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Various Artists - Troubadours of British Folk, Volume 2

Track listing:
  1. Matty Groves Fairport Convention 8:11
  2. Mr. Fox Mr. Fox 4:50
  3. Murder of Maria Marten Shirley Collins & the Albion Country Band 7:26
  4. John Barleycorn Traffic 6:26
  5. Three Hours Nick Drake 6:14
  6. Banks of the Nile Fotheringay 8:07
  7. Tom Tiddler's Ground Roy Harper 6:11
  8. Streets of London Ralph McTell 4:10
  9. Toye The Amazing Blondel 3:28
  10. Fog on the Tyne Lindisfarne 3:26
  11. All Around My Hat Steeleye Span 4:10
  12. Cuckoo's Nest Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, Barry Dransfield, John Kirkpatrick 5:33
  13. Night Comes In Richard & Linda Thompson 8:09

Notes


All of the cuts on this volume hail from what is commonly considered the golden age of British folk-rock, 1969-75. Virtually all of the major players, including Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, Roy Harper, Ralph McTell, Steeleye Span, and Richard Thompson, are represented by some of their most famous tracks. Not as renowned, but of near-equal importance, are the contributions by Shirley Collins, Fotheringay, Amazing Blondel, Lindisfarne, Mr. Fox (by far the most obscure name on the set), and the surprise inclusion of Traffic, represented by "John Barleycorn." It may be that big British folk-rock fans are already familiar with most or all of this. But you can't fault the content: this is the cream of the crop of a vital strain of both folk and rock, though it wasn't nearly as popular in the States as the U.K.