12. Vashti Bunyan "Just Another Diamond Day"
Vashti Bunyan is a British folk singer who in the mid-60s had some very big shoes to fill. She was hyped to be the next Marianne Faithfull and the female Bob Dylan, but the female Nick Drake would’ve been more appropriate and not just because members of Fairport Convention were on this album or because Robert Kirby was involved in the making of it. Like Drake, she simply walked away from the music business though she only left us with one album as opposed to three and just like Drake she didn’t receive near the success she deserved when she first came onto the scene. Even today, just like Drake, she remains criminally underrated despite being an important figure in folk music, and one of the most important British folk artists ever. Her influence stretches far and wide, from Patrick Wolf to Joanna Newsom. Though in recent times Vashti Bunyan has gained a bit more popularity by working with artists such as Animal Collective and Devendra Banhart and did release another album in 2005, however i’m going to focus on her remarkable debut.
This album was written when Vashti was traveling the Scottish Islands in a horse drawn gypsy cart, which seems fitting for a folk musician. The album gives you a very natural feel throughout it, especially the lyrics which reflect the outdoors frequently with poetic lyrics like "Rose hip November, autumn I’ll remember / Gold landing at our door, catch one leaf and fortune will surround you evermore". But while lyrics like that seem beautiful, they’re sadly not very noticeable unless you read them beforehand. Vashti has this way of captivating you, and taking you on a walk through the woods with her where the timbre of her voice and every fading note is more important then the things shes singing to you. Its enchanting music, her vocals fit perfectly over the woodwinds and everything else all being led in song by an acoustic guitar making it easy to be lost in the world of changing seasons, lost loves and European fields she paints for you.
Favorite Song: Swallow Song
MySpace.com - Vashti Bunyan - Edinburgh, Scotland - Indie / Folk - www.myspace.com/realvashtibunyan
I'm having a crisis picking album 11 =(. I want my top 10 to be perfect and I have 11 perfect albums here and I don't know which one to give the boot.