorded in 1972. A highprised collectable item in it's original vinyl format, coming with special needlework sleeve design, faithfully reproduced here. A timeless collection of songs with a haunting feel created by a plethora of instrumentation including mandolin, dulcimer, concertina, harmonium , etc. (Elegy)

Personnel:
Joe Palmer: guitar, dulcimer, vocal
Tom Madden: guitar, banjo, vocal
Jim Younger: concertina, tin whistle

01. Dalesman's Litany
02. Old Woman In Cotton
03. Ramblin' Robin
04. Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore
05. Bleacher Lassie
06. Broken Down Squatter
07. The Night Before Larry Was Stretched
08. Banished Misfortune
09. Spancil Hill
10. Schoolday's End

Sample pic: 1, 2

Huckle "Wild Blue Yonder" (Canadian Hippie Folk 1976)

Tracks:
1. Wild Blue Yonder
2. Rolling River
3. I Surrender
4. Flower To The Sun
5. She's Coming Home
6. Beautiful You Are
7. High For Sky
8. Gather The Children
9. Wild Night


Personnel:
Huckle: guitar, mandolin, voice
Ken Grossman: piano, voice
Jodi Marquis: violin, voice
Paul Newman: bass
Ray Newman: saxophone
Dan Harvey Pedwick: guitars, harmonica, piano, voice
John Presland: banjo
Wendi Sinclair: voice
Bob Walshaw: drums

Thanks for the pic!

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"McGuinness Flint" (UK Folk-Rock 1971)

McGuinness Flint was a rock band formed in 1970 by Tom McGuinness, former guitarist with Manfred Mann, and Hughie Flint, former drummer with John Mayall, plus vocalist and keyboard player Dennis Coulson and multi-instrumentalists and songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. Their first single "When I’m Dead and Gone" reached No. 2 on the UK singles chart at the end of the year (and No. 47 in the U.S.), and the debut album McGuinness Flint also made the UK Top 10 album chart.

A follow-up single, "Malt and Barley Blues", was a UK No. 5 hit in 1971, but the group floundered under the pressures of instant success, being required to record a second album before they were ready, and an inability to reproduce their recorded sound adequately on stage, which resulted in disappointing live shows. The second album Happy Birthday Ruthy Baby failed to chart, as did the title track when released as a single.

Gallagher and Lyle quit towards the end of 1971 to record as a duo. The group then recruited bassist Dixie Dean, and recorded Lo and Behold, an album of Bob Dylan songs which had not yet been officially recorded and released by the writer himself, credited to Coulson, Dean, McGuinness, Flint, and issued in 1972. A single "Let The People Go" was banned by the BBC as it related to the Ulster crisis, a fate which also befell a contemporary single by Paul McCartney and Wings, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish".

Coulson left and was replaced by Lou Stonebridge on keyboards and Jim Evans on guitar. This new line-up recorded two further albums, Rainbow (1973) and C’est La Vie (1974), but interest had evaporated, and they disbanded in 1975. A splinter group, Stonebridge McGuinness, had a minor hit in 1979 with "Oo-Eeh Baby" (No. 54 in the UK) and released the album Corporate Madness on RCA Records the following year. This group proved short-lived, however, and afterwards McGuinness and Flint both joined The Blues Band, fronted by former Manfred Mann vocalist and harmonica player Paul Jones.

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John Dummer's Oobleedooblee Band
"Oobleedooblee Jubilee" 1973

This blues outfit formed in the Summer of 1967 in London. By the beginning of 1968 Tony Walker and Roger Pearce had both quit the music business. The line-up ( was playing a solid Chicago-styled blues. In July 1968 they turned professional. By now Steve Rye had departed for Simon and Steve and Tony McPhee, a friend of Dave Kelly's, came in on guitar. However, McPhee's stay was brief - a few month later he left to join The Groundhogs. Their two albums for Mercury are the most sought-after by collectors.

Dummer followed this with Music Band, a venture with violinist Nick Pickett, which achieved little here but had a French hit with Nine By Nine.

Shortening their name to John Dummer they signed to Vertigo recording Blue, with a cover designed by Roger Dean. The music was still competent blues-rock, but nowhere near as good as their earlier late sixties offerings on Mercury. Then, teaming up again with his original guitarist Dave Kelly, Dummer recorded Oobleedooblee Jubilee with a country-influenced band.

