Some more recent musical discoveries - Sunforest, Linda Perhacs

I've had a bit of a break from lastfm recently as I realised that I had a huge backlog of CDs I'd bought but hardly listened to. However, this week I have started listening to lastfm again and have discovered some more wonderful music.

Some of my favourites of the week include a group called Sunforest, who made just one album in 1969 called Sound of Sunforest and an artist called Linda Perhacs who also made just one album, Parallelograms in 1970 (and then apparently spent the next 25 years in dentistry).

Find these CDs on amazon.co.uk ...

Find these CDs on amazon.com ...

For more of my favourite music and books, have a look at my UK amazon aStore

Bridget St John - Songs For The Gentle Man

As I continue to track down the albums mentioned in Rob Young's excellent Electric Eden book, I came across this gem a few weeks ago. "We ran away for a day from the city" ... this is the first line of the opening track, A Day A Way, on Bridget St John's 1971 album Songs For The Gentle Man. I only bought this album recently but it's been played constantly since. With vocals reminiscent of Nico, backed with jovial flute and a string section sounding a little like Nick Drake, particularly on the 2nd track, City-Craze and the 5th track, Seagull Sunday, this is an exceptional album. It was originally released in 1971 on John Peel's Dandelion Records label, which further validates it as an outstanding album. The insert of the CD re-release I have contains a heart-felt message of loss and thanks to John Peel. So far I only have this album but am looking forward to getting her other 2 albums, Ask Me No Questions and Thank You For ... shortly. As I was only 4 in 1969, and as I've mentioned before, I can only imagine what it would have been like to have been old enough to have remembered the late 1960's and early 1970's, but if it was all like this (although sadly I know it wasn't) then take me there now.

Is my top 10 still accurate?

Way back in 2009 I posted a list of my top 10 albums (plus a few more). I'm not quite sure what drew me back to this post but I was curious to know whether I still regarded these as my top 10. Of the 10 listed, I think I have played them all at least once in the past few months with the exception of Unknown Pleasures, so I'd have to say that the list is still a fair reflection of my long term musical tastes. Although I'm playing my more recent CD additions to death, they haven't yet qualified for the top 10, but I suspect The Incredible String Band could make the 'worthy contenders' list. If you're wondering how I could leap from my top 10 to the Incredible String Band, then take a look at this excellent book by Rob Young which has inspired me to diversify into the folk genre.

From my top 10, probably the album I've played the most would be Wire's debut album, Pink Flag. If you've never heard this then I urge you to give it a listen ... plenty of copies here on Amazon, along with their 2nd and 3rd albums, Chairs Missing and 154.

The (fantastic) Mr Fox - Join Us In Our Game

It's taken me a while but I've now finished Rob Young's excellent Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music. Throughout my reading of the book I tracked down a lot of the albums by the artists covered, and listed in the discography. It's hard to pick a favourite as it changes almost daily at the moment. This week I've been listening to Mr Fox, a short-lived psych-folk band featuring, amongst others, Bob and Carole Pegg, who made just 2 albums, Mr Fox in 1970, and Gypsy in 1971. The release I managed to track down however was a single CD featuring tracks from both of these albums called Join Us In Our Game. If you've not heard this band before then I urge you to do so ... and also to persevere with them as it took me a couple of listens before their true magic revealed itself. Standout tracks for me are Joinn Us In Our Game, The Hanged Man, and The House Carpenter, the latter which is more drenched in psychedelia than folk. Fantastic Mr Fox indeed.

Theme Thursday - Space

As regular readers will know, I usually find a vintage postcard or vintage magazine to fit in with Theme Thursday, but occasionally I do depart and dig through my music collection. This week's theme of 'space' has given me another such opportunity. This is a wonderful album from Hawkwind from the early 1970's, and fits this week's theme well I think.

And of course there's also my In Search of Space blog, about a different kind of space.

Hawkwind - In Search of Space

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Theme Thursday - Turn

Struggling to submit something from my vintage postcard collection to Theme Thursday, this week I dipped into my CD collection instead to find a suitable offering for the theme. This is probably not may favourite Byrds album (that honour would probably go to Younger Than Yesterday or perhaps The Notorious Byrd Brothers) but this is still a great album.

The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn!

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Bert Jansch - Birthday Blues / Rosemary Lane

As I mention in my In Search of Space blog, I have managed to track sown some of the great music covered in the Rob Young's excellent book, Electric Eden. Of the ones I've listened to the most I would have to say that Bert Jansch is probably hitting the spot the most at he moment. I was fortunate enough to pick up a compilation featuring 2 albums on 1 CD. The albums are 'Birthday Blues' from 1968, and 'Rosemary Lane' from 1971. Being recorded 3 years apart I did not at first think they were an obvious pairing, the earlier one being more bluesy and featuring exclusively Jansch written songs, the latter being more folk oriented and featuring several traditional ballads.

A few listens later however, they do seem to fit together quite well and show perhaps a natural progression towards a more folk style. Standout tracks would have to be 'A Woman Like You' and 'Birthday Blues'.

In second place in my latest listening treats is my first venture into the music of The Incredible String Band, and their album 'Wee Tam'. For some reason I had always previously considered these lot as some sort of eccentric, novelty band (not sure why) but this album is a masterpiece, blending folk and psychedelic sounds.

Loads of records and CDs for sale on my web site