British Acid Folk comps: Gather in the Mushrooms/Early Morning Hush

I've been playing these comps quite a bit of late and wondered if anyone enjoyed them as much as I. 'Forest and the Shore' and 'Mendle', by Keith Christmas and Mr. Fox respectively, are the big faves of the moment, although I dig just about everything on them.
The former is an epic, 7-minute workout, with ghostly backup vocals, lush strings and strident rhythm section. The latter is a wild psych freakout, with tribal thumping and lysergic, trance-inducing organ.

Please feel free to comment on these comps or others of the genre.

Gather in the Mushrooms

(Compiled By John Reed) (Castle Music) Cat. No.CMQCD 840 Released: 2004
Tracklisting:
1 Magnet - Corn Riggs (2:36)
2 Sallyangie - Love In Ice Crystals (3:03)
3 Pentangle - Lyke Wake Dirge (3:34)
4 Forest - Graveyard (5:44)
5 Sandy Denny - Milk And Honey (4:22)
6 Trader Horne - Morning Way (4:36)
7 Writing On The Wall - Buffalo (3:12)
8 Bert Jansch - Silly Woman (3:15)
9 Shelagh McDonald - Liz’s Song (2:50)
10 Heron - Lord And Master (4:53)
11 Spirogyra - Old Boot Wine (4:16)
12 Vashti Bunyan - Winter Is Blue (2:54)
13 Al Jones - All My Friends Are Back Again (2:36)
14 Fresh Moggots - Rosemary Hill (3:35)
15 Lesley Duncan - Love Song (3:09)
16 Mr Brooks - The Family (3:08)
17 Andy Roberts - Queen Of The Moonlight World (4:43)
18 Comus - The Herald (12:15)



Early Morning Hush- UK Acid-Folk Compilation 1969-1976
1:Midwinter - The Skater
2:Loudest Whisper - Lir's Lament Sheep Season
3:Mellow Candle - Sheep Season
4:John Renbourn - The Chukoo
5:Sweeney's Men - Go My Brooks
6:Shelagh McDonald - Peacock Lady
7:Shirley Collins - Poor Murdered Woman
8:Water Into Wine Band - Harvest Time
9:Keith Christmas - Forest An The Shore
10:Anne Briggs - Fine Horseman
11:Stone Angel - The Bells Of Dunwich
12entangle - Sovay
13: Duncan Brown - Cherry Blossom Fool
14:Steeleye Span - The Blacksmith
15: Dando Shaft - Coming Home To Me
16:Shide and Acorn - Elanor's Song
17:Mr. Fox - Mendle

 

I've got both. I'm going to revisit them later this afternoon. Thanks for the reminder

 

Yeah really good compilations. I especially love Gather in the mushrooms.

They're out of print now as well.

I have a few similar folk rock compilations

Folk is not a four letter word Volumes 1 & 2
Fuzzy felt folk
Feel the spirit
Meet on the ledge: an Island folk rock anthology

Folk rock Fossils 1969 - 1978 (one of my comps)

1 TUDOR LODGE - THE LADY’S CHANGING (1971) UK
2 DULCIMER - CARAVAN (1970) UK
3 TUDOR LODGE - HELP ME FIND MYSELF (1971) UK
4 TREES - SOLDIER’S THREE (1970) UK
5 ANNE BRIGGS - SANDMAN’S SONG (1971) UK
6 MIDWINTER - SANCTUARY STONE (1973) UK
7 FUCHSIA - A TINY BOOK (1971) UK
8 11.59 - THE WATERS OF BABYLON (1974) UK
9 CAEDMON - MAKER MAN (1978) SCO
10 STEELEYE SPAN - DARK EYED SAILOR (1970) UK
11 DANDO SHAFT - THRUXTON (1971) UK
12 SUNFOREST - WHERE ARE YOU (1969) USA
13 HERON - SALLY GOODIN (1970) UK
14 MAGNET - WILLOW’S SONG (1973) UK/USA
15 JAN AND LORRAINE - DON’T YOU FEEL FINE (1969) UK/USA
16 FAIRPORT CONVENTION - FOTHERINGAY (1969) UK
17 HEAVEN AND EARTH - FEEL THE SPIRIT (1973) USA
18 TIR NA OG - DAISY LADY (1971) IRL
19 HOLLINS AND STARR - TALKING TO MYSELF (1970) USA
20 HOLLINS AND STARR – KRISHNA DAY (1970) USA

Recently bought

The history of UK underground folk rock 1968 - 1978 Volumes 1 & 2
Good tracks but no liner notes

 

That's a fine looking comp you made.

