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Kip Of The Serenes
Dr. Strangely Strange were an experimental Irish folk group, formed in Dublin in 1967 by Tim Booth and Ivan Pawle. the Strangelys were friends and contemporaries of the Incredible String Band, whose producer Joe Boyd signed them to his Witchseason management and production company in 1969. This first album originally came out in mid 1969 on Island Records. Over the years, Kip has acquired a considerable cult status; in 2007, Record Collector Magazine proclaimed it one of the UK's hundred most co…
Balaklava
A record that virtually defies categorization, Pearls Before Swine's 1968 epic Balaklava is the near-brilliant follow-up to One Nation Underground — and second masterpiece from Tom Rapp's merry band. This quasi-historical mystery album featuring a lisping songwriter who was recording 78 RPM cylinders and talking about Florence Nightingale existed, if not in the middle, then somewhere over there. It was fitting that the album had a home on ESP Records then—and now it has one on Drag City. A host …
Willoughby's Lament
"In the end Willoughby’s Lament is distinguished by sharper execution, both instrumentally and vocally, of more assured songs with greater overall heft the result; the growth is quickly discernible in the expertly rendered dynamic shifts of opener If I’d Live Alone and the chamber classical-inclined resonances of Interlude.Fleeting moments on The Wall I Built Myself could underscore Bob Brown as ambitiously striving to stand apart from an army of sensitive strummers with back pocket notebooks fu…
Evening Of The Magician
180gm vinyl LP. Three albums by Randy Burns were originally released on the ESP-Disk label during the late sixties. The first of which called Of Love and War came out in 1966 and was somewhat your typical mid-sixties solo folk debut album, straight out of the Greenwich Village scene. It contained a few self-composed tunes but mostly 'borrowed' songs from fellow folksters. Accompanied only by his acoustic guitar and occasional 12-string backing, Randy laid down a set that inspired his own writing…
Virginity For All
The rarity and bizarre content of Jerry Solomon’s releases have music connoisseurs clamoring for them, though he funded, wrote, recorded, and self-distributed his uniquely fascinating music for no reason other than to simply put it out there. Equal parts strange, entertaining, and foreboding, Jerry’s music is always engaging, and one can’t help but feel these recordings offer a glimpse through a murky portal into the unadulterated creative experience. Approximately fifty years after their initia…
Sunday's Child
John Martyn's follow-up to 1973's Inside Out is a much more song-oriented, less experimental effort which concentrates on the joys of home and family. Sunday's Child skillfully blends the sensual ("You Can Discover") with the sweet ("My Baby Girl"), the modern ("Root Love") with the traditional ("Spencer the Rover"), and the tormented ("Sunday's Child") with the satisfied ("Satisfied Mind," "Call Me Crazy") while retaining its cohesiveness. The record, his sixth on his own, shows the many facets…
Inside Out
Of all the musicians who attempted to marry modern jazz/rock ideas with
traditional British folk in the late '60s/early '70s, John Martyn was
the most challenging and aggressive. He had others giving him a run for
his money, sure -- Richard Thompson attacked the guitar with Sufi focus
and clarity; Bert Jansch often employed a sharp, metallic edge in his
work; and John Renbourn was capable of guitar maelstroms -- but when it
came down to it, no one was as out-there as Martyn, as experiment…
The Tumbler
John Martyn’s second album was released in December 1968. Another album in
the folk tradition but featuring the jazz flautist Harold McNair,
particularly on the romantic Dusty, The Gardeners and Fly On Home. As a
young man John stayed with his sister who lived near Hampton Court and
the song Dusty was inspired by his happy memories of Hampton Court Fair. This album was produced by Al Stewart and had more of a sparkle than
London Conversation and John said, “The album ‘sings’ a bit more than…
Bless The Weather
Though his earlier albums had merit, John Martyn truly came into his own with 1971’s Bless the Weather. The bittersweet grace of “Go Easy,” “Back Down the River,” and “Head and Heart” showcase Martyn’s agile folk-blues guitar touch as well as his delicate vocal shadings and sparse lyric style. A brooding Celtic atmosphere hangs over these tracks, reflected in the mellow fatalism of the title tune and the regretful yet accepting outlook of “Let the Good Things Come.” Whatever the feelings express…
Stormbringer!
