Allright!! It's Folk Music Week here at Toter Allee.

The New Lost City Ramblers - The Early Years 1958 - 1962

The New Lost City Ramblers came out of the 'Folk Revival' movement of the late 50's, and became one of the most important and influential groups in the revival of American traditional music. During a remarkably prolific period in the 50s and 60s, the Ramblers produced a series of recordings on the Folkways label that provided the source material for many a budding folkie's repertoire, a veritable encyclopedia of blues, ballads and bluegrass breakdowns, songs of love, humor and of labor. This compilation has 26 tracks, and should be heard by anyone interested at all in Americana or old-time music. These guys were fantastic musicians and their versions of this old material from the 20's and 30's are incredible.

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The New Lost City Ramblers - Out Standing In Their Field 1963 - 1973

Volume two of this set of compilations from recordings made on the Folkways label. 27 tracks. This really is some great stuff.



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Frank Tovey & The Pyros - Grand Union 1991

"1991's Grand Union should by rights be lauded as a masterpiece of alternative rock, however Frank Tovey's reclusive persona ensured that this overlooked gem has slipped through the net. Produced with PK (Paul Kendall), the album is both musically and lyrically enveloping. Something of a 'concept' album, Grand Union is ostensibly a collection of folk / ur-rock / hill-billy / country tracks accompanied by Tovey's East End stories of the old, the new and the salient. There are many themes here, but one gets the impression that Tovey's re-developing East End, with Canary Wharf's landscape-altering construction in full swing, invoked in him some sort of passion to head back in time and preserve the dirty Docklands spleandour of old in song.

At times melancholy (the WW2-recounting tale on 'Bethnal Green Tube Disaster'), at others joyful in a ramshackle fashion (the opener 'Bad Day In Bow Creek'), the album is largely subtle and blissfully easy on the ear. Semi-acoustic guitars, banjos and clever percussion evoke all manner of moods, and when they head into indie-rock territory, as on the Morrissey-esque 'Cities Of The Vain', The Pyros (Paul Rodden and John Cutliffe) more than prove their adaptability around Tovey's poetic lyrics.

It is actually quite fantastic to hear just how well some primitive music forms lend themselves so well to Tovey's Cockney vocals. His vocal is somewhere between Wreckless Eric and James' Tim Booth, both folk and punk at the same time. His hero-worship of the great pioneering British engineer Isembard Kingdom Brunel on 'IKB (RIP)' is one of this album's many high points, a time-travelling trip that leaves the grey towerblock-dominated modern London skylines far behind to witness at first hand the master engineer's many achievements. And while we're on the subject of masterful achievements, Paul Kendall's excellent productions deserve a special mention. Best known for his electronic production for many Mute artists, PK brings a depth and precision to these tracks, using occasional effects with considerable restraint, but pushing the rhythm high up in the mix in an echo of his work with Nitzer Ebb.

I could go on forever about Grand Union, and I continue to be impressed by the quality of songwriting, playing and production on display here. Intensely captivating and wonderfully unique, it is difficult to hear it without feeling some great sadness over the fact that the erstwhile Fad Gadget is no longer with us. A truly emotive gem, filled with grief, joy and a yearning for simpler times." (review from the internet)

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Gene Clark & Carla Olson - So Rebellious A Lover (1987)

This is a wonderful duet album between ex-Byrd Gene Clark and ex-Textone Carla Olson. The many highlights include Clark's haunting "Gypsy Rider" and his interpretation of the Flying Burrito Brothers' "Hot Burrito # 1". I think Clark's version of "Hot Burrito" equals the Burritos. I also enjoyed the cover of John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night" by the duo. It's not something I would think Clark would cover, but it works. Olson also contributes fine numbers such as "The Drifter" and "Every Angel in Heaven." Overall, just a great album for folk, folk-rock, and country fans. Even the bonus tracks are great, including their fantastic cover of Phil Ochs' "Changes" and several demos cut to get a record deal. Sadly, Clark passed away before another album could be made. Fans of Clark and the Byrds shouldn't miss this! (Amazon.com)

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Mary McCaslin & Jim Ringer - The Bramble And The Rose (1978)

Before there was Nanci Griffith, Iris Dement or Gillian Welch, there was Mary McCaslin. Her rich, pure voice could fill a room, backed only by her open-D tuned guitar. Jim Ringer was a folksinger who had known hard times, and even done a little hard time. He had been a prizefighter as a younger man, and worked the fields of California while growing up. His family passed along a rich catalog of traditional American music. This late-'70's recording was the only duet album by these musical partners. On many tracks, they're accompanied by a full band, including, among others, fiddler Jay Ungar. Tunes include "Geronimo's Cadillac," "Canaan's Land", "Rank Stranger"and others - to hear them harmonize on "Oh Death" can be chilling. Mary McCaslin and Jim Ringer were an unlikely combination in any number of ways. But somehow, through their years of touring and through this recording, they managed to set the standard for contemporary male/female folk duos. Together, their voices -- Mary's high and lilting, Jim's darker and rougher -- covered the wide terrain of American folk song in a thoroughly compelling way. The Bramble and the Rose stands as a fitting testament to their unique partnership.

