Shelagh McDonald - Stargazer (1971)

«As much myth as musician, singer/songwriter Shelagh McDonald seemed poised to emerge as a major voice in British folk music when she abruptly vanished mere months after the release of her breakthrough LP. Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, McDonald arrived in London sometime in the late '60s. While performing at the Troubadour, she befriended fellow singer/songwriter Keith Christmas, who would prove instrumental in landing her a record deal with the B&C label. Album followed in 1970 to decent reviews but mediocre sales, but 1971's Stargazer was a far different story. With McDonald dubbed "the new Sandy Denny" by the U.K. music press, the record was a critical smash and sold respectably.

But after recording a handful of tracks for a proposed third LP, McDonald suddenly disappeared, leaving no clues to her rationale or her whereabouts. While many friends and fans speculated she returned to Scotland, unhappy with her life and career in London, others believed she fled to either the U.S. or Canada in an attempt to recover from a failed relationship or to cure a drug problem. In truth, it was a life-altering LSD trip that sent her into seclusion and also ruined her voice. After a time spent putting her life back together, she married a Scottish bookstore owner and drifted away from society again, only this time happily.
With the CD re-release of Album and Stargazer, her music was embraced by a new generation of fans, and in 2005 Castle/Sanctuary released Let No Man Steal Your Thyme, a compilation of McDonald's complete recorded output, including outtakes and demos. 2005 also was the year McDonald finally resurfaced. After reading a story about herself in The Scottish Daily Mail, she submitted to an interview that cleared up much of the mystery behind her disappearance.» (AMG)

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The Incredible String Band - Hard Rope and Silken Twine (1974)

In my opinion, this Incredible String Band’s final effort was a good album, much underrated at the time of its release. “Maker of Islands” is a wonderful song, not ruined by its sweeping orchestration. “Dreams of No Return” is Robin Williamson at his best. And the epic suite “Ithkos” is a saucerful of surprises (the proto-world Greek intro, nice orchestral passages, even hard rocking bits in a Wishbone Ash vein!). Also the live rendition of “Cold February” is haunting, though the sound is far from perfection. Of course, this is not the “classic” ISB sound, but neither is the anonymous folk-pop of, say, Earthspan – and, by the way, does the word “classic” have any sense with an ever-changing and ever-evolving band as ISB? Definitely, I invite you to listen to this album, thirty-five years later, with new (or renewed) ears, for it deserves a second chance. Radu

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Al Stewart - Past, Present & Future (1974)

IMHO, the highest peak in Al Stewart’s career, far more fascinating than his subsequent lavish, luscious blockbuster, The Year of the Cat both in the epic, majestic tales such as “Roads to Moscow” and “Nostradamus”, and in the poppier efforts such the brilliant “Soho”.

«As good as portions of it were, Orange was essentially a transitional effort, the necessary bridge to Past, Present & Future, the record where Al Stewart truly begins to discover his voice. This is largely through his decision to indulge his fascination with history and construct a concept album that begins with "Old Admirals" and ends with "Nostradamus" and his predictions for the future. A concept like this undoubtedly will strike prog warning bells in the minds of most listeners but, ironically, he has stripped back most of the prog trappings from Orange, settling into a haunting folk bed for these long, winding tales. If anything, this results in an album that is a bit too subdued, but even so, it's apparent that Stewart has finally found his muse, focusing his songwriting and intent to a greater extent than ever before.» (amg)

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The Incredible String Band - The Incredible String Band (1966)

One of my all-time favourites, The Incredible String Band were one of the most haunting avant-folk groups to emerge from the fertile ground of the late 60s UK scene. In retrospect, it can be said that they were amongst the pioneers of world music, since, especially from their second album (the famous The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion) on they began to incorporate Middle Eastern and Asian instruments and melodies in their basically hippy-Celtic sound (they were from Scotland). But let’s start from the beginning. The album I chose to post here is their 1966 debut, probably the most “orthodox” album in their career. Nevertheless, it’s a unique and highly rewarding record in its own right. Highly recommended!

