"Dust on the Nettles" A Journey Through the British Underground Folk Scene 1967-1972 CD1

British folk music got really weird and wonderful at the end of the 60s – light years from the crew cut versions of The Kingston Trio, or the twangy modes of Bob Dylan wannabees – but also very different from the more rockish directions that American folk acts were taking at the time!..
...If anything, the British artists showed an even deeper commitment to acoustic modes – and far more ancient ones than American groups had access too – a thousand year legacy of British Isles music, but reworked into an often-trippy style would find more famous iterations in groups from Fairport Convention through Current 93, and even in the Wicker Man soundtrack as well! Most of the music here is much more obscure than those references – groups that were big in the UK, but maybe didn't have as much of an impact over here during the period – which makes this 63 track box set a real treasure trove of discovery – filled with many tunes we'd never heard before, and put together in a very special way. Titles include "Black Girl" by Mary Anne, "Till The Morning Comes" by Dando Shaft, "Roses For Columbus" by Mark Frhy, "Love Is A Funny Thing" by Spyrogyra, "Come All You Travellers" by Wight, "Willow's Song" by Nagnet, "Cruious Crystals Of Unusual Purity" by Bridget St John, "Prisoners Victims Strangers Friends" by Paper Bubble, "Gabilan" by Duncan Browne, "Meeting By The Moonlight Mill" by Dry Heart, "Silence Returns" by Beau, "Me & My Kite" by Fuschia, "The Colour Is Blue" by Country Sun, "Welcome To The Citadel" by Marc Brierley, "Garden Song (demo)" by Bill Fay, and "Upon Reflection" by Heron. © 1996-2023, Dusty Groove, Inc.
This richly realized collection from the Cherry Red label's psych/garage imprint Grapefruit offers up three heaping discs worth of British folk from its late-'60s and early-'70s heyday. The scene's influential flagship acts like Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Pentangle, and the Incredible String Bandare all represented, but the real attraction here is a hefty amount of deep cuts from more obscure regional acts who received scant recognition in their time. Chronicling the five-year period between 1967 and 1972, Dust on the Nettles pools together the various intertwining movements of underground folk in the U.K. from the more staunch traditionalists to the more cerebral, psych-influenced acts and everything in between. Progressive bands like Comus and Synanthesia get their due, as do mysterious rarities like Shide & Acorn, Agincourt, and Melton Constable. Cult heroes like Vashti Bunyan and Bill Fay, who received unexpected post-millennium career revivals, sit alongside acts who would later become associated with other genres like Marc Bolan's pre-glam Tyrannosaurus Rex and early, neo-folk editions of new wavers Duncan Browne and Joan Armatrading. With its generous mix of recognizable masters and unexpected surprises, Dust on the Nettles is a treasure trove begging to be discovered. - Review by Timothy Monger

trax:
1 Let No Man Steal Your Thyme - Pentangle 2 Willow's Song - Magnet 3 Come All You Travellers - Wight 4 Love Is a Funny Thing - Spirogyra Images of Passing Clouds - Gary Farr 6 Peek Strangely and Worried Evening - Synanthesia 7 Glass of Water - Bob & Carole Pegg 8 Winter Is Blue - Vashti Bunyan 9 Winter Is a Coloured Bird - Comus 10 The Seagulls Scream - Chrissie Quayle 11 Stories of Jesus - Clive Palmer 12 Amanda - Steve Peregrin Took's Shagrat 13 Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity - Bridget St. John 14 Roses For Columbus - Mark Fry 15 Till The Morning Comes - Dando Shaft 16 Black Girl - Mary-Anne 17 The Garden of Jane Delawney - Trees 18 Weirdsong of Breaking Through at Last - Principal Edwards Magic Theatre 19 Minas Tirith - Oberon 20 Prisoners, Victims, Strangers, Friends - Paper Bubble
…served by Gyro1966...