As the deadline of Shindig! Vol 2 Issue 1 is rapidlu approaching I thought a folky spring clean would be a good thing to do. None of the material I am reviewing is rubbish, it's just somehow been left wrongly left behind.
     ANDY ROBERTS Just For The Record: The Solo Anthology 1969-'76 (Castle; 2-CD) is an excellent collection of this superb singer/guitarist songwriter. Roberts played with the comedy academics The Liverpool Scene whilst finishing his law degree, appeared on the legendary Mcgough & McGear album (the other guitarist was Hendrix), achieved a modicum of success with Plainsong and even became a floating member of Pink Floyd. This anthology however focuses on the singer's stoned solo material where, backed by everyone from Mighty Baby to BJ Cole, Zoot Money, Gerry Conway and Iain Mathews, he cut a series of solo albums across the late '60s and '70s. The material varies from Mighty Baby-ish rock to straight ahead folk-rock and country-rock, in the latter mode he sounds a little like Tony Hazzard (notably on the brilliant unreleased demo 'Poison Apple Lady') and some winsome ornate orchestrated-pop also gets a look in ('I've Seen The Movie'; recently compiled on Fading Yellow #8 – see above). Faultless demos like 'The Raven', will please long times fans, and a nice Grimms song from 1976 is a grand finale, this thorough introduction to Robert's rewarding canon of work that will leave you wanting more and is recommended on all counts.
     RICK HEYWARD appeared on a number of Andy Roberts albums and his own 1971 album is quite similar in style to Roberts own acoustic guitar work. Rick Heyward (Sunbeam; CD) may be a medieval styled guitar pickers dream full of Jansch-like reimagined ancient music and hippy sitars, yet Heyward came to prominence in Bradford's numero uno psych band The Accent, whose 'Red Sky At Night' was both monstrously heavy and ahead of its time. If a predominantly acoustic album on tracks like 'Weasel' Hayward still gets to riff away in his own inimitable style.
     MARC BRIERLEY was another obscure UK folky that touched upon psychedelia. Autograph Of Time (Castle; 2-CD) compiles everything the singer recorded between 1966-'69; Welcome To The Citadel, 1968; Hello, 1969; assorted singles '66-'70. Essentially a lesser, darker Donovan. Brierley created the odd beauty, and this 2-CD set should be in the home of all baroque/pop/folk heads.
     THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND have their second and third from last albums re-issued on a 2-CD set by BGO and I, for one, have always enjoyed the later Stringband. Dropping their more eccentric edges in favour of a pop/rock sound may have been seen as selling out, but the music is much easier on the third eye. Earthspan (1972) is an emotionally rich set, cut on the back of the group's involvement with Scientology, and I love it. Theatrical in tone, the album veers from the church-like seriousness of 'Sunday Song' into red neck hoedown 'Black Jack David'. Malcolm Le Maistre adds some high Brelian camp on 'The Actor' and Williams' revisits Noel Coward on 'Moon Hang Low'; Mike Heron's 'Seagull' being the only song that really recalls the Stringband of old. No Ruinous Feud (1974) however features an even more eclectic choice and seems completely un-Stringband. The further move toward Harley-esque pomp and reggae is just wrong, and the soft jazz and a few reels add little substance. Thankfully Heron's 'Little Girl' is a gentle gem! The other recentish CD is the Castle sessions/live 2-CD set.The Circle Is Unbroken: Live & Studio 1967-1972. This uncomfortably pairs the 1967 sessions that would result in the classic "Guthrie and Dylan crash land into a psychedelic maelstrom" 500 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion with a live Canadian concert! A lot of the Chelsea Sessions remained unreleased and the material is uniformly excellent psychedelic folk! Superb! The second CD features a makeshift-gigging band caught live on stage in Calgary and it's so much better than it ought to be. The band is alive, the soundman drummer gets it together and the version of 'The Circle Remains Unbroken' is hauntingly beautiful! One of the most important bands of the 1960s and early '70s? I think so, and so did Dylan and Macca!
     MR FOX Join In Us Our Game (Castle; 2-CD) is another of Castle's excellent everything-by-the-band Transatlantic records once over. Mr Fox were husband and wife duo Bob and Carole Pegg. Debut Mr Fox (1970) sees the duo supplemented by Alun Eden (drums), Barry Lyons (electric bass), Andrew Massey (cello), John Myatt (flute, clarinet, bass clarinet and bassoon). Unlike their 1970 hippy contemporaries Mr Fox neglected electric rock ups, favouring slow mournful arrangements of North Country folk songs; the duo's vocals are minimally backed by melodeon drones that at times recall the doom and gloom of early Velvet Underground. Spooky stuff! The Gipsy (1971) takes the drones and slowness further with 'Mendle', a sonically textured, psychedelic and slightly monotonous piece. Hey, it actually sounds contemporary. 'Elvira Madigan' on the other hand is a sprightly folk/pop piece and delightful. Two great albums, just that bit different from their contemporaries. With The Eighteenth Day Of May (RIP) having sung their praises and wyrd folk being part of the zeitgeist lets hope more fashionable scruffs get hip to them.
     Kings and queen of "folk-that-went-that-bit-further" or "jazzers-that-played-folk", or however you perceive them, PENTANGLE get a straight re-issue of second from last album Reflection (Castle; CD). Some tykes don't rate it, but don't go listening to them, as it's excellent. Opening with the banjo led groove 'Wedding Dress' through the mournful take on 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken?' to the sitar-inflected dream 'Rain And Snow', the cool jazz of 'Helping Hand' (dig that wah wah) and the closing 'Reflection' this is a solid album that covers all bases.
