... CD

Includes "Blend", "Manha de Carnival", "Carmina Burana Fantasy", "Gospel Tune", "Little Maggie", "Memphis, Tennessee", "Triple Ballade" and "Carnival Jump". CD

... CD

A never-issued album from the guitar genius Robbie Basho – material recorded at the same Vanguard Records sessions that produced his monumental albums Voice Of The Eagle and Zarthus, and every bit as great as the work that appeared on those records – and as the tracks on Basho's Takoma Records albums from the 60s! The set features Robbie doing a bit of his unusual vocalizations, but in a way that's folded in very strongly with his unusual phrasings on acoustic guitar – although with Basho maybe hitting a more familiar folk style at some moments, even though the lyrics are all his own, and have a mystical quality that really matches his work on guitar. There's a really haunting quality to the whole record, and the vocal tunes could easily have Basho right up there with left-field contemporaries, like Fred Neil on Capitol, or Tim Hardin on his early Columbia years – but, mixed with the longform guitar explorations, create a vibe that's completely Robbie's own. Titles include "A Day In The Life Of Lemuria", which is an unusual piano/whistling tune – plus "The Butterfly Of Wonder", "Thunder Sun", "Song Of The Great Mystery", "Thunder Love", "Death Song", "Night Way", and "Katerei Tekakwitha". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the songs "Midnight Special", "Cotton Fields", "Special Delivery Blues","Rambling Round Your City", "Cool Water", "Down On Me", "I've Been Driving On Bald Mountain/Water Boy", "Saro Jane", "Battle Hymn Of The Republic","If I Had A Hammer", "Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jerico", "Meetin' At The Building", "No More Auction Block For Me", "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child", "Spoken Introduction: He Had A Long Chain On", "Another Man Done Gone", "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands", "Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor", "Livin' With The Blues", "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out", and "House Of The Rising Son". (Soul, Folk/Country) CD

Joan Baez, back when she was really pretty darn amazing – a young, fresh, powerful force in 60s folk music! The set features Baez on vocals and guitar – with additional electric guitar on a few tracks, a bit of mandolin, and some bass. Includes great readings of Dylan tunes "Farewell Angelina", "It's All Over Now Baby Blue", "Hard Rain's Gonna Fall", and "Daddy You Been On My Mind" – plus Donovan's "Colours". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A soaring set from the great Robbie Basho – one of the most unique artists of his generation! Basho's often mentioned in the same breath as John Fahey, but a record like this really shows his difference – as the record not only features wonderful work on both 6 and 12 string guitar from Basho, but also has lots of these oddly-sung, surprisingly heartfelt lyrics – in a mode that's quite far from folk roots, and which instead has this really soulful warbling that really adds a lot to the spirit of the tunes. The only other instrumentation is some very cool work on the South Indian log drum – and titles include "Omaha Tribal Prayer", "Sweet Medicine", "Roses & Gold", "Joseph", "Blue Corn Serenade", and "Wounded Knee Soliloquy". CD

A great little album of tripped-out folk rock by Sandy Bull, with more of a funky and jazzy edge than you'd expect. Bull plays most of the instruments on the album – including guitar and percussion, which dominate the set, plus a bit of electric instrumentation on the groovier tracks. The set's got some great open-ended numbers that take the experimental folk sound of the late 60s, and filter it through an ESP-like approach to hippy rock – with bits of modalism that make the numbers hold together nicely, and groove where you wouldn't expect them to! Titles include "Sweet Baby Jumper", "Gotta Be Juicy", "Carnival Jump", "Chesseburger", and "Easy Does It". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing minimalism from the legendary Sandy Bull – an artist who might have had acoustic roots in folk music, but who was instantly turning his music into something else – drawing on modal styles of Eastern music, European generations of expression on guitar, jazz-based improvisation – and maybe even prefiguring work to come from composers like Terry Riley and La Monte Young! This album's one of Bull's first, and it's pure genius right from the start – with a side-long performance on the incredible "Blend", which features slight drums from jazz musician Billy Higgins – which Sandy extrapolates these long passages on acoustic guitar. Side two features the fantastic "Carmina Burana Fantasy" on banjo – a kind of trans-historical performance that's right up there with John Fahey's best of the decade – alongside equally mindblowing "Non Nobis Domine" and "Little Maggie" – and the closing electric guitar genius of "Gospel Tune". LP, Vinyl record album