Sample pic: 1, 2

Derek Sarjeant & Hazel King "Folk Matters" 1973

English folk singer Hazel (King) Sarjeant was born in 1948. Hazel's beautiful, pure voice was recognized at an early age and by 15 she was performing at folk clubs in and around London. In 1967, she won the national "British Folk and Beat Contest" held at Hammersmith Town Hall, London. The next year she was invited by Derek Sarjeant, operator of the Surbiton and Kingston Folk Club. one of Britain's largest and most popular venues, to join him as a resident singer. Together they hosted virtually every touring American folk artist daring the 1960s and '70s. In 1968 they formed the Derek Sarjeant Folk Trio with Graham Bradshaw. and continued to perform as a duo after Graham's departure, ultimately marrying in the mid '70s. With a brief pause in the mid-to-tate-'80s to raise their children the duo performed continuously until a few months prior to Hazel's death. Her warm and engaging personality was only surpassed by the beauty of her voice. She will be sadly missed. especially by her husband Derek and family, and all those she touched with her music and her grace.

All trad songs
01. The Dockyard Gate
02. A Week Before Easter
03. Three Score And Ten
04. Brigg Fair
05. Chilbridge Fair
06. Young Ramble Away
07. Go To Sea No More
08. The Dowie Dens Of Yarrow
09. A Sailor's Life
10. Rounding Of Cape Horn
11. The Female Drummer
12. Baby Lie Easy
13. Thyme It Is A Precious Thing

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Cyril Tawney "I Will Give My Love" (UK Folk 1973)

I Will Give My Love is subtitled "Traditional Love Songs from South-West England." It features Cyril (voice, guitar) along with Bob Stewart (dulcimer), Dave Bland (concertina) and Doug Sherriff (melodeon). Although the sleeve has no notes about the songs, it does contain complete lyrics.

01 'Twas on One April Morning
02 My Rose in June
03 Searching for Lambs
04 Must I Be Bound
05 The False Bride
06 Midsummer Carol
07 The Queen of Hearts
08 Nancy
09 I Will Give My Love an Apple
10 The Turtle Dove
11 The Cuckoo
13 One Night as I Lay on My Bed
14 The Sweet Streams of Nancy
15 Farewell She

http://www.cyriltawney.co.uk/

"Etchingham Steam Band" (UK Folk 1974-75)

After the formative line up of The Albion Country Band fell apart with a classic album unreleased Ashley Hutchings had of course to continue providing some kind of income to his family. Disenfranchised as he was with the music industry he and his wife the important folk singer Shirley Collins formed an impromptu part-time band to honor existing gig commitments and allow them to continue playing live which then burgeoned into something entirely its own even leading to their playing the Albert Hall in London. This band complemented their bass and vocals with Ian Holder on accordion, Terry Potter and later Vic Gammon on concertina and Shirley hitting a bell laden child's hobby horse for percussion. The name was taken from their home location in Sussex and the fact that the power strikes forced cut outs forcing the band to use steam as an alternative. The name fitted the venture perfectly which was directed entirely towards an English traditional folk music mixing songs with instrumentals. The album collects together various live performances during their short life from 1974 to 1975. By this time Ashley was entirely focused on traditional music and a spin-off Albion Morris troupe had even been formed from his earlier bands.

If you come to wyrd-folk form a purely psychedelic or pagan interest then this album may prove to be not to your immediate taste. However with the benefit of time we can now see this is perhaps one of the artists purest traditional albums being highly evocative and a portrait of a music that was even then old and antiquated. Age is however no statement of quality and it is wonderful that this album sounds so warm and vibrant. The settings for Shirley's voice on such as 'Hard Times Of Old England' and 'Horn Fair' are more alive and joyful than some of her more stark solo material, bringing empathy and warmth that is often quite moving. There is an element of fun and enjoyment here, music made purely for its own sake that comes across listening to it all these years later. Some of the songs like 'Gaol Song' sound very rustic with the kind of lyrics that make younger listeners cringe but do provide an authentic back to the music of country dances from many decades before. All the time there is a balance of musical enjoyment in the community revels and dances contrasted by the despairing living conditions of harshness, injustice and disease that the other of these songs tell of.

On tracks like 'Horn Fair' there is an gentle sensuality, a swaying implied saucy quality that is often lost in modern folk music. Songs like 'Come All You Little Streamers' are literally like being beamed back to an earlier age. The musicians are of absolute top quality being part of the folk music scene so the instrumentation and of course the instrumentals are excellent, being performed in a way that is sympathetic but also second nature to the performers. You can feel the warmth from the audience on songs such as 'Adderbury Wassail Song' and 'Black Joker' that while often short seem to genuinely bring together the performers and audience in a magical way. To lose yourself and get back to the origins of folk music, to the unfetted traditional sound this is a wonderful source. if you enjoy the music of Shirley Collins, Ashley Hutchings or just want to understand the evolution of British folk music this is a minor classic of its kind that repays your interest and provides songs that you will return to over and again.

