Folk Compilations Music

If the "A Very Special Christmas" trilogy were to add a forth, this should be it. The execution and selection is supurb. You'll be humming these tunes as you stroll the Malls, the benificiaries will be the receivers of your gifts. "A Christmas To Remember" is, indeed, unforgetable and a gift to all who listen to it.

Now, I do wonder a bit about whether or not these are all Christmas songs. Some of them sure sound like Irish drinking songs to me, and others like fairly traditional jigs. But it's all good music and clearly several are rather devout sounding songs of the season. The one that really, really touched me the deepest is the very beautiful seventh cut, "Seacht Sualci na Maighdine Muire" (The Seven Joys of Mary). So if you're looking for a CD without any white or even blue Christmases, without any chestnuts roasting over open fires, try this one.

I don't really know, but the Irish in my family and those I consider freinds generally don't listen to traditional tunes played by soloists one after another, after another, after another, ... One single pipe or fiddle can wear on , yet 3, 4 , and\or 5 players harpering out while ya all get a jigg'n and drink'n - thats the Irish Christmas I've come to know. This com"YULE"ation is full of too much reverence, too many slow and solemn songs when played solo. If this really is real, I am gald my forefathers left.~~~Merrily Mix~ 1$, 2#, 6#1\2, 10#, 13#, and 14# ~~~ Post Script: Take a pass\ the compiling and production staff started out ok, but went a mucky-muck when they changed to slurpies. Good cover art though.***see if the library has a copy***~~~YULEridGEMality Factor = 7 1\2

This CD is marketed as a back to back alternating mix of the greatest hits of 2 separate 60's headline rock groups - The Turtles and Jan & Dean. A strange nostalgia album, huh? I have to admit, I enjoy listening to it, but . . .

But what you get is a series of 10 songs which alternate consecutively between the sublime original 60's cuts of The Turtles (using the best studio techniques available at the time), and then some band calling themselves Jan & Dean that sound like a Ramada Inn cocktail lounge duo with a Conn organ and a set of bongos. I have to agree with the other reviewer . . . I think we're getting Dean and some guy with a bag over his head that says his name is Jan (in his muted voice).

But still, it's fun listening to "Little Old Lady from Pasadena" done even by this garage band. And The Turtles rendition of Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" is alone worth the bargain bin low price of this CD.

The "Jan & Dean" recordings on this CD are NOT the original hit recordings as you would hear them on the radio. They are poor re-recorded versions. Furthermore, I honestly don't think that Jan Berry is singing on any of these recordings. I know that Jan does still make recordings (despite his paralysis and brain damage), but I don't hear his voice anywhere on these recordings. If anything, he's singing WAY in the backround. It does sound like Dean is singing on these songs, along with some other singers. But it's not the same without Jan. Jan's the lead guy. Even in Jan & Dean's prime, Dean was usually just a backround singer who hit the falsetto notes. Sometimes he didn't sing on the hits at all, as with "Surf City" (Brian Wilson and 2 other guys sang backup).

Good stuff

A nice sampler of the back catalog

And an unreleased electric I had a good day by Andy Breckman. What more can you ask for?!

I have this album on a cassette tape I purchased in the early eighties. I just love the sound of English folk music and the Morris sub-genre. The performers on this CD are superb. Enjoy!

The guy who sees this folk-rock classic solely as a Richard Thompson missed the point. This is a key element in the discography of Ashley Hutchings, who coufounded Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, and the Albion Band. Richard played as a session man (and briefly toured with the Albion Country Band) but this album is about traditional tunes with a rock beat, not original songwriting or guitar heroism.

A boring, unremarkable set of songs from the quintessential English folk artist of the late sixties and early seventies. Richard Thompson, who recently was voted # 19 best guitarist in a Rolling Stone poll, is virtually a non-factor. His guitar is barely audible, which is a major mistake, making the music dull and unrewarding. Don't get me wrong there are some moments in here but they are far and few between.

Those who enjoy Steeleye Span, Albion Band, the New St. George, and their ilk will love this album. The performers are something of an English folk all-star band, many of whom have performed with Albion and Steeleye. The tunes are traditional, the arrangements electric, but respectfully so, and sometimes electrifying even after 25 years.

I'm sure there's been tons said about this best collection, so I won't go into great detail except to say, if you loved them way back when (and everyone I know did), then this classic album never grows old.

The sound is much better on the newer 2000 Buddha Records "Greatest Hits" release, because they used original masters (which were thought to be lost) on most of the selections. Except for "Boredom" (included on this CD), the newer release has all the Spoonful tracks I need.

