I love 70's psych folk, especially the darker stuff. I love 70's everything for that matter. We all know Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Simon & Garfunkel, Joan Baez, Vashti Bunyan, Cat Stevens, etc... who are all great folk artists, and I'm not taking anything away from them, but you can find their music anywhere and everywhere, even if you're not looking for it.
I wanted to compile a list of great 70's psych folk albums/songs that most people probably haven't heard of - artists that seem to have disappeared into the mists of time...
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Linda Perhacs - Parallelograms (1970)
Linda Perhacs is an American psychedelic folk singer. This is her debut album, which was originally released in 1970 to scant notice, sales or attention. It was rediscovered in the late 1990s by record enthusiasts on the internet, and since then it's been steadily gaining more popularity, but still mostly unknown.
Michael Yonkers & Jim Woehrle - Borders of my Mind (1973)
I love Michael Yonkers, but he's a strange one. I considered not including any of his music in this post because he's strayed into various non-folky musical directions. He's done a goofy oddball country album, a instrumental harsh guitar noise album, etc... but some of his best material can definitely be placed pretty comfortably in the psych folk category. This is a really good album - a duo record with his friend Jim Woehrle. It's touching and strange and funny. The songs often ending in bursts of laughter.
Sparrow - Wings of the Morning (1977)
Sparrow was a Christian folk duo from the '70s, consisting of David Shwan and Greg Zornes. This is their only album.
Nigel Planer - Five Songs Left (1971)
Nigel Planer wrote this album when he was eighteen years old, back in '77. It's raw and primitive and really damn good. Later in life he went onto become an actor, a writer and a comedian.
Keith Christmas - Fable of the Wings (1970)
Keith Christmas has had a very impressive career, spanning over 50 years. He's recorded multiple albums, toured all over the world, and played acoustic guitar on David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' album. This is his classic 1970 solo album.
Catherine Howe - What A Beautiful Place (1971)
This album is the Brit folk autobiography of Catherine Hower, who was aged 20 at the time of its recording. She never made it as a breakout success, or anywhere near as big as she deserved, but she certainly had a devoted cult following. If you're looking for beautiful, jazzy, orchestral, pastoral folk... then this album is for you.
Gaynor Jenkins - Selected Short Stories (1972/1973)
Gaynor Jenkins is sadly no longer with us, but her music lives on, thanks to her sons Aiden and Dorian. The recordings that comprise this album were unearthed 50 years after they were recorded, back in '72 and '73, mostly at the University of Kent, where Jenkins was studying at age 25. I'm so glad these recordings were eventually shared.
Caedmon - Caedmon (1978)
Caedmon were a Scottish folk rock band from the '70s. This eponymous debut album was a cult hit back in '78. Only 500 copies of it were originally made, before it was eventually released out into the world. I'm not sure when that was, but here it is...
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FURTHER LISTENING...
Here are a bunch of individual 70s psych folk songs that I love, but wasn't able to locate the digital albums they were taken from anywhere online, therefore couldn't embed them on this post. All these songs are gorgeous. I never get sick of these forgotten gems.
what a fine site,nigel planer was a revelation but there is years of listening here.xx
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