     SHIRLEY COLLINS AND THE ALBION COUNTRY BAND No Roses (Castle; CD). From "the lady who was into folk whilst the hippies played with their toy cars" comes this 1971 collaboration with a few young hairy electric folky Fairports. Shirley embodies folk singing and here she sounds great, if not a little undermined by the electric power, but it works – and is perhaps representative of a motored tractor working in tandem with a sickle. 'Murder Of Maria Marten' could in fact be the Fairports. Old school, new school. And it still sounds great! Long live Richard Thompson! Long live Shirley Collins! In 2006 Fledgling released the rounded odds and ends comp Snapshots which featured a host of live material recorded by SHIRLEY & DOLLY COLLINS between 1966 and 1979. Minimal pipe organ accompanies Shirley's gorgeous voice. As chilly as the moors at eventide, this is music that picks you up and hurtles you back in time.
     Released in 1976 on Transatlantic, trad folk bros THE DRANSFIELDS add some subtle electric guitars, bass and drums to their rich harmonies and Barry's fantastic fiddle playing. The Fiddlers Dream (Sanctuary; CD) very much updates trad Brit folk with an assured mid-'70s rock template. Sweet, instant melodies, well written songs and a strong folk vibe make for a winning blend. Less eerie and medieval than acid folk The Dransfields well and truly play folk/rock and sound so much better than the so-called leaders Fairports and Span did in 1976. An excellent album that has aged well. They should have been huge!
     GRYPHON opted for a more medieval music consortium meets prog rock sound than their contemporaries, and at that are not strictly folk; the four albums they cut for Transatlantic between 1973 and 1975 certainly aren't for the weak hearted and simple minded either. Robin Hood & His Merry Men Crumhorns clash with wigged out synths and complex bass and prog guitar riffery. If you wanna know where modern mushroom munching, cape wearing rockers Circulus get a few of their ideas from start here! Crossing The Styles (Sanctuary; 2-CD).
     VASHTI BUNYAN's re-emergence has been an incredible thing to see. Her live performance I saw at The Barbican was an amazing event, her T-Mobile advertising campaign a little odd to comprehend (but nice for her bank account) and her new album Lookaftering (Fatcat; CD) is a pleasant return to Just Another Diamond Day's childlike view of a shy roaming sort. Her voice hasn't changed and the new young guns are very sympathetic to the cause. Lovely, but perhaps a little gloomier than I would have hoped for.
     Another pensive singer to have been rediscovered by both trendy hopefuls and real music fans is NICK GARRIE. The Lost Songs Of Nick Garrie-Hamilton (Rev-Ola; CD) features material ranging from Garrie's earliest demos cut in 1968 (lovely stuff) to album material from the 1980s that isn't quite as horrible as the production would lead you to think (but still no great shakes). Nick's now back on track, so let's hope he records again soon.
     MARK FRY (a young British hippy based in Italy) has left a rather interesting album behind, which was released on vinyl a few years ago by Akarma. Now Dreaming With Alice has been released legit by Sunbeam, with a nice set of notes by the lost singer. It's fey acid-folk all the way, featuring a soft gentle English voice singing whimsical tales about Christopher Columbus, a witch, and a mandolin, which are delicate and tripped out in the same way Donovan and The Incredible String Band's later works were. As fragile and as pretty as a cobweb!
     Antoni at Guerssen has been fearless in his reissues of obscure folk, now reaching the 1980s. Oz duo PENNY DAVIES AND ROGER HOTT Restless (Guerssen; CD) really doesn't sound like music from 1983, instead the male/female vocals, acoustic and electric guitars recall the plaintive pop folk styling of the late '60s and early '70s. Very nice. Also from 1983 is Swiss folkies WALTI HUBER's A Sense Of Touch (Guerssen; CD); this is a bit slicker than the previous album and in a way it sounds not unlike Christy Moore and Moving Hearts. No bad thing, but it is less instant and more representative of the era it was cut than the Oz duo's hippyish time trap. Finally Welsh progressive/folk band PERERIN's Teithgan knock out some clean and flute filled ditties sang in Welsh tongue and brimming with mythology.
     Crossing the Atlantic we have FRED NEIL and this wonderful bookend compendium that Joe Foster stitched together. Consisting of Fred's swansong live/oddities album The Other Side Of This Life (1971) and four live songs from The Bitter End 1963. The Sky Is Falling: The Complete Live Recordings 1963-1971 (Rev-Ola; CD) is both the first and final word on the Fred we know and love! Excellent!
     Although not known or appreciated quite as much DON COOPER cut four cool albums for Roulette between 1970-1974. It's all excellent funky singer songwriter stuff with fab grooves and grabbing vocals. Andy Votel deserves a pat on the shoulder for this excellent CD… Howlin' At The Moon (Delay68; CD). Another US hippy goody that should have been mentioned way back is DINO VANLENTE's 1968 solo album (RPM; CD). What can I say other than it's a gem. Stoned, scatted, freeform, beat… Before re-joining QSM Dino cut this flowing orchestrated set of psychedelic jazzy folk for Epic. Big production, orchestra and lots of echo. Dino's hip talk is well worth hearing. It's a little bit like a brighter Skip Spence.