This record attracted significant critical attention on release, much of it lampooning its litany of dark and somewhat depressing songs. There is, however, no need for the razor blades for those interested in finding out what the fuss was all about. Despairing as they may be, these songs represent some of the finest folk music of its type.
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Music From Big Pink The Band 1968 [Capitol]
Whilst the follow-up from this mostly-Canadian outfit gets most of the attention, there are many who believe that Music From Big Pink is by far the superior item. Songwriting duties are shared between Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel - with fiddles and mandolins taking pride of place in a relatively bare-bones production.
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Illuminations Buffy Sainte-Marie 1969 [Vanguard]
Of Cree Indian parentage, Sainte-Marie rose to prominence cataloguing the plight of Native Americans. Her somewhat esoteric style also earned here a niche as the mystic queen of late-60s folk. Sainte-Marie utilises studio art to galvanise her guitar and voice into a cacophony of folk avant-garde electronica - well before there was such a thing.
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Oar Alexander 'Skip' Spence 1969 [Columbia/Sundazed]
Acid-head Skip Spence started with Jefferson Airplane and was a key member of the legendary Moby Grape. After freaking out with a fire axe in the studio he was institutionalised, eventually emerging to make this one-man-band psych-folk obscurity. The CD release featuring a swag of extra tracks is a pure joy to behold.
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Blue Joni Mitchell 1971 [Reprise]
Sparse singer/songwriter effort from the genre's most poetically confessional artist. Generally regarded as Mitchell's masterpiece, the only person allowed into the studio while recording was the engineer. Stephen Stills and James Taylor feature in support, the latter ostensibly the target of some of the more searing lyrics on the record.
If You Could Read My Mind Gordon Lightfoot 1970 [Reprise]
This album was renamed after release to take advantage of the title song's popularity, thus beginning a commercial purple patch for Canadian Gordon Lightfoot. Whereas the critics shunned him at the time, Lightfoot's direct folk-influenced acoustic approach is still popular with many. Both this and 1974's Sundown are worth having.
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Kate & Anna McGarrigle Kate & Anna McGarrigle 1975 [Hannibal]
This highly acclaimed debut album by Canadian sister act the McGarrigles deserves every one of the many plaudits it has received. 'Heart Like a Wheel' is the best known track thanks to the Linda Ronstadt version, but there's not a weak link in sight. Simply saturated in folk thanks to the banjos, mandolins, accordions and harmonicas.
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Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws Bruce Cockburn 1979 [Columbia]
Eco-advocate Bruce Cockburn has always been popular in his native Canada, finally getting some overdue attention with this record and the minor hit 'Wondering Where the Lions Are'. A relatively mellow effort, Cockburn's acoustic guitar takes centre-stage with only the occasional hint of the worldbeat that would feature heavily on later albums.
