Suni McGrath - Cornflower Suite (1969 -- Adelphi, AD1002S) 320 mp3 + Flac

"The music on this record is my attempt to explore and further the american acoustic guitar. I have four sources for the musics here presented: Bulgarian music for rhythmic modes and ideas, also modulation of melodic modes and harmonies; Hindustani for subtle melodic graces and ideas of variation, fahey for the conception of the art; Bartok for modal harmonies analogous to conventional western harmony, and treatment of themes." (Suni McGrath, cover notes)

In my view, Fahey, Basho & McGrath are something of a holy trinity for american primitive solo guitar. Among them, McGrath is easily the least well-known. Cornflower Suite is his outstanding first LP. This is a fresh vinyl rip by yours truly. Enjoy.

Suni McGrath - Cornflower Suite (1969 -- Adelphi, AD1002S) 

320 mp3 + Flac

Side 1

1.  Cornflower Suite   13:05

2.  Picnic On The Moor   2:21

3.  Garden Of Afternoon   6:15

Side 2

1.  Winged Sandal   4:15

2.  Pea Plucker's Pavane  4:29

3.  Xopo   4:18

4.  Blue Domes Of Isfahan   4:29

5.  Parting Dance   3:20

(V/A) Anglo-American Songs and Ballads, Edited by Duncan B. M. Emrich (1947; Library of Congress, AAFS L20)

"These traditional songs, recorded with portable equipment in the field, are sung and played by people who have learned them in the hand-me-down manner of folklore from their parents or neighbors. The singers are untrained musically, and their voices reflect the hills and plains of America rather than the broadcasting studio or the concert stage. This is not in any sense to minimize their worths, but, on the contrary, to point up the unique value of the recordings, for through them is preserved for the American people the pure tradition of song." (Cover notes)

Love it. Originally released in 1947 as a handful of 78s, this 1970's LP re-press collection of raw American Anglo-folk was edited by Duncan B. M. Emrich for the LOC's American Folk Song and Folklore Archives. All are first-rate field recordings from a wonderful range of sources in front of, and behind, the microphone. Vinyl rip by yours truly.




[V/A] Anglo-American Songs and Ballads : Edited by Duncan B. M. Emrich *Folk Music of the United States Series (Library of Congress, AAFS L20)


320 mp3 + Flac  


Side A


1. Cripple Creek - Henry King and Family
2. Git Along Down To Town - Henry King and Family
3. Kicking Mule - Henry King and Family
4. A Railroader For Me - Russ Pike 
5.  Little Old Sod Shanty - Jimmy Denoon
6. Good Old Rebel - Booth Campbell
7. Jesse James - Bascom Lamar Lunsford
8. Baa, Baa, Black Sheep - Bascom Lamar Lunsford 
9. Blue-Eyed Girl - Rufus Crisp




Side B


1. The Cruel War Is Raging - Charles Ingenthron 
2. Nottingham Fair - Charles Ingenthron
3. The Soldier's Joy - McMinnville Garment Factory Workers' Band 
4. Give The Fiddler A Dram - McMinnville Garment Factory Workers' Band
5. Black Mountain Blues - Sam Leslie & Palmer Crisp 
6. The Dying Cowboy - Dick Devall
7. Red Whiskey - Dick Devall 
8. Little Dogies - Dick Devall
9. My Sweetheart's A Cowboy - Dick Devall

Guillermo de la Roca - La Flûte Indienne : Aires del Tawantinsuyo (Disques Alvarès / BAM, EX1512)

Deep Andean folk melodies from Argentina & Bolivia. This is a sound which, to my ears, has a uniquely haunting way of evoking celebration and tragedy, all at once. This 4-song 45rpm EP, year currently unknown, was released in France by Disques Alvarès, an offshoot affiliate of the classic La Boite a Musique (BAM) record label. Vinyl rip by yours truly. 

Guillermo de la Roca - La Flûte Indienne : Aires del Tawantinsuyo (196x, Disques Alvarès / BAM, EX1512) 

320 mp3 + Flac

Scotty : Draw your Brakes - The Best of Scotty (Musical Chariot, 1971 + Crystal, 1992) *320 + Flac

After the break-up of [their early group] The Federals, Scotty {David Scott} and {A.J.} Franklin re-formed their group...,adopted the name The Chosen Few, and resumed work under {promoter/producer, Derrick] Harriott. Their popularity increased in 1970 after they provided back-up vocals for Hopeton Lewis's single "Boom Shacka Lacka", and later that year they scored a Jamaican #1 hit of their own with "Psychedelic Train".

Shortly after this success, Harriott removed Scotty from The Chosen Few, replacing him with Busty Brown, the former singer for The Messengers. Instead, Scotty provided DJ work for various groups under Harriott's auspices, such as The Crystallites, his first DJ outing being "Musical Chariot".^[2] He appeared on numerous charting hits during this period, such as "Sesame Street" (1970, reaching #3 in Jamaica), "Riddle I This" (1970, #1) and "Jam Rock Style" (1971).^[2]His song "Draw Your Brakes", a deejay version of Keith & Tex's hit "Stop That Train", was in the soundtrack to the film, The Harder They Come.

Scotty's style prefigured the 'singjay' style of the late 1970s.^[3] He continued working with Harriott until 1972, after which he spent a couple of years working with other producers such as Harry J, Lloyd Charmers, and Sonia Pottinger.^[2] Scotty moved to the United States in 1974, settling in Florida. He established arecording studio and a record label, but these both failed, and he returned to Jamaica. He resumed recording, now in a ragga style, and was working on a new album when he died of prostate cancer in 2003. (Wikipedia)

Scotty : Draw your Brakes - The Best of Scotty (Musical Chariot, 1971 + Crystal, 1992)

320 mp3 + Flac 

Side A 1. Draw Your Brakes 2. Children Children 3. Penny For Your Song 4. Jam Rock Style 5. I Worry 6. Musical Chariot 7. Clean Race (Psychodelic Train) Side B 1. Sesame Street 2. Sing Along 3. Riddle I This 4. Rosemarie 5. Lonely Man 6. Monkey Drop

Nguashi N'Timbo with L'Orchestre Festival of Zaire : Shauri Yako (ASLP 936, 1981?)

"Shauri Yako" is a stone classic of Congolese {Zairian} popular music. The song has been treated to many excellent renditions, but is the original, composed by Nguashi N'Timbo and released in the very early 1980s. This record can be fairly tough to come by. I'm unsure about the other versions (of N'Timbo's original)that I've seen about the blogosphere, but my copy is Zambian pressed. Must say, I'm feeling pretty good about the transfers of Shauri Yako & Simakala. The second parts of the second tracks (on both sides), however, each have hums from a vinyl distortion that developed as the needle neared the center of the record. So it goes. Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD -- Nguashi N'Timbo with L'Orchestre Festival of Zaire : Shauri Yako (ASLP 936, 1981?)  

320 mp3 + Flac