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Gabby Pahinui - The Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band Vol. 1 (1975)

The most influential slack key guitarist in history was Philip "Gabby" Pahinui (1921-1980). The modern slack key period began around 1946, when Gabby made his first recording. Gabby was the prime influence for keeping slack key guitar from dying out in the Islands. His prolific and unique techniques led to the guitar becoming more recognized as a solo instrument. He expanded the boundaries of slack key guitar by creating a fully-evolved solo guitar style capable of creatively interpreting a wide variety of Hawaiian traditional and popular standards, original pieces and even pieces from other cultures. Gabby's beautiful, expressive vocals, especially his incredibly soulful falsetto, have also inspired many musicians. The Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band of the 1970's is a good example of the complex sound that slack key can achieve with multiple guitars. Along with Gabby, this band featured the late great slack key guitarists Leland "Atta" Isaacs, Sr., Sonny Chillingworth,and Gabby's sons, Cyril and Bla Pahinui. On the band's recordings, each guitarist usually played in a different C tuning (and Bla and Cyril played in D tunings tuned down to the key of C), providing a thick, multi-textured sound. The involvement of Ry Cooder, who plays on four of the songs, helped this album to reach a wider audience that it normally would have, and it is considered to be one of the best Hawaiian albums of all time.

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Tom Rush - Tom Rush (1970)

No one is a more masterful or powerful interpreter of other artists' music than Tom Rush. In this album he showcases these talents to advantage from the opening bars of his signature "Driving Wheel" to "Drop Down Mama" to the subtly ironic "Living In The Country". He is at his best with songs like Jackson's Browne's "These Days" or "Colors Of The Sun". Rush has a voice and guitar style that's distinct, well developed, and always used to performing advantage. Trevor Veitch, a wonderful acoustic and electric guitarist, backs him here and the arrangements help to make this a classic folk album.

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Jo-Ann Kelly - Jo-Ann Kelly (1969)

She looked like she might have been a librarian or something, but she was Queen Of The British Blues. What a voice she had, what a great talent she possessed. Her prowess as a guitarist was amazing, favoring an acoustic delta blues style over the electric blues that was popular at the time, her bottleneck style playing was raw and yet flawless. I had this playing on the stereo once when a friend came over, and he absolutely thought I was pulling his leg when I told him that it was a young white woman singing and playing, and not some grizzled old black guy. If you like country blues at all you need this one!

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Shirley Collins & The Albion Country Band - No Roses (1971)

Following the trail forged by Fairport Convention's "Liege And Lief", The Albion Country Band were formed by bassist Ashley Hutchings, who had previously served time in both Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, and they stand at the apex of the UK's electric folk sound. At the dawn of the 70's he married the singer Shirley Collins, the most important and emotionally powerful vocalist to come out of the new folk revival. The cast is a veritable who' s-who of left-field UK musicians, featuring the likes of Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks, The Watersons, Maddy Prior and even free-saxophonist Lol Coxhill. Here Hutchings was at his most inspired and ambitious, often cutting up tracks with field recordings of doomy churchbells and wheels crunching gravel but above all there's a lightness of touch, a grace to the playing that belies the fact that its basic aesthetic is heavy, rock-charged group interaction. "Poor Murdered Woman" swings beautifully through a series of lightly crunching plateaus thanks to Richard Thompson's stellar guitar work, as Shirley relays a sad account of the discovery of a woman's body on Leatherhead Common but it's "Banks Of The Bann" that's the real jewel. An Irish tale of unrequited love between a pauper and a woman "above his degree", it's a beautiful performance, upsetting in its stately simplicity and with a rhythm that can only be described as tidal.

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Fotheringay - Fotheringay (1970)

In 1970, Sandy Denny quit Fairport Convention to form Fotheringay with then-boyfriend Trevor Lucas. The group recorded this outstanding album but disbanded in less than a year due to little commercial success, despite the fact that Sandy was at the peak of her popularity. Looking back at the records that were released in 1970, it's easy to see how a great album like this could be buried! Very much in the mold of Fairport/Steeleye Span, this is a sterling example of English electric folk, and captures Denny's vocals at their best. Highlight, for me, is their stunning version of the traditional, anti-war, song "The Banks Of The Nile".

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Parzival - Barock (1972)

Along with Ougenweide, Parzival were one of the few German bands to follow in the steps of British groups like Gryphon and use medieval folklore as the basis for their refined progressive music. The nucleus of the group was the trio Lothar Siems, Walter Quintus and Thomas Oliver. Siems and Oliver had played together since 1965 in the Bremen group The Chamberlains, before joining the Quintus Ouartet. Their repertoire comprised increasingly folky styles. In 1971 they took the name Parzival and obtained a recording contract with Telefunken. Legend (1971) was a fine album of lyrical, electric folk-rock with much use of flute, violin and acoustic guitars. Unlike Ougenweide, Parzival sang in English and lacked the German distinction of the folk-rock bands on the Pilz label. Like Pell Mell, Parzival also incorporated classical music, but not in a pompous large scale manner. Technically they enjoyed the steady support of producer Konrad Plank.

Their second and sadly last album Barock emerged at the beginning of 1973. The group had expanded with the addition of cellist Walter v. Seydlitz and helped by Muller-Menckens and Harald Konietzko (bass, vocals). This was similar to their first album, although in parts closer to rock than Legend. Parzival's legacy is to have recorded two of the best German folk-rock albums which avoided the trappings of over-ambition. Most of their songs were short, melodic, charming and beautiful.

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Planxty - Planxty (1973)

Couldn't have folk week without at least one Irish album! Christy Moore. Donal Lunny. Andy Irvine. Liam O'Flynn. This is their first album as Planxty and it is possibly the best album of traditional Irish music ever - these guys were Ireland's first supergroup. Mixing traditional reels and tunes with latter-day compositions, the music is authentic and passionate, the songs are alternately rousing ("Follow Me Up To Carlow") and touching ("West Coast of Claire") The musicianship is impeccable, the production is first-rate. This CD is the standard by which all other music of the same style should be judged. It's everything anybody could want.

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Well there you have it. There's enough different styles of folky stuff that everybody should find something to download! Next week it's back to normal with some psych/prog/kraut music. Well maybe some hard rock too! See you then.