Personnel:
Shirley Collins: vocals
Ashley Hutchings: tambourine, vocals, acoustic bass
Ian Holder: accordion
Dave Mattacks: drums
Terry Potter: mouth organ
Mel Dean: concertina
Will Duke: concertina
Vic Gammon: banjo, concertina, vocals, melodeon

01. Hard Times of Old England
02. Leapfrog / Young Collins / Shooting
03. The New Rigged Ship / Atholl Highlanders
04. Gaol Song
05. Horn Fair
06. Some Tyrant Has Stolen My True Love Away
07. Come All You Little Streamers
08. Sheep-Shearing / Buttered Peas
09. The Sussex Carol
10. Adderbury Wassail Song
11. Grandmother's Dance / Grandfather's Dance
12. Bonny Kate
13. The Little Gypsy Girl
14. Black Joker

All tracks Trad. arr. Etchingham Steam Band
Tracks 1-4 recorded 1975, Lenzburg Folk Festival, Switzerland
Tracks 5, 7, 14 recorded 1974, Norwich Folk Festival
Tracks 6, 10 recorded December 1975, `Nova Scotia', Bristol
Track 8 recorded October 1974, London
Track 9 recorded December 1974, Cecil Sharp House London
Tracks 11-12 recorded July 1975, Lewes Folk Festival, afternoon session
Track 13 recorded July 1975, Lewes Folk Festival, evening session

"Young Folk in Worship" (UK Christian Folk/Pops 1971)
Manchester Grammar School Christian Music Group with Heather Jones

01. I Haven't Time
02. The Mask I Wore
03. Bird Of Heaven
04. There Is God
05. Turn, Turn, Turn
06. Amazing Grace
07. Shake Hands With Our Brother
08. Mary's Child
09. Black And White
10. Beyond The City
11. Living
12. Half The World
13. Hungry Now
14. Hungry Road
15. Shelter
16. The Family Of The Man

Sample pic: 1, 2

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Bob Pegg & Nick Strutt "The Shipbuilder" 1974

Bob studied traditional music at Leeds University, where he also ran the folk club, and in the early seventies founded the cult folk/rock band Mr. Fox. The band made two albums for Transatlantic Records, and soon developed a substantial following in the burgeoning folk/rock scene of the time. With Bob's then wife Carol on fiddle and vocals and the bass/drum partnership that was later to provide the rhythm section for Dick Gaughan's Five Hand Reel, Mr Fox were renowned for their live show, which veered between the unbelievably good and the unbelievably awful!

When Mr. Fox foundered, Bob made two L.P.'s (as they were known then) with Nick Strutt and released his solo album 'Ancient Maps' in 1975. Since then Bob's work has found a broad base in education and the arts. Song cycles were commissioned by the Hebden Bridge and Ilkley Literature Festivals, he published two books on folklore and took part in many schools projects. He was Oral Historian at the Arvon Foundation in Heptonstall in 1976/7 and writer in residence in Cleveland from 1982-4. For the next three years he organised the Legal and General nationwide songsearch competition whilst writing music for T.V. and film, including the score for the Ken Loach feature 'Black Jack'.

In 1990 Bob moved to the Highlands, becoming Ross and Cromarty's musician in residence until the Council was dissolved in 1998. During this time he organised many workshops and concerts and wrote music and songs for the community productions of 'MacBeth' and 'Storm'. He also performs regularly as a storyteller, and runs workshops for children, especially at Whitby Folk Week, where his 'Children In Performance' sessions have been running to great acclaim for many years.

Bob's Rhiannon album is his first new recording since The Shipbuilder. "The Last Wolf" (RHYD5009) contains material from all stages of Bob's life and career, starting with 'Fiddler's Cross', written in the early '70's when Bob was living in Leeds, through the Calderdale cycle of songs, written for and performed at the Hebden Bridge Literature Festival of 1978, through to 'The Mermaid' and 'A Dram For The Singer', written for the Ross and Cromarty Arts production 'Storm'. Bob is now working as a freelance arts advisor, combined with occasional gigs as a solo artist.

Prose text from the insert: Click
Sample pic: 1, 2

Kazuki Tomokawa

"Maboroshi To Asobu" 1994

01. Maboroshi to Asobu
02. Shonen Oiyasuku Gakutto Nariyasushi
03. Pachisuro Bakeno Kawaondo
04. Otouto
05. Haru wa Kita
06. Kushizashi Opera
07. Yamauta
08. Nenneko Uta

Cover: Front, Back


"Yume wa Hibi Genki ni Shinde Yuku" 1998

01. Yugyou
02. Tori no Watashi to Watashi no Tomodachi no Shurasan
03. Asobi ni Ikouyo
04. Mabayui Kodoku
05. Arigatou Zetsubou
06. Yume Wa Hibi Genki Ni Shinde Yuku
07. Musume no Kanon

