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Mick Softley - Songs for Swingin' Survivors (1965)

Track listing:
  1. After the Third World War Is Over 1:48
  2. The Bells of Rhymney 4:01
  3. Strange Fruit 3:47
  4. Blues for Cupid Green 1:48
  5. All I Want Is a Chance 2:28
  6. The War Drags On 3:52
  7. Keep Movin' On 2:40
  8. Jeannie 3:46
  9. What Makes the Wind to Blow 1:42
  10. I've Gotta Deal You Can't Turn Down 2:14
  11. West Country Girl 2:40
  12. Plains of the Buffalo 3:47

Notes

Size: 73.2 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Softley's debut LP is one of the rarest '60s British folk albums, and one of the most coveted by collectors. While it's not as musically impressive as it is collectable, it's notable as one of the first U.K. singer/songwriter folk albums in the contemporary style pioneered earlier in the U.S. by Bob Dylan and the North American performers Dylan inspired. Indeed, there were few others in Britain taking a similar approach at the time of Songs for Swingin' Survivors' release, with the exception of Donovan and perhaps Bert Jansch. Early Donovan is an unavoidable point of comparison when listening to this solo acoustic guitar album, both for the earnest social consciousness and romanticism, and also since Softley actually wrote a few songs covered by Donovan in 1965. One of them, "The War Drags On," appears here in Softley's own version, and while it's not as good as Donovan's, it's notable as one of the first protest songs to directly mention the Vietnam War.

Softley isn't as good a singer or tunesmith as early Donovan, however; his voice is a bit on the nasal and restrained side, sometimes coming off a little like a male equivalent to how Marianne Faithfull sounded after her voice lowered. Other than "The War Drags On," the voice of protest is felt in "After the Third World War Is Over," but, in fact, Softley was a fairly versatile writer, espousing early Donovan-like romance in "All I Want Is a Chance" and "What Makes the Wind to Blow"; got-to-ramble troubadourisms in "Keep Movin' On"; and a surprisingly direct (for 1965) reference to cocaine addiction in the love lament "Jeannie." Not everything is youthful singer/songwriting, as there are also covers of "Strange Fruit," "The Bells of Rhymney," and Woody Guthrie's "Plains of the Buffalo," as well as a couple of folk-blues instrumentals. Though it might be a minor album in all, it's still a rather good one, more tuneful than many a mid-'60s folk record based around original material, with impressive guitar work.

01. After the Third World War Is Over (Or How I Learnt to Live Without ...)
02. Bells of Rhymney, The
03. Strange Fruit
04. Blues for Cupid Green
05. All I Want Is a Chance
06. War Drags On, The
07. Keep Movin' On
08. Jeannie
09. What Makes the Wind to Blow
10. I've Gotta Deal You Can't Turn Down
11. West Country Girl
12. Plains of the Buffalo

Reissue on CD of rare album by USA local heavy psych to psychic-hard rock band ODA. Led by the axe-craftian Randy Ora on splattering guitar, shooting off some furious leads all over the place. Originally released privately in 1972. Digitally remastered taken from the original master tape. And including 4 pre-Oda bonus track.

This hard rock album is now of minor interest to collectors. Randy Oda was later in a late seventies band, Ruby, with Tom Fogerty. This album probably won't be of any interest to fans of garage, psych or 'hippie rock' but is a very competent hard rock album with some incisive lead guitar work from Randy Oda.