Subterranean Homesick Album Club
 

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No one ever posts in this part of the forum, so I am attempting to revive it with some along the lines of the Prog and Punk album clubs, except well, with Country/Folk music.
Folk, in all its forms, is virtually my favorite genre. As the the instrumentation is typically very minimalist/acoustic, the main focus falls on lyrical content. I feel the best lyrics come from folk music for this reason, that's why I have such an appreciation for the genre.
As to be excpected, I'm not going to do a long write-up in the OP like everyone else, that's not really my style. Just use this thread to reccomend albums. After 4 or so albums are posted I'll make a poll and all that other stuff.
wow, I hope someone responds to this.

some more modern(ish) folk artists:

Great title, great idea ! :clap:
I`ve been wondering why this part of MB has been so quiet, so it`ll be nice to see if some slumbering folk/country fans are stirred into life.
I hope to be posting a candidate album tomorrow. Thanks.

To start things off squarely within the folk tradition, I`d like to suggest this album :

Irish Heartbeat by Van Morrison and the Chieftains (1988)

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After building up a huge following in their own right, the Irish folk band, The Chieftains, finally teamed up with fellow country-man Van Morrison to produce an album that should have a wide appeal.

Eight of the ten tracks are fresh and powerful reworkings of traditional songs; the lyrics do not disappoint and Van Morrison`s unique delivery will send a chill down the most jaded of spines. Add to that the full range of the Chieftains` fiddles, pipes and bodhràn, and you have an album that succeeds on many levels. You can play it loudly and be swept away by the swirling music, or play it softly and it still sounds great. There are moments of joy, nostalgia and mystery, and a heartfelt version of Carrickfergus in which VM pulls out all the stops.

VM also contributes two of his own more reflective compositions (including the title track) that fit well into the album although I consider the traditional material much stronger. Well, give the album a listen and you can decide for yourself !

I'll offer a contribution:

Tim Buckley - Goodbye and Hello (1967)
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Tim Buckley, the father of the ill-fated and critically lauded Jeff Buckley, with Goodbye and Hello offers what is probably his best studio album.

His voice is absolutely awe-inducing, and the lyrical prowess and craftmanship on the album aren't remotely shoddy either. Buckley is able to switch between heartwrenching and beautiful to verging on psychedelic (although equally as gorgeous) completely seamlessly, and the album itself benefits from this.

Buckley's second studio album, Goodbye and Hello is a fantastic (although regretfully often overlooked) album. Definitely worth checking out!

Such a great idea, bro.

Hako Yamasaki - Tsunawatari
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This is an album by Japanese singer/songwriter Hako Yamasaki. Strikingly beautiful, melancholic, and not in English. This record employs some of the standard 1970s studio tricks, but for the most part, it's a true folk record featuring just the artist and her guitar.

Fuchsia - Fuchsia

A progressive Folk Rock album of sorts, this 1971 release is replete with the full range of emotions, from melancholy to twee and all kinds of delicate intermingled shadings in between. It swoops through dark, shadowy passages and soars up into sun drenched, golden blue skies - often in the same song. It has, at its core, a beautifully pastoral folk sentimentality, and utilises fiddles, violin and acoustic guitars to their maximum potency, coupling them with haunting melodies and evocative lyricism in order to create vivid, atmospheric pictures for the listener.

Okay, cool. My nomination is
Langhorne Slim - S/T (2008)
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Fairly traditional country-folk album, with a sense of bitter humour thrown in. Nothing really experimental, but a great album featuring just A Guy, A guitar, and a moustache. Most of the songs are optimistic ballads about getting through struggle etc. Uplifting without being preachy.

Wonderful album, Stu. I remember you gave it to me about a million years ago and I fell in love.

The lack of interest in this thread is a bit disappointing, kind of indicative of the Folk forum as a whole.

Yeah, perhaps it`s time to close the current poll and announce the album of the week. I imagine that would go to Conan`s choice as the earliest-posted album to score two votes.

What do the rest of the "club members" think ?