And thanks for listing those other comps. Not sure why, but I prefer comps of this style of music more than full albums by individual artists.

I also seem to have a predilection for the spookier, gloomier stuff.

 

These are good primers for newbies to the genre. Only reason I didn't buy them is I have over half of the tracks already on pertinent records/CDs. You could quibble about some inclusions or exclusions - absolutely no Incredible String Band, for instance (high priests of acid folk, IMO) but there's some good stuff on there.

Kissing spell, who put out the History of Underground folk, are notable for shoddy artwork and poor sleevenotes. They do, however, put out some good music.

 

Those look great.

 

Can anyone recommend songs with the same sort of dark vibe as the ones in my first post?

 

Off the top of my head Ralph McTell's Barges has the same sort of feel as the tracks you list. Not all of his stuff does, and maybe lyrically this one doesn't, but musically this one I find a bit creepy for want of a better word.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AROM7xgU72s

Or Garden of Jane Delawney by Trees? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8b5LdYhcOI

And of course a bunch of string band songs.

 

And of course a bunch of string band songs.[/QUOTE][

Ralph McTell's album My Side of Your Window has some of his more offbeat tracks. More recently there's 'River Rising', 'Peppers and Tomatoes', 'Jesus Wept', 'Red Sky'.

 

The homemade comps Lammas Night Laments are worth looking for. I'm sure their out on the web somewhere. Here are the track listings:

http://www.bcb-board.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=94431#p2608971

Some of my favorites in this category:

Moonkyte
Marc Brierley - Welcome to the Citadel
Heron - both of their Dawn albums. Though I don't think they fit in the category they seem to get on comps of acid folk. Their first album was recorded outside.

Heron did the best version of Dylan's "Only a Hobo". The band still sounded amazing in 2005, doing Broken Arrow and Only a Hobo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsNzcwr3jns&feature=related

 

Yeah so do I. I like a sustained atmosphere with variation within certain parameters...if you know what I mean. I'm not really into the hoe down side of folk rock.


Track Recommendations:

The Garden of Jane Delawney by Trees is a beautiful song. Essential spooky brit folk rock.

Also love

Fairport Convention - Fotheringay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YC_x_2aq8w

11:59 - The waters of Babylon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q95F7tWMkpM

Vashti Bunyan - Train Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AGD78mWcss

Tudor Lodge - Willow tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoitdaqw2yo

Magna Carta - Midwinter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix9JDdhJI5U

 

Early Morning Hush is decent, I give it a spin once in awhile. The other compilation looks tasty, so I will hunt it down...until I checked some of the crazy prices it's going for on Amazon.

Trees did some great stuff, check out their early work.

 

There are only 2 Trees albums, I'm afraid, but they are indeed essential stuff.

 

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone. Much appreciated.

 

I just got into this genre myself so I'll be keeping an eye on this thread too. The Lammas Night Laments series is great if you can get ahold of it. If I had to pick one group out of the lot it would be Mellow Candle. Their 'Reverend Sisters' tune is wonderful.