Cover: Front, Back


"Hoshi no Process" [3CD] 1998

Disc.1 (Best Selection)
01. Hodoukyou
02. Harmonica
03. Ikiterutte Ittemiro
04. Shinizokonai no Uta
05. Kare ga Ita "Souda! Tako Hachiro ga Ita"
06. Umi Mitai na Sora da
07. Waltz
08. Eien
09. Kaze no Shinya
10. Watashi no Hana
11. Maboroshi to Asobu
12. Yamauta
13. Otouto
14. Hitori Bonodori
15. Tougen
16. Oiwasan
17. Haru wa Satsujin
18. Yume no Wrap Mouittyou
19. Yoru e Isogu Hito
20. Yugyou

Tracks 01-02 from "Nikusai" 1976
Tracks 03-04 from "Senbazuru o Kuchi ni Kuwaeta Hibi" 1977
Tracks 05-08 from "Muzan no Bi" 1986
Tracks 09-10 from "Hanabana no Kashitsu" 1993
Tracks 11-13 from "Maboroshi to Asobu" 1994
Tracks 14-16 from "Hitori Bonodori" 1995
Tracks 17-19 from "Zeiniku na Asa" 1996
Track 20 from "Yume wa Hibi Genki ni Shinde Yuku" 1998

Disc.2 (Unreleased Live)
*Mandala 1976
01. Ubasuteyama no Mamoribana
02. Chiisana Uta
03. Ikiterutte Ittemiro
04. Fuyu wa Baka Kubena
05. Midare Donpan-bushi
06. Denwa
07. Kubi
*Kyoto City University of Arts 1985
08. Eien
09. Kojyou
10. Waltz
11. Boya
12. Oboe
* Mandala 2 1989
13. Kigi wa Haru
14. Mochibeni no Hana
15. Nah Umi
16. Otouto
17. Umi Mitai na Sora da

Disc.3 (New Album 1998)
01. Hoshi no Process
02. Oni
03. Tokai no Natsu no Yoru
04. Matchuri no Shoujyo
05. Yugyou (New ver.)
06. Toraware no Uta '98
07. Yoru no Kyoushitsu (New ver.)
08. Hinamatsuri
09. Narayama-bushi
10. Ume no Mi
11. Sekibetsu no Uta
12. Zundoko-bushi
13. Asahi no Ataru Ie

Sample pic: 1, 2


"Itsuka Toku o Miteita" 2004

01. Ikite Shinutoiu
02. Ayakashi no Tsuki
03. Tougen
04. Koko wa Doko nanda
05. Kora wa Mina Chi o Nagurutameni Umareta
06. *Deracine
07. Wake no Wakaran Kimochi
08. Niatta Seishun
09. Me o Muite Tabeteiru Anata
10. Mata Kon Haru
11. Pistol
12. Kyojin

Cover: Front, Back




"Live 2005 - Osaka Banana Hall"

01. Elice no Me
02. Utrillo no Nigeashi
03. Midare Donpan Bushi
04. Hitotsu no Meruhen
05. Circus
06. Ototo
07. Kuwana no Eki
08. Ayakashi no Tsuki
09. Satoru
10. Haru wa Satsujin
11. Pistol
12. Kojo
13. Akai Polyan
14. Waltz
15. Ikiterutte Itte Miro



"Early Collections" 1975-77

01. Ikiterutte Itte Miro
02. Ameran Kuyuran
03. Niatta Seishun
04. Kioku
05. Koppamijin
06. Ojiccha
07. 23sai no Teikou
08. Korosaretakunai nara Korose
09. Haru Danah
10. Tomashii
11. Todo o Korosuna
12. Shinizokonai no Uta
13. Yumiko no Haru
14. Houkyou
15. Dagazuku
16. Akarui Yoru

Tracks 01, 04, 08, 12 from "Senbazuru o Kuchi ni Kuwaeta Hibi" 1977
Tracks 02, 03, 05, 06, 09, 11, 14, 15 from "Nikusei" 1976
Tracks 07, 10, 13, 16 from "Yatto Ichimaime" 1975

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Yoshio Hayakawa (Japanese SSW 1969)
"Kakkoii kotowa nante kakkowaruin darou (How Uncool is Cool Thing)"

His solo debut album released after his band Jacks disbanded. Simple, song-oriented sound with the accompaniment of acoustic guitar, piano and organ. Features a masterpiece "Salvia no Hana (The Flower of Salvia)".

