Folk

KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFOLKER!

  • Kathy Fire - Songs Of Fire Kathy Fire - Songs Of Fire

    This record will catch you off your guard. Put up your usual bias against radical feminist records, flex your hatred of 3rd-wave feminism, despise your own insecurity about all things political, and you will do what most people do when they see this record: laugh and put it back. Certainly when I read about this […]

  • Muriel Anderson - just begun Muriel Anderson - just begun

    Here’s an under the radar femme folk lp worth tracking down. This was released in 1977 on Rotary records. At the time of the recording, Muriel was only 16 years old. Which is hard to believe since the guitar playing on this is just top notch. About half of the record features sublime instrumental cuts, […]

  • Michael Dobbins - Music For The Seeker Michael Dobbins - Music For The Seeker

    Bing Crosby drops acid and wakes up in a ditch outside an ashram with a long unkept beard and a clear plastic bag holding his personal belongings.
    Confused, blinking against the desert sun, he senses that he must keep on seeking. Walking down the empty road, he comes upon a Stranger. The Stranger speaks of many […]

  • Airborne - Songs For A City Airborne - Songs For A City

    You see this cover and it screams private psychedelic folk grail. Look at the naked man playing the guitar, sitting on top of the world and holding a dove. Beautiful. And that is exactly what this album is. However, it is not psychedelic folk. It does have a few CSNY moves, and even a really […]

  • Various Artists - Anthology Of American Folk Music Vols.1-3 Various Artists - Anthology Of American Folk Music Vols.1-3

    Probably the best known Folkways box sets around. These are really an outstanding overview of all genres of american folk music. It goes without saying that as usual with Folkways you get a highly informative booklet to accompany each volume. If you don’t have these you just aren’t folk music and could […]

  • Various Artists - Folk Music USA Vol.1 Various Artists - Folk Music USA Vol.1

    Another Folkways box along the lines of the excellent “Anthologies” LPs. This double LP box dates from 1959 and focuses on field recordings from all genres of american folk music. The comprehensive liner note booklet (including lyrics) is written by Charles Edward Smith and the songs were compiled by Harold Courlander. One of several Folkways […]

  • The Tree People s/t The Tree People s/t

    Here’s one of my favorite northwest private folk records. It came out of Eugene Oregon in 1979, all the songs are composed by Stephen Cohen. Stephen has a nice fragile voice that compliments his acoustic guitar nicely. About half the songs have vocals and the other half are instrumental and kinda remind me of Robbie […]

  • Happiendo - Kazemachiroman (~Happy End - Windy Street　Romance) Happiendo - Kazemachiroman (~Happy End - Windy Street　Romance)

    Many consider Happy End the first true rock band from Japan. This is due to the fact that they were the first to make rock albums sung entirely in their native Japanese. They are very well known in Japan, however Im not sure of their popularity in the Western World so I hope this mini-review […]

  • Vision Of Sunshine - S/T Vision Of Sunshine - S/T

    I was lucky enough to stumble upon this little gem a few years ago while digging through box upon box of lp’s at a now defunct local flea market. I remember falling instantly in love with the cover art and I couldn’t wait to get the thing home! I had all these expectations…and let me […]

  • Pete Seeger - The Folksinger's Guitar Guide Pete Seeger - The Folksinger’s Guitar Guide

    A single record boxset? On Folkways from 1961. Pete Seeger talks you through the intricacies of playing folk guitar. There isn’t a whole lot more to say about this, it was a 10 cent find at a used book fair a few years ago. Luckily I already know how to play guitar […]

  • Rodriguez - Cold Fact Rodriguez - Cold Fact

    This is definitely one of those “what was the record company thinking” scenarios.  Sixto Rodriguez was a songwriter & musician based in Detroit in the 70s and he recorded this album for a label called Blue Goose at Tera-Shirma Studios.  The weird thing isn’t that this LP is awesome psych/folk/rock with loads of drug, political […]

  • Roger Rodier - Upon Velveatur Roger Rodier - Upon Velveatur

    I had high hopes for this record when I finally found a copy, and upon first needle-drop I was slightly disappointed. I just wasn’t ready. He was so gentle. So dreamy. I found myself tip-toeing around my apartment, worried I might shatter this fragile vibe issuing out my speakers, leaking into my apartment building, and […]

  • A. Paul Ortega: Two Worlds A. Paul Ortega: Two Worlds

    Native American folkie A. Paul Ortega is definitely one of the most unique things I’ve heard recently… or ever for that matter. So much so that I find I have little frame of reference right now while writing about this lp. Ortega’s songs (or renditions of traditional songs) sound ancient, completely futuristic, and totally hypnotic […]

  • CKUA Presents: The ACME Sausage Company CKUA Presents: The ACME Sausage Company

    This is a private compilation put together for a community radio station (CKUA) in Edmonton, Alberta circa 1972 in a run of 1,000. The compilation was produced by then musical enthusiast Holgar Peterson. Holgar went on to form Stonyplain Records and become a local celebrity, his label still quite active. I was a little skeptical […]

  • Dwayne Cannan - Spare Change Dwayne Cannan - Spare Change

    The first thing that came to mind when I saw this album was downtown. Dwayne is on the cover, carrying his guitar, coming out of an age-old telephone booth with the album name below him… Spare Change. You flip to the back-cover and see song titles like The Gutter Man, Lady, The Drifter, Cocaine Katie, […]

  • Canti Comunisti Italiani Canti Comunisti Italiani

    “Songs of the Italian Communists” - now there’s a title crying out for the pop charts. There was a little sequence of revolutionary songs released on 7″ singles by the Italian label ‘i dischi del sole’ in the early sixties, of which this is one. Quite nicely packaged in a fold-out sleeve (would have been […]

  • Steve and Ed: Dream Song Steve and Ed: Dream Song

    A surprisingly good folk-pop lp on the vanity label Century that I picked up recently due to my “leave no stock cover behind” compulsion. The notes say it was recorded in a Los Angeles area church, and it has a sort of cavernous low-fi sound quality that I quite enjoy. Very soothing Simon & Garfunkel-esque […]

  • Country Comfort - We Are the Children Country Comfort - We Are the Children

    The kind folks at Friends of Sound here in Austin, TX recommended this to me as a two or three tracker from Hawaii. Fortunately, Country Comfort’s songs sound very similar and it’s more like a four to six tracker. They do a great cover of ‘Make It With You’ and an original called ‘To be […]

  • Rex Holman - Here in the Land of Victory Rex Holman - Here in the Land of Victory

    “Victory” was the inital release on the obscure Pentagram label (a subsidiary of Jubilee). In between a busy acting scheduling, Holman recorded this interesting mix of country, blues, and eastern influenced psych-folk. His voice is heavy on the vibrato, reminding me slightly of Tim Buckley. Copper Kettles is one of my favorites […]

  • Larry Conklin and Jochen Blum - Jackdaw Larry Conklin and Jochen Blum - Jackdaw

    Here’s hands down one of my favorite Seattle private press lp’s. About half of the album is instrumental with Larry Conklin on guitar and Jochen Blum playing violin and 12 string guitar. Definitely brings to mind Fahey/Basho/Hecht etc. The tracks with vocals have a haunting, sparse feel to them, the loner folk tag fits the […]

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