The Lovin' Spoonful were formed (as were the Mamas and Papas) following the break-up of a folk-rock group in the sixties called the Mugwumps that only lasted a few months.

In Britain, they are mainly remembered for Summer in the city (a top ten UK hit and an American chart-topper) and Daydream (a number two hit in both Britain and America), though they also had some minor UK hits. They were far more successful in America, where they had many more big hits, beginning with their first single, Do you believe in magic, an American top ten.

One of their songs, Nashville cats, takes an affectionate look at country music's musicians. The group never ventured into country music themselves, though Dolly Parton did a fine cover of Lovin' you on her Here you come again album and John Sebastian (lead singer of the Lovin' Spoonful) was a guest on the same singer's Treasures album in the nineties.

The original version of Lovin' you is included in this compilation. Some other great songs to be found here include You don't have to be so nice, Did you ever have to make up your mind, Younger girl and Darling be home soon.

Yet perhaps the most interesting song is Younger generation, which takes an amusing look at the problems of growing up and how attitudes change as one gets older.

The good-time music of the Lovin' Spoonful sounds as good today as it ever did. There are many compilations around though there is very little difference between the track listings of most of them. If you enjoy good-time sixties music, this is for you.

I came across a listing for The Byrds 'Untitled' while perusing a Roger McGuinn discography, which I had been inspired to access after seeing McGuinn on the recent Bob Dylan PBS retrospective. I had forgotten all about this release, which I once owned on vinyl in the early 1970's. I frequently played the first disc of this double-LP, which featured live recordings of studio tracks laid down by the original Byrds line-up, featuring Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke. By 1969 only Roger McGuinn was left, but that was still enough to make this a legitimate Byrds album, such was the immense influence asserted by McGuinn over the original sound of The Byrds. These live tracks (presumably recorded in 1969 or 1970) feature the most durable Byrds line-up, which included Gene Parsons on drums, Skip Battin on bass, and Clarence White on guitar. While the recording suffers from a poor mix at times, there are only a handful of live recordings of many of these songs, making the 'Untitled' live disc of historic importance.

Side one of the original vinyl opened with a new track from the band, 'Lover of the Bayou'. You would have to suspect that McGuinn had been inspired by the sound and lyrical content of Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Born On the Bayou', as 'Lover of the Bayou' possesses the same gritty, loping demeanor and, of course, Cajun imagery. Consider "I cooked the bat in the gumbo pan, I drank the blood from a rusty pan, turned me into the Honga man" as a taste of the unique cuisine and superstitions of the delta country McGuinn serves up. Side one also includes two fine covers of Bob Dylan compositions, a faithful version of 'Positively 4th Street' and a revamped (primarily through the presence of White's guitar leads) version of 'Mr. Tambourine Man'. Live versions of 'Mr. Tambourine Man' and two other songs from 'Untilted' ('Nashville West', a two-minute instrumental, and 'So You Want To Be a Rock 'N Roll Star') can be had on earlier live official releases by The Byrds ('Live At the Fillmore West' and 'Monterey Pop'), but the recordings of 'Mr. Spaceman' and 'Eight Miles High' are unique to 'Untitled'. 'Eight Miles High', at sixteen minutes plus, took up all of side two on the original vinyl, and it's a gem. There is a great deal of firry jamming on this, one of the finest psychedelic rock compositions of all time. It includes a several minute classic duet from the rhythm section of Battin and Parsons, and loads of fine lead improvisation from McGuinn and White.

The studio disc is less impressive. McGuinn's compositions, including 'Chestnut Mare' and 'Just a Season' are musically extraordinary, but lyrically mediocre. There is an abundance of diversity among the nine tracks offered, ranging from country-rock ('Truck Stop Girl') reminiscient of Buffalo Springfield, to psychedelic environmentalism ('Hungry Planet'), to drug-addled blues (a rendition of Leadbelly's 'Take a Whiff On Me'), to anti-war sentimentalism ('Well Come Back Home'), to romantic ballad ('All the Things'). Clearly, however, The Byrds best years had already been covered, and their decline as a musical force had begun.

The packaging for this disc couldn't be more sparse. Track listings appear on the J-card, inside the front insert, and on the disc itself, but nowhere are we offered running times. An altered version of the cover photo of the band is offered, and that's it! Perhaps McGuinn and company knew the music spoke for itself (after all, they didn't even bother to title it... or did they?), and these historic live Byrd tracks certainly deliver those goods. This is an essential disc for any lover of American roots-rock.

