Various Artists – Deep In The Woods – Pastoral Psychedelia & Funky Folk 1968-1975 (Strawberry Records/Cherry Red Records, 2022)
“Deep In The Woods – Pastoral Psychedelia & Funky Folk 1968-1975” is a beautifully packaged 3-CD boxed set that presents an expansive look at the rich and groundbreaking folk scene in the UK and Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. This was a period when musicians involved in the folk music revival embraced psychedelia, blues, funk, jazz, progressive music and other musical forms to create a fascinating world of new roots music.
The songs were selected by Richard Norris (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve/The Grid) who introduces dozens of talented artists from the near past to new generations. Although the entire collection is top-notch, I selected a handful of favorites, like the early environmental spirit of Open Road, the rock band that regularly backed Donovan’s touring band.
Irish act The Woods Band dazzles with its Celtic music flavor and vocal harmonies. Meanwhile, groundbreaking Welsh artist Meic Stevens was an early adopter of world music, combining Indian sitar with western psychedelic and folk instruments.
Coventry band Dando Shaft performed a delightful stringband style mix of bluegrass and Balkan rhythms.
The group Arrival had an ahead of its time progressive folk spirit. You’ll find more of that progressive music feel with Brian Davison’s Every Which Way; Davidson was a former member of pioneering progressive rock band The Nice.
Jade Warrior is one of the most familiar artists that appears on the anthology. This is their beautiful early material. The band later became part of the progressive music movement, releasing superb albums that combined progressive rock, world music and jazz.
There are plenty more innovators, such as psychedelic folk-rock band The Ghost, who added a dash of progressive rock; as well as progressive folk bands Second Hand and Fuchsia.
Although I gravitate towards the progressive leaning artists, the collection also features plenty of rootsier acts with an acoustic sound grounded in folk and blues, as well as funk-fueled folk. A case in point, Chris Harwood who delivers a fantastic combination of psychedelia, folk, funk, captivating jazz organ and electric piano, and Crosby Stills Nash and Young-style harmonies.
This is just a small summary of all the fabulous material you will find on these three meticulously selected recordings. The set contains a 7000-word essay and sleeve notes with abundant information about the time period and details about each artist featured.
In addition to the fantastic music, the boxed also includes a stunning and colorful 3-CD digipack collage design by Lyndon Pike.
Deep In The Woods fills an important gap in music history, opening a gate into the exciting music developed during a time of experimentation.
Buy Deep In The Woods – Pastoral Psychedelia & Funky Folk 1968-1975
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.