Synanthesia

Though recorded quickly over two days — and indeed, literally recorded live in the studio with no overdubs — Synanthesia's sole album from 1969 is a gentle treat for anyone interested in the obscurer realms of late-'60s U.K. folk and its descendants. It's always a pleasure to hear something that did not deservedly go out of print — and therefore get an unnecessary reputation. Instead, the combination of bandleader Dennis Homes' gentle vocals and delicate guitar work, Leslie Cook's equally strong talents, and the ace-in-the-hole performing of sax and flute player Jim Fraser is often quite magical. That the band openly has a debt to the Incredible String Band and Bert Jansch practically goes without saying, but there's a difference between mere aping and finding a particular spin on a sound, and Synanthesia firmly comes down on the side of the latter. For such a rushed and in-the-moment album, the sound is often quite rich — credit not only to Vic Gamm's inspired engineering, but to the band's clear abilities as a solid live act. Hearing Homes' gentle vibes work on "Peek Strangely and Worried Evening" or Cook's flourishes on mandolin for "Fates" shows how well each complements the other songwriter's work. Yet Fraser in many ways is the key throughout — clearly picking up on jazz influences as much as folk ones, much like his bandmates, and the result is a detailed, fluid series of performances on his chosen instruments, ranging from the restrained then strutting sax parts on "Morpheus" to gentle background flute on "Rolling and Tumbling." The band's weakest element might be the lyrics, but nothing is outright bad, just sometimes awkward. Sunbeam's 2006 re-release, in keeping with the label's similar work, features not only excellent sound but winning, retrospective liner notes from Homes and a slew of rare pictures, plus a bonus track, "Shifting Sands," that originally appeared on an obscure compilation album from 1970.
~from allmusicguide.

Synanthesia

Lida & Spyros-Ilektrikos Aposperitis (Folk Rock, 1972)

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Summer Folk Compilation

Everynody enjoy your holidays..

See you in September..

1. Dave Van Ronk-Another Time and place

2. Dave Evans-The words in between

3. Gim Groce-I got a name

4. Joan Baez-Long Black Veil

5. Hamilton Cap-Pride of man

6. Bulent Ortcgil-Anlamsybz

7. Lida-Spyros-Einai kati karavia sto limani

8. Nick Castro-Waltz for a little bird

9. Simon Finn-Walkie Talkie

10.Donovan-Wear your love like heaven

11.Wizz Jones-Pastures of plenty

12.Jonas og Einar-on a river boat

13.Donovan-Belated foregiveness plea

14.Mariza Kox-Arampas

15.Simon Finn-How about that

16.Langsyne-No_Name

17.Dionysis Savvopoulos-oi palioi mas filoi

18.Derrol Adams-The valley

19.Joan Baez-Mary Hamilton

20.Fionn Regan-Put a penny in the slot

21.Elizabeth Cotten- Freight Train

22.Richard Thompson-Coyotes

23.Ian Tyson-Four strong winds

24.Dorothy Carter- Balinderry (Old Irish Melodies)-Tree of Life (Essene Hymn)

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Angelo Branduardi-Highdown Fair (1976)

"The fable, the fantastic story, are never so simple as they seem to a superficial analysis; in any type of fable there is never the pure taste of the representation, there is also this taste, but each story postpones to another reality; I believe in the evocative power of the words, I believe that each word, each syllable, sung in a certain way and accompanied to certain sounds, goes beyond its literal meaning, evoking other worlds, emotions and moods even buried in the memory."