**2018 HQ remastering** Originally released in February 1970 by Island Records this is the first and classic album by John and Beverley Martyn. After being rehearsed in Woodstock, NY Stormbringer! was recorded and mixed in only 8 days with engineer John Wood and producer Joe Boyd. John Martyn, inspired by the Band's Music from Big Pink, worked hard to find a distinctive guitar sound and in two tracks (Would You Believe Me? and The Ocean) introduced his pioneering guitar technique. Levon Helm gue…
Road To Ruin
**2018 HQ remastering. Presented in the original gatefold sleeve on 180gram vinyl, this is the first time that the album has been available on vinyl for over 20 years** John and Beverley Martyn’s 2nd album, also released in 1970, was Produced by Joe Boyd and engineered by John Wood at Sound Techniques, the Island Records studio. This album is John and Beverly's follow up to Stormbringer. In much of the same manner as that album, here Martyn recruited Pentangle member Danny Thompson on bass (who …
Pink Moon
The culmination of Nick Drake's emotional outpouring. Pink Moon is Drake’s deepest and most emotional record, originally released in 1972, following a long bout of severe depression. Whatever darkness he was in, he was able to channel those emotions into this final album, creating an opus that continues to grow in popularity and is reissued here on 180-gram vinyl. Unlike his other albums, this was recorded without a backing band, creating an even more intimate and personal experience. The title …
Bryter Layter
**2018 repress. Reissue on heavyweight vinyl in textured sleeve** With even more of the Fairport Convention crew helping him out -- including bassist Dave Pegg and drummer Dave Mattacks along with, again, a bit of help from Richard Thompson -- as well as John Cale and a variety of others, Drake tackled another excellent selection of songs on his second album. Demonstrating the abilities shown on Five Leaves Left didn't consist of a fluke, Bryter Layter featured another set of exquisitely arrange…
Five Leaves Left
Whether you know it or not, you've heard Nick Drake before. Maybe
it's from his other albums, maybe it's from that VW commercial, maybe
it's just the sound of that quiet bleakness we all feel when sadness
comes to the door and doesn't want to leave. This music lives with all
of us. It exists in quiet lonely nights, chilly autumn evenings, and the
muted grey of the world when it's been raining all day.During his too-short musical career, Nick used music to look at those
little feelings we a…
Lassa sta' la Me Creatura
** Audiophile pressing (Pure Analogue Cutting, One-Stage Pressing Process, 180 g.) edition of 490 copies ** More than 40 years after its publication, the album Lassa sta 'la me creatura continues to be systematically cited in the stories of Italian music related to the' 70s as a completely unique and innovative event in the music scene of those years. A remarkable Italian folk/ethnic album with experimental tendencies, released in 1974 on the legendary Intingo label, Canzoniere Del Lazio was one…
A Rare Conundrum
Though recorded in England, Bert Jansch’s time in America recording the preceding ‘L.A. Turnaround’ and ‘Santa Barbara Honeymoon’ is still much in evidence. The breezy, bluesy style carries effortless across standout tracks ‘Looking For a Home’ and ‘3AM’, alongside the more familiar UK folk territory of ‘The Curragh of Kildare’ and ‘Pretty Saro’. Recorded at London’s now-legendary Air Studios, the production – steered by Jansch and new collaborator Rod Clements – has a wonderful lightness of tou…
Maison Rose
We begin by saying that this is an album unlike any other. A bold statement, perhaps. Yet look in the Scented Gardens of the Mind book and you will see this description: "a revelation of a folk album, with songs of incredible beauty and innovative arrangements. It features traditional instruments you've hardly ever heard before and touches of the avant-garde. Play this album directly after that of another randomly chosen female folk album, and you will notice the difference! This is one of the b…
The End of the Line/Perspectives
Double LP version. The genesis of Havenstreet goes back to 1969, when Phil Ridgway and Jeff Vinter played in The Gas, an experimental psychedelic band heavily influenced by Barrett-era Pink Floyd.
The two friends started to write songs their own songs, ending up as a
folk duo. With the offer to record some of their material at a friend's
studio, they recruited more musical friends, so Havenstreet was born.
The influences had expanded now to bands and artists such as Peter Hammill, Strawbs, T…
A Midsummer's Night Dream
LP version. Sommor presents the first ever legitimate reissue of Oberon's A Midsummer's Night Dream,
one of the rarest psych-folk albums from the UK, originally released in
1971 in a private edition of 99 copies. Oberon consisted of seven young
musicians who met while studying at Radley College in Oxford. Drawing
upon such influences as Fairport Convention, The Pentangle, King Crimson, The Incredible String Band, and Sandy Denny,
the group created a stunning piece of progressive folk. Fanta…
Ship to Shore
2018 repress. Stunning debut album from 1976 by legendary/cult UK folk musician Nigel Mazlyn Jones. Originally issued as a private pressing, Ship to Shore
combines 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars with electric textures,
effects and unusual soundscapes, culminating in the haunting
progressive-folk 11-minute title-track. A folk-rock/acid-folk
masterpiece highly recommended to anyone into John Martyn, Nick Drake, Michael Chapman, Bob Theil, or Pink Floyd. Mastertape sound, including an insert …