«The debut release from the original Incredible String Band trio – Robin Williamson (violin/whistle/mandolin/guitar/vocals), Clive Palmer (banjo/guitar/vocals), and Mike Heron (guitar/vocals) – was also their most simple. It is this minimalism that allowed the natural radiance of the band's (mostly) original material to be evident in the purist sense, and likewise without many of the somewhat intricate distractions and musical tangents that their future work would incorporate. Immediately striking is the group's remarkable and collective prowess on seemingly all things stringed – hence, their apropos moniker. With an unmistakable blend of distinct instrumentation and harmony vocals, the Incredible String Band take inspiration from traditional music on both sides of the Atlantic. Their impish charm and tongue-in-cheek fairytale mythology also add to their folkie mystique. This first long-player – originally issued in 1966 – contains a bevy of songs that, while steeped in conventional folk music, are completely unique. This likewise holds true for the three traditional pieces, "Schaeffer's Jig," "Whistle Tune," and the rare Clive Palmer instrumental solo, "Niggertown." Palmer, formerly of the highly underrated Famous Jug Band, would exit the Incredible String Band after this record, and thus the perpetually rotating personnel that would guide the group for the remainder of its existence began, perhaps aptly, at the beginning. The original songs range from light and airy love ballads – such as the Williamson solo "Womankind" or the understated mischief of "Dandelion Blues" – to the high and lonesome sound of Mike Heron's mandolin-driven "How Happy I Am." There are likewise darker – yet no less poignant – tunes such as "Empty Pocket Blues" and the haunting "Good As Gone."» (AMG)

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The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues (1988)

An Irish folk-rock masterpiece, both epic and profoundly romantic. One of the best albums from the 80s? Well, I just can’t be objective about it, ‘cause I got the fisherman’s blues…

«The early output of the U.K. based band The Waterboys was nothing if not ambitious. Founded by Mike Scott in the early eighties, amidst a London music scene that seemed to be searching for a post-punk/post-new wave identity, The Waterboys carved out a niche with Scott’s self-described “big sound”. Scott fused elements of a new wave beat with layers of Ska-styled horns and production that wouldn’t have been out of place on a George Martin or Phil Spector project. Never “slick” affairs, the resulting first three records were just a little too heavy-handed and Scott couldn’t quite deliver on his lofty “big sound” aspirations. After Karl Wallinger’s 1985 departure to form World Party, a musically frustrated Mike Scott and longtime bandmate Anthony Thistlethwaite were persuaded by Irish newcomer Steve Wickham to spend a few days in Dublin. Three years later, the Waterboys were still in Ireland, had hooked-up with some of the country’s finest traditional musicians and eventually released what I consider to be one of the best dozen or so recordings of my lifetime. Fisherman’s Blues is quite simply a masterpiece.

The fact that it took three years of roaming around the Irish countryside, collecting musicians and material along the way, and playing endless informal gigs, will not be lost on even the most casual listener. It seems, on the surface at least, paradoxical to refer to the playing as incredibly tight and, at the same time utterly relaxed, but that’s how the record comes off. From the opening bars of the title track, which some may recall from the soundtrack of Waking Ned Divine (a spectacular achievement in its own right), you’ll feel like you’ve been invited into a warm country home on a chill damp evening and are sharing a truly special experience – some very old friends making incredible music together. By the time they work through a stunning cover of Van Morrison’s Sweet Thing and deliver a half-drunken attempt to remake, or at least forgive, Hank Williams’ decadent reputation (Has Anybody Here Seen Hank), you’ll be convinced these folks must have been playing together since childhood. After their romp through Scott’s self-deprecating reflections on his failed love-life (And A Bang on the Ear), the gorgeous haunting balladry of When Ye Go Away and Toma McKeown’s sung/spoken version of The Stolen Child, a W.B. Yeats poem set to music by Scott, you won’t want it to end. For most people it doesn’t; they just start the record over again and pour another Guinness.» (Ultrafi)

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OSSIAN SUNDAY SPECIAL!!!

"Hi, Radu!

As promised, I'm sending you links to 192kbps rips of Ossian albums. [Ossian were quite simply the most innovative and influential group to emerge from the folk scene in Scotland in the 1970's.]
I've scanned front & back covers and they are uploaded separately.
I've double-checked all links, they're working all right!
Thank you again for wonderful music you posted so far and I hope I've helped you just a little bit with these links.

Best regards,
Dizzy"

Hi, Dizzy!
Many thanx for sharing these very hard to find albums. You are of great help!

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Ossian - The Best of Ossian (1994)

One of Scotland's finest folk bands.

"Formed in the mid-'70s, Ossian became one of Scotland's best-loved folk revival bands. Members have included fiddler John Martin, Highland bagpipe virtuoso Iain MacDonald, composer and multi-instrumentalist Billy Jackson, and singer and guitarist Tony Cuffe. The group broke up after Cuffe and Jackson moved to the U.S. The other members have remained prominent on the Scottish folk scene." (AMG)

Does anybody of you have some of Ossian's original albums? If so, it would be nice to post 'em here for everyone to listen (I only possess literally worn out tapes of their first two albums). You too can help to build Babe(b)logue! Many thanx in advance.

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