By Angelo Branduardi

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Mick Softley -Songs For Swingin' Survivors (1965)

Softley's debut LP is one of the rarest '60s British folk albums, and one of the most coveted by collectors. While it's not as musically impressive as it is collectable, it's notable as one of the first U.K. singer/songwriter folk albums in the contemporary style pioneered earlier in the U.S. by Bob Dylan and the North American performers Dylan inspired. Indeed, there were few others in Britain taking a similar approach at the time of Songs for Swingin' Survivors' release, with the exception of Donovan and perhaps Bert Jansch. Early Donovan is an unavoidable point of comparison when listening to this solo acoustic guitar album, both for the earnest social consciousness and romanticism, and also since Softley actually wrote a few songs covered by Donovan in 1965. One of them, "The War Drags On," appears here in Softley's own version, and while it's not as good as Donovan's, it's notable as one of the first protest songs to directly mention the Vietnam War. Softley isn't as good a singer or tunesmith as early Donovan, however; his voice is a bit on the nasal and restrained side, sometimes coming off a little like a male equivalent to how Marianne Faithfull sounded after her voice lowered. Other than "The War Drags On," the voice of protest is felt in "After the Third World War Is Over," but, in fact, Softley was a fairly versatile writer, espousing early Donovan-like romance in "All I Want Is a Chance" and "What Makes the Wind to Blow"; got-to-ramble troubadourisms in "Keep Movin' On"; and a surprisingly direct (for 1965) reference to cocaine addiction in the love lament "Jeannie." Not everything is youthful singer/songwriting, as there are also covers of "Strange Fruit," "The Bells of Rhymney," and Woody Guthrie's "Plains of the Buffalo," as well as a couple of folk-blues instrumentals. Though it might be a minor album in all, it's still a rather good one, more tuneful than many a mid-'60s folk record based around original material, with impressive guitar work, allmusic.

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Changes-Fire of Life (1974, Apokalyptic/ Dark Folk)

This album has never been issued until now and is taken from tapes made during 1969 to 1974 by Robert Taylor and Nicholas Teslak. In theory they make simple acoustic guitar based folk music similar to Tir Na Nog, however this is much stranger and darker concern. The two performers were part of the 'Process' church, a cult like group that was obsessed with apocalypse, gothic doom and was also interested in Satan. They had a curious uniform of black clothes, clocks shoulder length hair and goatee beards. Taking themselves very seriously they were part of the proliferation of such post-hippie groups and were much seen in London and New York in the late sixties before splintering and falling apart. Musically this album is stark, very dark folk based songs with acoustic guitar, intense vocals, gothic lyrics and occasional harmony vocals and flutes. Fans of dark folk groups like Current 93 or Nature and Organisation will find much here that they will enjoy. Also fans of Comus, the legendary pagan psychedelic-folk band of the same era will find a companion album of similar sound and strangeness.
Because the artists take themselves so seriously this music can be slightly intimidating. I is fine musically but doesn't stand out emotionally, it is more haunting than moving. The first song 'Fire of Life' taken from is intense and unsettling with it's lyrics of 'the world if burning, in fact it sounds just like late period Swans and Michael Gira their leader singing. The second song 'Sweet Eve' is more normal sounding like Tir Na Nog with flute and delicate melodies. 'Bleeding Out Your Feelings Evermore' is a baroque ballad style song with a female joining on the vocals to excellent effect. 'Early Morning Hours of the Night' reminds of early Steve Tilston with a distant quality. 'Horizons That I See' has nice folk picking guitar and was written in a desert. A song fragment from a lost fuller work 'Satanic Hymn #2' is churning in the Comus style. 'The Stranger In The Mirrow' is a pagan Medieval styled ballad Last track 'Twilight of the West' is a ten minute epic recorded poorly but strangely this seems to add to the air of incense and intensity. This won't be an album that will appeal to everyone, but those attracted to the darker and stranger edges of psychedelic folk will find much to enjoy. These are essentially amateur tapes but there is enough here to entertain and occasionally put a chill up the spine, from the unbroken circle.

One of my all time favorites.
If you like folk, this is for you.

'Bleeding Out Your Feelings Evermore' has haunted me...

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Panos Savvopoulos-Epeisodio (1971-Folk/ Acid Folk)

Just try this rare greek record...

Forgotten but not lost..

Many thanks to Aggeliki for this one...

One more from this guy coming soon..

Waiting for your comments..

Blue moon...Blue moon!!

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