01. Warabe Uta
02. Motenai Otokotachi no Uta
03. Muyounosuke
04. Chanson
05. Salvia no Hana
06. NHK ni Sasageru Uta
07. Seinarukana Negai
08. Asagao
09. Shiranai Desyou
10. Makura Uta
11. Shidare Yanagi
12. Maisou

"Silver Birch" (UK Folk 1973)

This is one of the most highly sought after original UK folk private presses and extremely hard to find. This lovely 6 piece of traditional covers and self composed tracks with gentle honest harmonies was created by a group from Grimsby (originally known as the Forestry Commission) comprising Martin Bartlett (vocals , fiddle ), Jayne Clark ( vocals , harmonium ), Geoff Liles ( vocals , harmonium , mandolin , autoharp , guitar , bells ), Derek Rushmer ( vocals , guitar , autoharp , recorder , bells ), Angie Seal ( vocals , tambourine bells ), Dave Woods ( vocals , autoharp , guitar , bells , recorders ) and who produced this sole album. It’s one of those records which is a treasure to own, the history and impossible nature of it’s survival. This copy is very strong, it plays with occasional light noise in quieter moments but nothing compromising, looks real clean, has a great private label and cover is real nice. Strictly graded.Ttrack listing : side 1 - ushers well, come by the hills, daddy fox, crazy man Michael, dance tunes, flower and young man, bells. side 2 - lord franklin, lyke wake dirge, wild flying dove, bold reynold, orange, balloon, trees, glimpse of heaven.

Sample pic: Click

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Cyril Tawney "A Mayflower Garland" (UK Folk 1970)













Singer/songwriter Cyril Tawney was the iron man of the British folk revival, touring clubs and festivals for close to half a century -- a stretch unrivaled by any of his contemporaries. Tawney was born into a naval family in Gosport, Hampshire, on October 12, 1930, following tradition by enlisting himself at the age of 16. In all, he spent a dozen years as a naval electrician, five of them aboard submarines. As his military career drew to a close, Tawney began taking steps toward a life in music, and on Christmas Day 1957 he made his radio debut on the BBC special Home Service's Sing Christmas and the Turn of the Year, introduced by host and musicologist Alan Lomax as "Petty Officer Tawney of the HMS Murray." (Tawney later credited earlier Lomax-hosted broadcasts as his introduction to traditional folk music, while his Royal Navy tenure was the obvious inspiration for his career-long fascination with maritime songs.) Tawney exited the navy in mid-1959 and immediately entered a new career as a radio performer. In October 1961, he played his first solo club date, and two years later released his debut EP, Baby Lie Easy. Although he gravitated to traditional material, especially the songs of southwestern England made famous by Sabine Baring-Gould, Tawney was a skilled writer in his own right, documenting the seaman's life with rare lyricism and poignancy. His songs, most notable among them "The Grey Funnel Line," "A Lean and Unwashed Tiffy," "The Ballad of Sammy's Bar," and "Sally Free and Easy," were later covered by singers including Bob Dylan, Davy Graham, and Carolyn Hester. After a series of short-lived record label affiliations Tawney landed with Argo in 1969. There he would produce the bulk of his studio output, including 1972's near-definitive In Port. In 1988 he founded his own label, Neptune Tapes, where he remained for the duration of his recording career. Following a long illness, Tawney died at his home in Devon on April 21, 2005. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

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>>>>>jean luc godard said... Thanks so much for this. None of his music is available on CD and I wanted to hear him for some time now. He is much better than I expected. Excellent stuff! 12th July 2007<<<<<<

http://www.cyriltawney.co.uk/

C.O.B.

Live at Old Ash Tree, Kent 1972

01. I Told Her
02. Music Of The Ages
03. Bones
04. Sweet Slavery
05. Wade In The Water
06. Bright Eyed One
07. Scanky Black Farmer
08. Blue Morning
09. When He Came Home
10. Spirit Of Love
11. Lion Of Judah (Cortada)
12. Nile Roses

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The Web "Theraphosa Blondi" 1970

Web/Samurai
It all started back in 1967 when the musicians Lennie Wright, Kenny Beveridge, Tom Harris, Tony Edwards and John Eaton moved to London and started a band they gave a rather hopeless name: John L. Watson and The Web. Watson was an American singer who had joined the band. The year after, the band wisely changed their name to just The Web, and recorded their first album called "Fully Interlocking". Both this and the follow-up "Theraphosa Blondi" had some listenable moments, but overall they showed a band who didn't know if they should play pop-music or progressive rock.

Watson left the group in 1970 and was replaced by Dave Lawson. With this line-up, the band were ready to make the albums which they are remembered by some for. They switched label to Polydor (the two first albums were both released on Deram) and they also deleted the "the" in the name, and simply just called the band Web. Lawson turned out to be the creative force in the band and he wrote all the material on the third album, "I Spider". This album, which was produced by drummer Lennie Wright, is an obscure classic of progressive rock.

After changing label again, this time to the small label Greenwich, the band changed their name AGAIN. This time they chose the name Samurai, which also was the name of the last album they recorded. In the mean time, Tom Harris had left the group and was replaced by two new members on wind instruments, Don Fay and Tony Roberts. The album was another progressive rock classic, but the band did unfortunately split up a little time after the release of the album.

