Severeal highly interesting compilations of obscure folk/psychedelia have been released in recent years, so I thought I should review some of them. As the undertitle states, ‘Sumer Is Icumen In’ collects some of the Pagan-inspired folk rock from the British isles during what could very well be the most insanely creative period in music history! I write ‘some’ deliberately here, because a ridiculous amount of folk rock (and other music as well) dealed with esoteric and Pagan themes in those days. But this wonderful collection certainly gives us more than a good glimpse of just that. It consists of three cd’s, but also a short essay by David Wells about the development of folk/folk rock, and the connections with the counterculture in the 60’s and 70’s. ‘Sumer Is Icumen In’ also offers some information about ALL the artists on this compilation, and those are not few! You’ll also find wonderful pictures of all these artists. Fabulous – this is how all compilations should be done! And now to the content (obviously I cannot go in detail on every single artist or song):
Disc one: ‘Upon A Lammas Night’
Disc one opens with a short little instrumental called ‘Lark Rise’, by The Third Ear Band, which gets you in the right esoteric Pagan mood. Then we’re in for the masterful ‘Corn Rigs’ by Magnet. This one deserves some special mention, as the song is featured on what is usually considered the ultimate folk horror movie (and rightly so): ‘The Wicker Man’ from 1973. The melody and atmosphere is simply to die for. Wonderful stuff! Almost every artist featured on this disc, and the two others for that matter, could be called obscure. But there are also some well known names here, and one of them is Traffic. They were not a folk band per se, but they had at least one real folk song, and that is their interpretation of ‘John Barleycorn’ – originally from their album ‘John Barleycorn Must Die’ from 1970 (a classic album for sure). This remains my favourite interpretation of this age old traditional that deals with, well, drinking excess and the many aspects of that! Steve Winwood sings it with so much conviction, and the song has a wonderful medieval atmosphere. Simply great. Another well known artist that’s featured here, and one that certainly didn’t deal much with folk, is Mike Oldfield. Yes, I guess he still was inspired by Celtic mythology and legends, but his earliest albums are pure progressive rock (and genius at that), while he later unfortunately turned to bland pop and new age. Anyway, the song by him on this collection is the very cozy ‘On Horseback’ – originally from his fantastic third album called ‘Ommadawn’ (one of the ten albums I cherish most in this world). ‘On Horseback’ fills me with this wonderful nostalgia, and it never fails to give me chills when the children’s choir comes in at the end. Among the really obscure stuff you have things like ‘The Keys of Canterbury’ by Vulcan’s Hammer, from their one and only and highly medieval folk album – ‘True Hearts and Sound Bottoms’ from 1973. Other gems are Kevin Coyne’s ‘White Horse’, Midwinter’s ‘Sanctuary Stone’ (wonderfully fragile female vocals on that one) and Folkal Point’s ‘Lovely Joan’.
Disc two: Book of Shadows
The second disc opens with the very well known ‘Tam Lin’, from Fairport Convention. I’m not the biggest fan of that band, even the early stuff, but they have of course made some truly legendary songs as well. ‘Tam Lin’ is certainly one of those, and ranks among the band’s most glorious moments ever. Of course Sandy Denny sings on this one, and she really was made to do epic and powerful folk rock songs like this one. Legendary song from what I guess is the most well known folk rock album ever, ‘Liege & Lief’. But personally I prefer the fragile and obscure stuff that’s on offer here. Gallery’s version of ‘Let No Man Steal Your Thyme’ deserves a special mention, simply because it is so incredibly beautiful and haunting. Gallery is a very obscure band, and unfortunately thay only released one album, ‘The Wind That Shakes The Barley (which is highly reccomended – if you can find it!). Lal Waterson’s ‘The Scarecrow’ is another big favourite. Oh, those vocals! Can it possibly get more folky and British sounding than that one?! I don’t think so. I also love Bridget St. John’s classic song ‘Lizard-Long-Tounge-Boy’, dark and haunting as that one is. She was unique. Really lovely is also the dreamy and kind of cheerful ‘The Song of The Healer’ by Sallyangie. That band, or duo, consisted of Mike Oldfield and his sister Sally. Overall I think I still prefer the first disc over the second, but by all means: There is a lot of magical folk music here as well!
Disc three: Hearken To The Witch’s Rune
Disc three opens with ‘The Bells of Dunwich’ by Stone Angel. Their first album, which this song is taken from. has legendary status within hardcore folk circles. It’s just so incredibly dark and esoteric, and I absolutely love it! Then follows Pentangle’s immortal epic ‘Cruel Sister’ from the album with the same name. Oh those crystal-clear female vocals! And that melody… this is simply one of my absolute favourite folk songs. It’s all so beautiful and powerful that you could cry. Disc three is perhaps the disc on this collection that offers most obscure bands, and they all have songs that you’ll want to revisit again and again. Take for example Michael Raven & Joan Mill’s ‘The Queen of The Night’. It’s taken from their album ‘Death and The Lady’, and is simply melancholy folk at its very best. I should also mention Mellow Candle, which was a progressive folk band with highly complex arrangements and vocal harmonies, but they still made some incredibly catchy music! ‘The Poet and The Witch’, the song by them that is featured here, certainly falls in that category. This is uptempo and great stuff by this legendary band. Mellow Candle was another group that only managed to release one album, but that album (‘Swaddling Songs’) is an incredible gem you certainly should own! Disc three, and the whole compilation, ends however with something completely different: The utterly dark and strange ‘The Mendle’ by Mr Fox. It’s not exactly often you hear fuzzguitar-solos in British folk, but here you’ll get to hear just that. Great song as well. Mr Fox released two albums full of stange and often inaccessible music, but these are certainly worth checking out for the really adventurous. And I guess you are one of them, since you’re reading all this. So there you have it. ‘Sumer Is Icumen In’ is a totally brilliant compilation. Grapefruit Records has done a fantastic job on it. The presentation is great as well. It all comes packed in this clamshell box that is really nice. I have returned to this compilation countless times, and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it. If you should get addicted to something, it certainly could be worse things than British Pagan folk. Ave Satana, and have a good midsummer night!