The Stray Birds

The self-titled album from 2012 by The Stray Birds. 

Newgrass, Americana, Appalachia, Woodsongs. If there's an acoustic guitar, mandolin, upright bass, banjo, fiddle and great vocals involved, I'm listening. 

My introduction to The Stray Birds was through their song, 'Feathers and Bone.'
 

Sukay of the Andes

Having completed my browsing and upon taking my most recent vinyl haul to the cash register and the owner says: "Hey, there's one more box over here on the floor to look through."  Well that's not the sort of invitation that I've ever turned down.

Among nothing else note worthy, I suddenly found this!!

I fell in love with music from the Andes Mountains in South America, several years ago while wandering around the local summer art festival. The pipes, the groove, the beat, the fun!! It turns out though, that recordings were difficult to find locally. Until that is, when nearly a decade later, I just happen to stumble across this vinyl record in a aged cardboard box, on the floor, at the side of the cash register.  

I don't know if this is the same group that I saw that day at the art festival but it's the same type of music. And it's still lively and fun!!

Bonus Bootlegged Dylan

'Another Self Portrait' by Bob Dylan. Volume Ten in his Bootleg series. Alternate and unreleased recordings from 1969-1971 and sessions during the making of his albums, 'Self Portrait', 'New Morning' and 'Nashville Skyline'.

I've said it many times before but I wish all my favorite musicians would follow Dylan's lead and release more of their alternate takes, demos,  unreleased takes, etc. I enjoy listening to these recordings as much as I do the finished albums. What more could a completist ask for?

Like the other volumes in the series, there's also a booklet detailing the period in time and these recordings with dozens of photographs.

A couple highlights are a cover of Eric Andersen's song, 'Thirsty Boots' and a stunning piano and violin version of 'If Not For You'. Others include the beautiful 'Copper Kettle' and 'If Dogs Run Free'.

Fred Neil

A collection from 2009 bringing together two of his albums from the 1960's. The ultimate singer/songwriter!! Classic 60's Folkie!!

You don't know the name …. How about his song, 'Everybody's Talking'? Surely you've heard that song at some place and time on some radio station in your lifetime. Someone else may have been singing it but you've heard it. It's one of those timeless classics.

Friends and Neighbors

Listening to a KLCC-fm (Eugene, Oregon) radio broadcast of their "Friends and Neighbors" program. Actually a podcast of a past program. Mostly singer/songwriter and folk music sounds. When I remember the day and times, I try to tune in for this program and their "Front Porch" program. Podcasts make it all convenient. It's nice to have a few music programs remaining on the radio.

There's also a program called, "The Mist Covered Mountain" that has Celtic Music themes. Years ago I used to record selected parts of it from reel-to-reel tape onto cassette tapes. Still have those cassettes in a shoe box in my closet.

Terry Callier

One of those previously unknown (to my ears) records that I stumbled across recently while thumbing through the vinyl bins of my local record store. The cover art caught my attention. The songs were recorded in 1965. The record wasn't released until 1968. What I visualize when I think 60's Folk Music. Folk Music as it sounds best .... An acoustic guitar, bass and a beautiful voice. Great classic songs and tones that should not be obscure, overlooked, lost or forgotten.

From All Music Guide: "New Folk Sound is for the most part stark and simple, possessed of a subtle grace which spotlights his remarkably moving vocals to excellent effect."

This is history!! I marvel at the thought that this is music recorded over half a century ago yet if I close my eyes, this vinyl offering sounds as if he's standing only a few feet away. That's a magical feeling!

Sunday Morning Listening to Bert Jansch

The older I get the more I appreciate recordings from half a century ago. It's historical documentation!!

From 1966 and on vinyl. Covering traditional English folk tunes with incredible acoustic guitar playing by Jansch and John Renbourn. The only additional thing that could be asked for ..... liner notes explaining the origins of these songs.

And following up with more Bert Jansch on vinyl ..... His 1971 "Rosemary Lane" record!!! Found this many years ago in a used record store in Portland with a $2.00 sticker on it. A knowledgable person would be crazy to pass that up.

The Attic Tapes

Another Record Store Day observed and celebrated. My kind of holiday!!

So many special vinyl record releases for the occasion. And so many these days that I find myself knowing very little about. But John Renbourn is from my youth.

"Mastered from old tapes found in a friend's attic, this is a vintage collection of previously unreleased rarities and early works by one of the guitar's truly great innovators. The Record Store Day edition features five vinyl-only tracks and sleeve notes written by John shortly before his death in March 2015."

If I Listen Long Enough To You ....

Vinyl find!! Some of the greatest songs of the 1960's were written by Tim Hardin. Classics like "If I Were A Carpenter" and "Reason To Believe."

Here's a collection of songs written and recorded during that period, 1964-1966 but that never made it to his released albums from those years. It's fascinating fifty years later, hearing these gems for the first time. Especially upon realizing that his sound was a different direction from The Beatles or Bob Dylan. Listening to these recordings is like finding buried treasure!!

Lost and Found ....Stan Rogers

Driving home late one Saturday afternoon from participating in a basketball tournament in Corvallis, Oregon, I heard one of the simply most achingly beautiful, plaintive songs come over the car radio. Verse after verse it seemed of people hurting and yearning for something they couldn't have. At the songs conclusion, as was far too often the norm with FM-radio in those days and stations that took pride in lengthy song sequences and lack of commercials, there was no identification of the song title or the musician. This was the early to mid-1980's. Still a ways from home and no cell phones to call the radio station with an inquiry. No internet to refer to for a stations playlist. All I had was a guess at the title ..... First Christmas, and I wasn't even positive about that. Several years passed and the song would often come to mind, vital in my mind but haunting me in its lack of identification. It must have been the late 1980's and I was on one of my pilgrimages to one of the Tower Records stores in the Portland area, specifically the Beaverton store, rummaging through bins in the Folk Music section and I came across a album with a song titled, First Christmas. My heart was actually racing, Was this the tune I had been hearing in my thoughts and hoping to physically stumble across for so long? Could I actually be so lucky to literally stumble across it? After purchasing, I still had a 45 minute drive home to confirm my suspicioans and hopes. The longest 45 minutes of my life. But well worth it. Not just for the discovery of the lost song but for turning me onto a great singer/songwriter, Stan Rogers! A Canadian Folk singer with a huge voice and great songs of storytelling and emotions. And later I was to discover his brother, Garnet Rogers equiped with a similar deep booming voice that causes the listener to stop and pay attention.

First Christmas is a song about people alone and far away from home for the first time at Christmas time. And of their yearning to be home. To me its much more meaningful and essential than any number of Jingle Bells or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer type of offerings. It's what Christmas music should be!!

Record Store Find

Browsing through the local record store and I came across this vinyl gem from 1967. Folk music of the era. My first knowledge of Fred Neil was in discovering that he was the songwriter of Everybody's Talking. Neil Diamonds version had been a favorite of mine for several years by then. His album, Touching You, Touching Me, which this song is on, may have been the first album that I purchased. I recall feeling surprise though when discovering who the songwriter was. Why wasn't he more famous? Fred Neil apparently shunned the spotlight.