Dave Lawson did later join the symphonic progressive rock group Greenslade. From what I've heard he is now working in the TV-business. I have absolutely no idea about what the rest of the band have done after the break-up.

Discography:
Fully Interlocking (1968 Deram SML 1025)
Theraphosa Blondi (1970 Deram SML-R 1058)
I Spider (1970 Polydor 2383 024)
Samurai (1971 Greenwich GSLP 1003)

Sample pic: 1, 2

Bobb Trimble "Jupiter Transmission" 1980's

Bobb Trimble's cult is a small but worthy one, which the release of Jupiter Transmission in the mid-'90s demonstrated. Cherry-picking the two early-'80s albums that founded his reputation -- Iron Curtain Innocence and Harvest of Dreams -- Jupiter Transmission serves as a handy introduction to a quietly unnerving but entrancing body of work. Trimble's falsetto is easily the most immediately memorable thing about his work, a high, restrained quaver that is both beautiful and alien -- compared to, say, the singing of early Incredible String Band or Tyrannosaurus Rex-era Marc Bolan, Trimble is more controlled and creepy at once. He often situates his voice in the arrangements to sound like he's trying to tell you something carefully without letting you catch what it all is, and when it meshes with the music at its best, the result is very much like, indeed, a radio message from beyond. The opening "Glass Menagerie Fantasies," caught somewhere between epic glam descends and zoned-out space rock, sets the tone well for the collection, as well as showing Trimble's ability to catch an otherworldly mood as effectively as, say, contemporaries like Chrome (though with much less feedback and volume). A couple of songs aside, Trimble's reflective guitar playing isn't the lead instrument but arguably neither is anything else -- it's the sense of a collage and combination that predominates, as with the murky blend of cackling interjections on "Night at the Asylum" and the odd calls and chirps during the break on "Take Me Home Vienna." A few songs are a touch more "normal" -- the gentler pop of "Your Little Pawn" and "You're in My Dreams," the vocal/guitar combination of "If Words Were All I Had" -- but that's more in a matter of degrees than anything else. What's perhaps most sharp of all about the songs here is that Trimble audibly isn't trying to re-create but find a new synthesis -- it's not '60s or '70s revivalism but an extension into another decade from what had gone before, with its own stamp. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

The Straw Bear Band

dom cooper:
Hi there, thought I'd say hello, because I've been using your site Time Has Told Me alot recently. Thanks for posting such good stuff. I'm in a band, hope you get a minute to check us out. Cheers, dom

The Straw Bear Band
A wasted year brought forth feelings of emptiness and a promise to do something with the time left.Winter made a night of writing. Ten sets of lyrics punched out on an Olivetti with a loud noise. Followed by Four days of recording in seclusion. In the town of Wolves, on the street by the church. Vocals in cupboards and a fridge. Percussion on tea chests and the sound of a chainsaw from the churchyard. The story was mapped out in song. It was written in one long splurge, edited to fit, we let it happen with out planning, and it fell in to place. For now it's rough, but soon it will be completed.

D. Cooper (Lyrics, Mythology, Vocals, Simple Music),
D. Hood (Master Music, Smoke and Mirrors,
Distant Vocals),
L.Hill (Additional Guitar),
D.Neale (Additional Vocals and instruments, Sliders,
Microphones, Cut And Paste),
M.Gear (Additional instruments, Sliders,
Microphones, Cut And Paste),
S.Beckett (Sample Source)

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Bob Lind "Don't Be Concerned" 1966

For those of you unfamiliar with Bob Lind, he is best known for his big hit song of 1966 "Elusive Butterfly". Following the success of that single Bob went on to record two exquisite baroque-pop LPs in 1966, "Don't Be Concerned" and "Photographs of Feeling" with legendary over-the-top producer Jack Nitzsche (famous for his work with Phil Spector and Neil Young). These 2 albums are underrated, unknown classics and must haves for fans of sixties music in the vein of The Left Banke, The Byrds, PF Sloan, early Gordon Lightfoot, Judee Sill, Donovan, Richie Havens, Val Stoecklin, Margo Guryan, Love, Dylan...etc etc... but Lind's strange poetry, unusual guitar chords and unique vocal-stylings are truly indescribable. A nice CD comp of his material from this period is out-of-print but still findable in used shops- it's called "You Might Have Heard My Footsteps". The original LPs are commonly found in the folk section of used record shops in the $1 to $12 range.