An album as lovely as its title, and John Fahey's 8th record – mostly solo guitar, but with guest drums and bass on 2 cuts – "March For Martin Luther King" and "Dance of The Inhabitants Of The Invisible City Of Bladensburg". The sound is extremely magical – introspective, yet far-seeing – with that fragile sense of being in the world that's made Fahey's work endure far longer than that of most of his contemporaries. Other titles include "Irish Setter", "Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion At Magruder Park", and "Lion". CD

(Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

Strong work from the great Merle Haggard, resilient even near the end of his life on I Am What I Am. CD

The final Merle Haggard album released in his lifetime. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Skip plays both guitar and piano along with his vocals – and titles include "Special Rider Blues", "Crow Jane", "All Night Long", "Cypress Grove", "My Gal", and "Look Down The Road". (Blues, Folk/Country) CD

(Rock, Folk/Country) CD

... CD

A lovely little record – every bit as wonderful as you might expect from the cover, with an evocative sound that fits right in with the concept of a rainy day raga! Peter Walker plays acoustic guitar, but he does so in these long, winding ways that are clearly inspired by Indian music – yet which come across with much more of an Americanist vibe – supported with some additional guitar from Monte Dunn, a 12 string "drone" from Alex Lukeman, and even some flute from Jeremy Steig – plus a bit of tamboura and bells too! The album's one of the most haunting we've ever heard on Vanguard – way more than familiar folk – and titles include "Morning Joy", "River", "April In Cambridge", "Sunshine", "Rainy Day Raga", "White Wind", and "Bianca". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

... CD

An album as lovely as its title, and John Fahey's 8th record – mostly solo guitar, but with guest drums and bass on 2 cuts – "March For Martin Luther King" and "Dance of The Inhabitants Of The Invisible City Of Bladensburg". The sound is extremely magical – introspective, yet far-seeing – with that fragile sense of being in the world that's made Fahey's work endure far longer than that of most of his contemporaries. Other titles include "Irish Setter", "Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion At Magruder Park", and "Lion". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more obscure talents on Vanguard in the folk years – a compelling singer who accompanies himself on guitar and harmonica. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A record that was years ahead of its time – in part because Karen Dalton's a singer with a style that's wonderfully hard to peg! The set was issued on Capitol Records at a time when the label was doing great work with Fred Neil – but Dalton's got this blues-inflected style of singing and a kind of inflection that also maybe echoes Billie Holiday a bit – yet all at a level that's very laidback and easygoing, so that Karen never sounds like some of her contemporaries who were trying a bit to hard to reach for the more soulful side of the spectrum! Instrumentation is mostly acoustic, gut there's some great use of electric bass and a bit of electric guitar – which makes Dalton's 12 string and banjo performances come across more like some of the hipper acoustic sessions on Vanguard at the time. Tunes include a few originals two Fred Neil covers, and a well-chosen Tim Hardin track too – in a set list that includes "In The Evening It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best", "Little Bit Of Rain", "Blues On The Ceiling", "Sweet Substitute", "Ribbon Bow", "I Love You More Thank Words Can Say", and "Down On The Street". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

Very groovy later work from Ian & Sylvia – a bit more rockish than their folk material for Vanguard, almost as if they'd been listening to Gram Parsons and The Byrds – but still with that great appeal that made them such standouts in the 60s! Titles include a great remake of Sylvia's tune "You Were On My Mind" – done with some nice funky drums – plus "Get Up Jake", "Antelope", "You're Not Alone Anymore", "Salmon In The Sea", "Miriam", and "Joshua". LP, Vinyl record album