Just saw this thread, and I'm definitely down. Voting for Tim Buckley, in case it's not already decided. I've always wanted to check him out.

^ Nice to have someone else on board, but don`t worry, I don`t think this ship is sailing anytime soon. :)

Voted for Hako. Sounded very interesting.

I haven't heard any of the albums in the poll but my faves are:-

Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
Nick Drake - Pink Moon
The Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking
The Chieftains in China
The Pogues - Hell's Ditch
Dylan - The Freewheelin'
Simon and Garfunkel - Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.
Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise (dunno if this counts)

Well here's your chance to possibly add a new entry to that list.

I voted VM & The Chieftains, out of the options I havent heard that one or the Langhorne release, was a tough choice between the two. I wouldnt begrudge the Hako album winning it either, it's a lovely piece of work.

^^ok

Wasn't someone going to start this back up?

Yea. I'm new at this but I read on a different page that someone was gonna restart this one and I'd love to see it happen.

For an album I'd like to contribute The Tallest Man on Earth "The Wild Hunt." His voice shares blues qualities and the simple acoustic guitar guides the stories of each song.

Cool. Sounds good. Never heard of them but will investigate further. Thanks.

Two endorsements. Hmmm. Will have to look for this one too.

I suppose I could start one up since no one is willing to (even though I am already running the Indie/Alternative one). I need to make a new thread, however, so I can have the original post's spot to edit and have as a schedule-setter.

You're already running an album club. I'll get this going again. We'll go with the Fuschia album.

Whoops... already started another one. I guess we'll just disregard it.

Sorry man. It's my fault. I saw this thread getting posted in but disregarded it. I'll be sure to keep up from now on.

You want me to delete that thread for you and you guys can just keep updating this one?

Yes please.

Alright!

So for the uninitiated what's the idea behind the album clubs? Also for this particular thread what makes something folk?

Think of it like a book club, but instead of reading a book... we are all listening to an album. So, for a week, we listen to the album that got nominated, and on the following week, the person running the album club will start a thread so we all can discuss and give our opinions on it.

Basically, the point of an album club is to discover more music and/or be able to intelligently discuss/analyze/listen to it.

Also, what do you mean what makes something folk? It's a bit of a broad term to be honest... Folk has many sub-genres and can be found in different forms across the globe. It can be anywhere from the Hungarian composer, Béla Bartók, to the Scottish guitarist/songwriter, Bert Jansch. (I suppose it's a bit difficult to define). Also, a few sub-genres of folk include: folk rock, psych folk, freak folk, avant-folk, neofolk, progressive folk, folktronica, apocalyptic folk, etc. I'm not entirely sure, however, if you could consider folk-metal and folk-punk to be folk sub-genres or just sub-genres of metal and punk...

If this didn't help, then there is a Wikipedia article on it (which can be found here) and a debate about it on this site here.

Oh ok. That makes sense... not that intelligent discussion is a personal strong-suit.


I guess that's why I was wanting to clarify what sort of artists would come under the folk umbrella if I was going to nominate an artist.


Thanks for the feedback.

It's pretty much however you define it. If the majority disagrees that it qualifies as "folk" than it probably won't get through the voting round anyway. So just go for it :)

When is the next album poll?

I was going to wait two weeks, but it looks like discussion for the first album is pretty much over, so maybe Monday.

Couple of folk artists I would be interested in are Bert Jansch and June Tabor. Anyone recommend a noteworthy album by either of these two artists?

Checked out a bit of Bert Jansch that hasn't really impressed me but got Ashore by June Tabor which is a good listen so far.

Here's a cover of Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding from that album;

I love Bert Jansch's debut album and his album, Birthday Blues.

Thanks I'll check them out.

I was going to suggest Nico - Chelsea Girls as a SHAC candidate but I was reading about how much she hated the album. Apparently the strings and flutes were added in production and Nico couldn't stand them.

Honestly, I prefer Desertshore. The Marble Index is good, too, but it is completely saturated with her harmonium playing. The monotony of it all makes it less desirable to listen to...