"Brian Davison's Every Which Way" 1970

It shouldn't be necessary to inform you about whom of The Nice' ex-members that got the most successful career after the disbanding of that group. However, both Lee Jackson and Brian Davison started their own bands, but without any noticeable success. Jackson formed Jackson Heights that were able to make as much as four albums. Davison's new group Every Which Way lasted on the other hand for only one record, and that's really not much to be sad about if the music on this album was the best they had to offer. Musically it reminds me of a jazzier and more progressive version of Gordon Haskell's "It Is and It Isn't" album, but without the good melodies. Most of the songs are stretched out by lots of tedious soloing on saxophone from Geoffrey Peach, and Graham Bell's vocal delivery sounds depressing, lacking dynamics and range. The pace of the album is slow and laid-back, rarely firing up much excitement or energy. "The Light" has got a quite good sax-riff that is used sparsely and intelligent, but unfortunately gets lost in the tedium of the rest of the song. The only track that I really care for here is "Castle Sand". This mellow and fine song has got Peach' flute floating gently around it, and the melody is one of the few memorable ones on the album. "Go Placidly" also has some good tendencies in the melodic department, but several boring aspects about it too. You should rather check out Refugee's album from 1974 instead if you want the best thing that Davison were involved in after The Nice. ~vintageprog.com

This isn't the sort of album that gets placed at the top of someone's Want List, or even on the list at all. I for one don't have such a list in the first place, but a perhaps morbid sense of curiosity plus the simple knowledge of what this album was led to its purchase when I stumbled across it. It's not worth it, however, which is why this album this album receives my standard rating for music that is well-played but completely unaware of the total indifference it provokes in the listener. It's a bunch of slow to medium paced grooves, led by Graham Bell's acoustic guitar and vocals and then overlaid with John Hedley's rote pentatonic guitar riffs or Geoffrey Peach's smooth soprano sax work. There are few things that I hate like soprano saxophone, and I get suspicious of sax players who tend to turn jazzy into comatose. So what you get is something like a sluggish long-winded Traffic with more sax ("All in Time", "The Light", or the 9+ minutes of "Bed Ain't What It Used to Be"), or a curious rip-off of King Crimson's "Moonchild", although they had the sense to curtail the aimless ending ("Castle Sand"). One of the tracks that does stand out is "What You Like" which may not be any better than the rest, but at least has a dark dissonant tone to it, making them sound a bit like Catapilla. The other is "Go Placidly", a bona fide good song because it's short, to the point, has some energy in it, a couple of nice solos from the Designated Soloists, and consequently is the only song I can remember from the album at all. Musically, everyone's decent, but I don't think it would be much of a stretch to say that Davison is the best musician among the bunch, which says something. In fact, far more interesting than the music are the liner notes, which attempts to market the album as an anti-supergroup. "There isn't a hit song on this album" it proclaims, and boy was it right. It really was the only way to promote the album probably. I mean, it's not like anybody is going to say "I must have Brian Davison's new group's album!", so because they lack a big name they have to promote the music instead, and the groupness of the group. The only problem is that the music sucks. I mean Davison and Alan Cartwright (who later turned up in Procol Harum) do make a nice rhythm section, but aside from that well, there's a reason these guys weren't household names. Davison's production isn't anything special, either; he mixes his drums in a fairly interesting fashion but doesn't have any ideas outside of that. Watered down - the musical equivalent of a gray day.

Graham Bell (vocals) SKIP BIFFERTY
John Hedley (guitar)
Alan Cartwright (bass) PROCOL HURUM
Geoff Peach (flute)
Brian Davison (drums) THE NICE

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Gruppo Folk Internazionale "Festa Popolare" (Italian Folk 1975)

Band's main person, Moni Ovadia was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and he is of Jewish descent. He studied political sciences at the University of Milan.
He started out his artistic career as a singer and musician with the "Almanacco Popolare group" with Roberto Leydi, an ethnomusicologist, as director. In 1972, Ovadia formed the band "Gruppo Folk Internazionale" with the purpose of studying and presenting to the world different music traditions and especially kinds of music originating from the Balkans. In 1978, the group was renamed "Ensemble Havadia", and Ovadia composed pieces of his own. Under his direction, the concerts were turned into theatrical events that eventually acquired a certain style as that was conveyed through the performance entitled "Johnny’s Grandfather"; that play was successfully staged in most European cities.

Gruppo Folk Internazionale, playing mainly songs and music from the Balkans.

