ten folk albums (part 1)

i was listening to june tabor's 'ashore' album today and i thought 'i should do a blog post on great folk albums' so...

1. the watersons 'frost and fire'

the watersons where one of the great folk bands and post-watersons albums by members of the band (and family, they where all family members) will feature heavily in this list.

this album does exactly what it says on the cover and presents 'a calendar of ritual and magical songs' moving through several (largely lost) ritual practices.


2. bert jansch 'jack orion'

this album revolutionised folk guitar and introduced a true darkness into the folk revival.

apart from a reworking of 'the first time ever i saw your face' there is no let up in the darkness and even the nonsense song 'notingham town' is a source of horror.

3. lal and mike waterson 'bright phoebus'

lal and mike waterson's brilliant album bright phoebus is one of the great lost folk records, caught up in copyright hell and seldom heard and it is a shame this is so as lal waterson's writing is spectacular.

this is another dark record and includes the puzzling and infinitely troubling song 'never the same' which i interpret as being about consumption but the meaning of the song is far from easy to ascertain and even the lyrics are argued over as the last repetition of the line 'Rosemary's lying in a shower of rain' sure sounds like the line has been changed to 'Rosemary's lying in a shallow grave' or perhaps it's just the darkness of the song getting to me.

4. june tabor 'at the wood's heart'

this 2005 album by the great folk researcher and interpreter of traditional song is entirely different from the preceding albums: where they had a force and drive this is a smaller, more private affair which i always think is the folk version of chamber music.

june tabor sings in various languages and even middle english (in her interpretation of the song from chaucer's 'parlement of foules' ('now welcome, somer') but the highpoint of this album is when 'the banks of the sweet primroses' ends with the tune 'monks gate' (most commonly known as the setting for 'to be a pilgrim') and the heart is awakened to the beauty of the world.

5. norma waterson, self titled album

this was the first norma waterson album i heard and is, without doubt, a wonderful record.

the high point is when she covers billy brag's 'st. swithins day' and holly christ! that's a middle aged woman singing about masturbation! you don't get moments that wonderful and liberating in modern indie