On this recording, the lads halt a downhill slide that I feel started with "Sweetheart of the Rodeo." Although that effort is considered a masterpiece, and justifiably so, it is more of a Gram Parsons masterpiece with the Byrds as a backup band. With the departure of Crosby, Clark, Hillman, and Gram Parsons, this left McGuinn as the sole songwriter in the band. Two albums of mostly covers, (Dr. Byrds & Easy Rider) led one to believe that McGuinn was no longer a creative force, and the Byrds were through as a band with anything to offer. But then "Untitled" hit the stands. This features arguably the two finest songs McGuinn has ever written, "Chestnut Mare" and "Just a Season" as well as jewels from Gene Parsons, "Yesterday's Train" Skip Battin, "Well Come Back Home" and a wonderful interpretation of an old Leadbelly song "Take a Whiff" by Clarence White. One advantage that this incarnation of the Byrds had over all the previous ones was that these guys were great musicians (listen to the live jam of "Eight Miles High") and for this effort they struck a perfect balance between McGuinn's folk leanings and the c&w tendancies of White/Parsons. This recording is essential for any one who claims to enjoy folk rock or country rock. So cast those REM & Alanis CDs into the nearest proper receptacle and listen to the real deal!

A fine album that is sadly underrated by most people (including McGuinn himself). With "Untitled" McGuinn and company proved they could put out a record that easily ranks with their best work; the song writing is terrific and the studio performances are subtle and well thought out. The live cuts are light years beyond any done by the original line up.

Skip Battin, whose contributions on later albums ranged from great to grating, really shines on this one. Well Come Back Home (despite the warbling at the end) is a fine addition to the Byrds catalog; it's a bit of a departure for The Byrds, but then wasn't eclecticism what they were all about in the first place? Clarence White's work is reason enough to buy this album...one of the great guitarists of our time and not a bad singer at all. And, of course, there is Chestnut Mare. Why wouldn't you get this record?

Originally issued as a two-record set, "Untitled" features both live and studio material. McGuinn once said that the original Byrds were the best in the studio, but that the Clarence White Byrds were the best live lineup. "Untitled" proves him right on both points. The live material is excellent. "Lover of the Bayou" opens the set, followed by Dylan's "Positively 4th Street", both of which spotlight Clarence White's stunning guitar work. The instrumental "Nashville West" is followed by a rather good rendition of "So you Want to be a Rock and Roll Star", but the versions of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Mr. Spaceman" are a bit less spectacular. The all-out effort on "Eight Miles High" shows that this band could jam with the best of them. Despite all the much-deserved criticism of Skip Battin as a songwriter and singer, one must concede that he is an excellent (albeit loud) bass player. The studio material ranges from great to awful. "Chestnut Mare" and "Just a Season" are beautifully done, and Clarence White turns in a typically soulful performance on "Truck Stop Girl", while Gene Parsons is in fine voice on "Yesterday's Train." Much of the rest is forgettable. The low point on the album is Skip Battin's "Well Come Back Home". The apparent intent was to deliver a "heavy" political message, but the lyrics are nonsensical, the track lasts far too long (Battin tacked a lengthy Buddhist chant onto the end of the song), and his voice simply grates upon the ear. Still, the good moments more than compensate for the bad ones, and the album stands as a monument to one of America's great bands.

These cds are a nice way to get a quick overview of two years of the sixties. They are not remastered or anything, but there is usually a song or two which radio stations ignore.

This CD features two Jan & Dean albums.

Dead Man's Curve/The New Girl in School was released in the spring of 1964. It was named after both sides of Jan & Dean's most recent single. "Dead Man's Curve" was a #8 hit and "The New Girl in School" was a #37 hit. It is somewhat of a concept album, with the first side being songs about cars, and the second side featuring songs about school. It is a very good album. Almost all the songs are good. Aside from the hits, I especially like "3 Window Coupe" and "Bucket T".

Popsicle was released in the summer of 1966, after "Popsicle" (which was originally an album track from 1963) became a surprise hit. This was a few months after the infamous car accident that left Jan in a coma. Naturally, this meant that there were no new songs recorded for this album. Every single song on this album had appeared on a previous album. But at least they are good songs, for the most part. Most of the songs are fun tunes about surfing. The album does feature Jan & Dean's notoriously bad version of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood", but you can't win 'em all. The CD features the bonus track "Fiddle Around", which was the last Jan & Dean single to make the Hot 100 (albeit barely).

Based on the music on All Songs Considered and the fact that so many of the snippets NPR plays are songs I love, I was fully prepared to adore this entire collection. Sadly, it's far too bland. Tribalistas, Clinic, The Decemberists, Austin Lounge Lizards, are all bands I discovered thanks to NPR but the songs on these album live up to the stereotype of NPR being overly mellow.