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Family Dogg "The View From Rowland's Head" 1972

Family Dogg was a British vocal group best known for their harmony vocals.
The idea was born when the British singers of the Spanish groups Los Flaps and Diamond Boys Albert Hammond and Steve Rowland met for the first time at a concert in Madrid in 1965. In 1966 Family Dogg was formed in England with the participation of the singers Mike Hazelwood and Christine Holmes. The debut album A Way of Life was released in 1969 and the title track scored a number 6 hit in the UK Singles Chart.
In 1970 the group was renamed as "Steve Rowland and The Family Dogg". In April 1970 they got a Number 2 hit in the Netherlands with the song "Sympathy" previously recorded by the group Rare Bird in 1969. In 1972 Steve Rowland released a last Family Dogg album, View from Rowland's Head, with guest musicians like Chris Spedding on the guitar and Ireen Sheer as singer. ~ Wikipedia

Formed in the UK in 1969, the original line-up comprised Steve Rowland, Albert Hammond, Mike Hazelwood, Doreen De Veuve and Zooey. Rowland already had a chequered history as a film-maker, actor and continental recording artist before forming the Double R production company with Ronnie Oppenheimer. With the backing of Fontana A&R head Jack Baverstock, Rowland produced a string of hits for Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick And Tichand the Herd, while his company also recorded such artists as P.J. Proby, the Magic Lanterns and Amory Kane.After assembling a talented back-up crew, Rowland launched Family Dogg and soon scaled the charts with Way Of Life, written by Roger Cookand Roger Greenaway. Specializing in high harmony and classy covers, the Dogg followed up unsuccessfully with Paul Simon's Save The Life Of My Child and recorded an album of hit standards with backing by several members of the newly-formed Led Zeppelin Although the Dogg had considerable commercial potential they were clearly a studio group with a tendency to lose members at short notice. In July 1969, De Veuve was replaced by the glamorous ex- CHARLIE GIRL star Christine Holmes, and several months later Ireen Scheer took over Zooey's role. With Hammond and Hazelwood busy writing the 13-piece suite OLIVER IN THE OVERWORLDfor Freddie And The Dreamers, Rowland was forced to explain that his group was a concept which only came together occasionally before dissipating into individual projects. The UK music press, unconvinced by such rhetoric, made such sarcastic news item remarks as No change in Family Dogg line-up this week. Nobody was too surprised when the Dogg ceased operations early in the new decade.

Nick Drake

Don't worry even if you missed ''3 hours 49 minutes''. Now I'm planing to post all of my Nick Drake bootlegs. Please wait for a while...

Nick Drake - [Bootleg] Second Grace
Nick Drake - [Bootleg] Tanworth-in-Arden 1
Nick Drake - [Bootleg] Tanworth-in-Arden 2
Nick Drake - [Bootleg] The Complete Home Recordings
Nick Drake - [Bootleg] The Ultimate Rarities Vol.1
Nick Drake - [Bootleg] The Ultimate Rarities Vol.2
Nick Drake - [Bootleg] Time Has Told Me

Recommended by hoppe...
Tony Trischka "Bluegrass Light" (1973)
Tony Trischka "Heartlands" (1975)

"The Early Years" contains banjo virtuoso Tony Trischka's first two Rounder albums -- Bluegrass Light (1973) and Heartlands (1975) -- in their entirety. "In the ongoing story of American roots music, Tony Trischka's first two Rounder recordings . . . rank among the most important and pivotal works of the late twentieth century." --Bill Evans "Rarely, perhaps three or four times a century, some music will be created that is a pure, explosive expression of life energy and uncontaminated joy. The music on this CD is, in my humble opinion, exactly that. When I listen to the volcanic, insanely creative opening to "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms" and other cuts like it on this album, I feel like my head is going to explode with happiness. I put Tony's early music in the same category as the best of Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, Scotty Stoneman and Wagner: mad and magnificent. Tony's music is the most successful urban embrace of rural sensibilities that I've ever heard. It's the music of trees and vines breaking through the sidewalks of the Bronx, of the irrepressible, implacable energy of the earth pushing through joyfully, at all times, in all places. It's some of the most unjustly neglected of all popular music masterpieces." --Matt Glaser

hoppe:
hello lizardson,
as the "recommend"-thread seems ill-accepted I take THIS SPACE HERE to point to 2 Newgrass albums which I uploaded. On them you find the best contemporary US acoustic pickers. i saw that band doing a show with robin williamson´s merry band. the fantastic fiddling of kenny kosek got williamson smiling brightly. of course: thanks a lot for the 3 williamson boots!

Request
Zephyr "Sunset Ride" (US Rock 1972)

There are two kinds of Zephyr fans; those who think the band died when Tommy Bolin left, and those who know it didn't. This second and final album for Warner featured Boulder, CO, guitar slinger Jock Bartley in place of Tommy Bolin, the replacement of Bobby Berge and John Faris, and one of the few known recorded appearances of Bobby Notkoff, other than his work with Neil Young, for whom he created the heart-wrenching violin break on "Running Dry." Without Bolin, the band took a decided turn toward jazz. This is a stunning album, featuring unknown classics like "Moving Too Fast," "Chasing Clouds," and "Winter Always Finds Me." Lead singer Candy Givens passed away some years ago, and this album is perhaps her most passionate legacy. Reissued on CD by the One Way label in 2000. ~ William Ashford, All Music Guide