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This musical post is about progressive folk. This genre is often associated with a second British folk reviewal. One misconception about folk is that folk is a rural music or historic old folklore music of the people which needs to be recovered and reconstructed. Actually, for the most part of its history folk was indeed a music of the people, common folks, but these were also modern urban folks. For a long time before the mass spread of the radio it was a common practice for families to gather together and entertain themselves by singing relatively simple songs with acoustic instrumentations, often a six string guitar. Obviously, in the age of radio this form of music started to die out. But for some reason in the late 50' the strong interest to folk emerged. Thus, folk was reinvented as a kind of niche music. Eventually in the late 60' this lead to a situation there musical bands with a particular focus on mastery of folk acoustic instruments. These bands constitute the body of the "progressive folk" movement
The first band of this movement I noticed were "Pentangle". This is a peak of the musical mastery. Their first self-titled album is perfect introduction to an elevated folk music. "Sweet Child" is an ambitious double live album. Personally, I lack the vigor to listen it from the start to finish. Sometimes it seems that Pentagle play here all the songs they know. "Basket of Light" is a more traditional album with a similar variety of song. I especially like when Pentangle performs old English Christian hymns. "The Basket of Ligth", for example, have "Lyke-Wake Dirge" which starts with old English: "This ae nighte // this ae nighte, //
Every nighte and alle, //
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte, //
And Christe receive thy saule." This can partially contradicts my words above that folk is not about historic reconstruction. And in reality this album more likely supports my claim than not. Because there are so many songs in other styles here. They are masterfully performed. But in a net sum of impressions they distract from the atmosphere of an old little English church. And this makes this band less appealing to me.
The second is "the Strawbs". This is something on the edge of the edge of progressive folk and psychedelic folk. Objectively it's not a bad band. But after my overdose with psychedelic rock and general listener's fatigue it feels very forgettable to me.
Tim Buckley is a very special musician associated with progressive folk movement. His music is a mix of folk and jazz and blues. In this environ he shine with his unique blues inspired voice. For this project I listened to two Tim Buckley's album "Happy Sad" and "Blue Afternoon". They are not as experimental as his upcoming album "Lorca". The contents of the lyrics here is the standard contents of Blues. And this is the only thing which doesn't inspire me too much.
The last musician I want to talk about is Roy Harper. His style seems to be the closest to the American style Greenwich Village's folk. There the folk-singer is not just a performer but a hero who brings a gospel to the listener. Such folk often can be political. And the Roy Harper is the most politically charged and the just the most angry performer in the comp. This clearly makes his songs less forgettable.
The album "Folkjokeopus" is a good representation of this style. The second album "Flat Baroque and Berserk" is even more provocative and want's to be heard as a political gospel. For example, it has a song "I hate the white man". And, personally, I don't like this album too much. Not because it has a defiant song, but because it just so rumbly, with Roy Harper talking so much between his songs about his thoughts. It feels almost as a spoken word album. Strangely, it also Roy's most commercially successful album.
gallery
Album: Pentangle
Artist: Pentangle
Release date:1968
Genre:: progressive folk
Scene: Second English British Revival
Album: Sweet Child
Artist: Pentangle
Release date:1968
Genre:: progressive folk
Scene: Second British Folk Revival
Album: Baset of Light
Artist: Pentangle
Release date:1969
Genre:: progressive folk
Scene: Second British Folk Revival
Album: Strawbs
Artist: Strawbs
Release date:1969
Genre:: psychedelic folk, progressive folk
Scene: Second British Folk Revival
Album: Dragonfly
Artist: Strawbs
Release date:1969
Genre:: psychedelic folk, progressive folk
Scene: Second British Folk Revival
Album: Happy Sad
Artist: Tim Buckley
Release date:1968
Genre:: Progressive folk, blues, jazz
Scene: Second British Folk Revival
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Album: Blue Afternoon
Artist: Tim Buckley
Release date:1969
Genre:: Progressive folk, blues, jazz
Scene: Second British Folk Revival
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Album: Folkjokeopus
Artist: Roy Harper
Release date: 1969
Genre:: Progressive folk
Scene: Second British Folk Revival
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Album: Flat Baroque and Berserk
Artist: Roy Harper
Release date: 1970
Genre:: Progressive folk
Scene: Second British Folk Revival
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