 

Here's a good one i have:



Volume 1:
01. Shide & Acorn- Under the Tree (4:29)
02. Caedmon- Aslan (4:26)
03. Tir Na Nog- Our Love (3:10)
04. Mellow Candle- Sheep Season (3:36)
05. Parameter- Emmeline (5:49)
06. Fibbertigibbet- Little Roving Sailor (2:18)
07. Horison- Sea of Tranquility (5:50)
08. Vulcans Hammer- Jamie (3:34)
09. Caedmon- Sea Song (5:35)
10. Stone Angel- Dancing at Whitsun (3:15)
11. Mark Newman- Patterns (2:30)
12. Trees- Little Black Cloud (2:13)
13. Midwinter- Winter Song (3:59)
14. Artist Unknown- Hymn for Today (4:20)
15. Loudest Whisper- She Moves to the Fair (5:56)
16. Skybird- Magdalena (3:24)
17. Gallery- The Baron of Brackley (4:29)
18. Water into Wine Band- Waiting for Another Day (6:23)

Volume 2
01. Mellow Candle- Silver Song (4:11)
02. Stone Angel- The Bells of Dunwich (6:00)
03. Loudest Whisper- Silent O'Moyle (5:55)
04. Parameter- Sun Gone (1:06)
05. Shide & Acorn- I Used to Live Within a World (3:31)
06. Blue Epitaph- Ffief (2:34)
07. Mark Newman- Mustapha (4:34)
08. Mourning Phase- Ring Out the Bells (4:30)
09. No. 9 Bread St.- Girl for All Seasons (2:11)
10. Melton Constable- River Lane (3:53)
11. Parameter- Virgin Childe (2:50)
12. Horison- Epic (4:00)
13. Waiting for the Sun- Waiting for the Sun (3:50)
14. Moths- Halfdan's Daughter (3:06)
15. Caedmon- London Psalm (5:27)
16. Tir Na Nog- Daisy Lady (1:43)
17. Flibbertigibbert- My Lagan Love (3:40)
18. Midwinter- Sanctuary Stone (4:09)

 

The album Swaddling Songs is stunning.

 

BTW, have some posts disappeared from this thread??

 

Wow, I have to quibble with this statement. Kissing Spell has their distinctive approach to cover art (using old paintings) which some dislike but I think are OK. But way more important than any "shoddy artwork or poor sleevenotes" is the fact that this company has unearthed and released for general consumption more excellent close to unknown British folk/psych than almost any other label I can think of. The music is often previously unknown (even to rarity collectors), stunningly good, and the sound is often totally listenable. Off the top of my head, examples of these type of albums that Kissing Spell has released include:

Jesse Harper - Guitar Absolution in the Shade of Midnight (awesome Hendrix-influence album)
Flibbertigibbet - Whistling Jigs to the Moon
Caedmon
Caedmon - Live
Stone Angel
Shades of MacMurragh (3 albums, can't remember the names)
Mourning Phase
Nigel Mazlyn Jones - Ship to Shore (not quite as rare, but great music and great to have on CD)

Kissing Spell has also done some good reissues of less rare albums, for example the three Cochise albums.

I really think we should give Kissing Spell a bit more credit.

 

I like Kissing Spell, Z, believe me. And I have 3 of the albums you list. I'm just a bit disappointed with the artwork n My LAgan Love, for instance. And the print on Stone Angel: Same, which I can't read with my reading glasses and magnif. glass combined. o

 

No luck tracking these ones down. Are they both OOP?

 

They're both on amazon uk.

Volume 1 http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Folk-Rock-Underground-1968-1978/dp/B0000645FW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323799999&sr=8-2

Volume 2 http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Underground-Folk-Rock-1968-1978/dp/B0000647K0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323799999&sr=8-1

Reasonable prices.(not sure how it would be after exchange rate & P&P) No liner notes though, for shame Kissing Spell. Bit more effort required.

 

Yeah, I'll definitely give you that - the artwork on My Lagan Love is truly terrible. I actually looked at that CD when I wrote the previous post even though I didn't mention it then, and briefly thought about how crappy the cover on that looks.

 

I agree. It's just had a nicely done reissue on Rise Above Relics.
Two lp boxset, one lp the original album and the 2nd early tracks and demos plus 2 seperate 45 singles, so 4 discs in all. The remaster is from the original tapes with the bands cooperation.
Shame that it seems to have limited distribution.
http://www.riseaboverecords.com/products/view/360/

 

Over on a sister forum, people are expresssing dismay they haven't got their copies yet. Could it be sold out?