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Showing posts from February, 2026

Gulf Stream Blues

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Gulf Stream Blues Oh mama, I got the gulf stream blues... Trans-Atlantic folk selection. Traditions have travelled back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean for years to intertwine and create a shared musical heritage.   ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^ Blend of Irish, Scottish, English and American folky sounds. Songs from Linda Thompson 's excellent 2002 LP Fashionably Late . An exploration of some inspirational Jethro Tull tracks from the  late-1970's   Heavy Horses era, including three brilliant studio outtakes that never ought to have been left on cutting floor. Glaswegian band The Humblebums were formed in 1965 by Billy Connolly & Tam Harvey  and were later joined by Gerry Rafferty . The band continued until 1971 when they split to pursue solo projects. Connolly in particular went to to enjoy a stellar career in stand-up comedy, television &...

Witch of the Westmoreland

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Witch of the Westmoreland Ravens, witches, ghosts and werewolves. Natural medicine, wiccan, alchemy and various surviving traces from our ancient animist past. Ballads, tragic laments and curious tales of magic and mystery. Mixtape of predominantly English & Scottish  Folk music. Tribute to veteran & influencial Scots folksinger Archie Fisher who just passed away recently, in November 2025.     ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^ We selected four Archie Fisher recordings from between 1976 & 2008, including the memorable title track Witch of the Westmoreland . First time on this blog for Scottish songbird superstar Barbara Dickson with three folk songs off her 1972 debut album From the Beggar's Mantle . Maggie Holland is a singer-songwriter and gritty performer from southern England. She sours over her electric guitar and banjo while bringing an altog...

Only By the Grace of the Sun

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Only By the Grace of the Sun Folk rock session   ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^   Highlighting Richie Havens tracks from his 2004 album Grace of the Sun and two more from Robert Plant 's new Saving Grace LP. Mixing things up a bit here we have tunes by Rory Gallagher , including a combo with Bert Jansch, Stephen Stills and the irrefutable  Rolling Stones . The Phil Beer Band rips it up live alongside singer Deb Sandland ( Mandorock Live 2000). Black Swan is a fantastic recording taken from Bert Jansch 's final release. He also features here on two late era Pentangle recordings.  Andy Irvine and Paul Brady teamed up in 1976 for an outstanding album. Angeline Morrison released an excellent debut set, The Brown Girl in 2022 with a hatful of well selected ballads right out of the traditional songbooks, following in the vocal footsteps of the likes...

Both Sides of the Tweed - Scottish & Northumbrian Folk

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Both Sides of the Tweed Let the love of our land's sacred rights , to the love of our people succeed Let friendship and honour unite a nd flourish on both sides the Tweed   Folk songs, stories & melodies of Scotland & Northumberland Ballads, airs, reels, hornpipes and touching laments. Stories within the songs relate largely to historical events and movements between the 17th century killing time & the dawn of the 20th, periods of immense economic & demographic change across all northern regions. Anthems and tales of highland & clan pride, great bravery, treachery, tragedy & loss, a potato famine, dispossession, regret and exile. Other tracks re tempered by a sense of hope & trust in a brighter future. Some songs were documented in James Child's 19th century   Scottish & Child Ballads  and the  Roud Folk anthologies while others were composed later. Let the stringsmen strum, the singers sing and the pipers play...     ^^st...

Sandy Denny - Moments In Time

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Sandy Denny - Moments In Time Here's a mixtape that I compiled a long while ago, two parts. A tribute to The Lady of British folk, the late, great Sandy Denny . One of the truly magnificent singers in the folk genre, or in the music world as a whole in fact. She was blessed with a powerful, natural voice & distinct style and has been credited as a major driving force behind the success of Fairport Convention , the Liege & Leif LP still being regarded as the finest, most complete folk-rock albums ever. These two sessions cover her whole recorded career from 1966 through to her final performance just days before her untimely death in 1977. Sandy explores diverse topics & introduces various fictional or real characters in her songwriting but oft returns to her personal experiences and feelings, especially on her later albums. The passage of time is a clear and present preoccupation throughout much of her work (perhaps s he understood deep down that her time was not to be...

Not Fire Not ICE

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  Not Fire Not ICE ...Dysturbing Hystory of Iniquity Topical and heavily eclectic all-era music of resistance mixtape selection. From folk to R&B, funk, rock, reggae, soul & more... The session starts starts in a wonderfully hypnotic & melancholy style in tune with current moods but picks up pace to climax in fire later on. It concludes with calls for unity & steadfastness in the struggle from the likes of  Stevie Wonder ,  Luciano , Tracy Chapman , Morgan Heritage & the great  Bob Marley . Big tunes from Ziggy Marley ,  Richie Havens , Gil Scott-Heron , Sly Stone ,  Joy Denalane , Jah9 , & Ben Harper . Ms. Lauryn Hill burned up the studio during her 1992 solo  Unplugged set, pure fya! Ronnie Benjamin hails from the Virgin Isles and was father to the late & legendary Vaughn Benjamin of reggae band Midnite. Got to Make it Someday is a real Caribbean folk gem, a heartfelt song of perseverance. B-side of a rare 7'' that ca...

From Timbuktu to Terrapin Station

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From Timbuktu to Terrapin Station Kick back to this eclectic folk-rock session 1970's-2020's. From straight up solo acoustic & semi-acoustic folk to spacious bluesy folk rock and world/reggae/ska beats with some extended jazzy jams...   ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY TWICE or tap icons to enter the internet archives post^^   Features tracks from the outstanding debut album by Scottish folk band Silly Wizard  ( 1971 ) and also 2 recordings by fellow Scots The Battlefield Band . Three killer tunes by Robert Plant , two taken from the powerful new LP with his touring band Saving Grace  plus a cracking live recording captured from his 2003 performace at Timbuktu! More cool, expansive vibes from Bert Keely both solo & with his band the Flying Other Ones . We continue to commemorate the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir after his recent passing with his impressions of two Dead classics; I Know You Rider & the rambling Terrapin Station . Special tribute to Chilean ...