‘A startling twist on English folk revivalism. Dynamic and earthy, surreal and dreamlike, lean and direct; cavernously introspective and vividly pastoral. Playful, intricate, story-telling songs, with guitar, violin, and hand-percussion accompaniment. Check it out if you like Davy Graham, The Godz, Smelly Feet, Martin Carthy…’

‘Ghost musick… operating in the margins and intersections of folklore, experimental electronics, dreams and nightmares… Think of it as a rampant yearning, a manic laughter, but mostly as a feeling of some somnambulistic thirst for adventure and journeys into the unknown, a feeling that is grounded deep inside the heart of the continent.’

‘Shines a light on a little-heard, spooked German underground, working below the radar on mostly small-run releases. Lower Franconia’s Baldruin lays the mystery on thick, his fevered tracks here using flutes, electric organs and shaken children’s toys to create an opaque ambience. Close neighbours Brannten Schnüre voyage into similarly uncharted territory, providing laceworks of fragile folk melodies and sloshes of breathy drone offset by detached vocals. Like Brothers Grimm armed with analogue synths, Freundliche Kreisel supply the title track’s sinister fairy tale, while the oblique textures of Kirschstein’s mystically-themed efforts betray roots in Amon Düül’s hallucinogenic psychedelia and Novy Svet’s neo surrealism. A very dark delight’ (Mojo).

With Arthur Russell, Bob Dylan, Anne Waldman, Perry Robinson, David Amram and co, having a whale of a time in sessions which sound like the best kind of parties, between 1971 and 1981.
‘Rags, Ballads & Harmonium Songs. Chanteys, Come-All-Ye’s, Aborigine Song Sticks. Gospel, Improvisations, Renaissance Lyrics, Blake Hymns, Bluegrass, Hillbilly Riffs, Country & Western, 50’s R&B, Dirty Dozens & New Wave.’
The first-ever full vinyl reissue; gatefold sleeve. Photography by Robert Frank!

With Harold McNair, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Jon Hiseman, Danny Thompson. One of his very best — jazzy blues, raga jazz, folk rock; great versions of the traditional Bruton Town and Joni’s Both Sides Now.

Bringing together all his 1960s studio recordings, plus demo and live recordings; with extensive notes.

Improvisations between Greenberger reading texts from his massive archive of old people’s testimony, Jones playing banjo and guitar, Corsano on drums.
‘Despite the dark and sad feeling of some of the texts (dealing with aging, memory loss etc), there is also humor, joy and grit. The album is a rollercoaster of emotions, a glittering patchwork of sonic atmospheres and an oral encyclopedia on dozens of subjects, like coffee, cigarettes, planets, art ... life ... and death.’

Previously-unreleased recordings from the same period as Dead Deer.

Blazing, hardcore bluegrass from 1967, including covers of the Stanley Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, the Delmore Brothers, and the Carter Family. Written for the duo by the father of bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, and saturated in blues music, closer The One I Love Is Gone is the killer blow.

Their monumental 1965 debut. Driving, full-strength bluegrass, with magnificent accompaniment by fiddler Chubby Wise, David Grisman on mandolin, and Lamar Grier from the Blue Grass Boys playing banjo.

Their first two, groundbreaking Folkways LPs, plus a previously-unreleased go at the Louvins’ Childish Love. Decent booklet, with various essays and great photos.

‘When those albums first came out, I was disappointed with the quality of the sound,’ writes engineer Peter Siegel. ‘I think the new masters better capture the essence of Hazel and Alice’s music, and sound more like the traditional bluegrass style that these performances represent.’

‘A certain sense of untamed control, which makes him one of the best’ (Bob Dylan).
Classic hard-core Kentucky music, from three sessions — in 1961, 1964 and 1974.

The first decent compilation, from the early honky tonk and rockabilly sides — total killers like the tanked-up, randy-as-a-stoat I’m Coming Home — through to the witty country hits.
‘Get your face all pretty and your hair done right / ‘Cos we’re gonna do the town tonight / Well I’m comin’ into town and right on time / I still got your lovin’ on my mind… Well I came to a hill and the truck looked down / Throwed in low and she’s huggin’ the ground / Scratchin’ gears but I’m goin’ again / I’m comin’ home baby /  I’m doggin’ it in.’

Riveting 1965 review of his own staggering classics like Death Letter and John The Revelator, rinsed by everyone from Captain Beefheart to Jack White.

Out originally in 1970 on the Reflection label, the debut of Catherine Howe (from Halifax) — ‘a pastoral blend of English countryside folk and London orchestral pop, not unlike Nick Drake… or Bridget St. John.’

Legendary, no-nonsense, masterful finger-picking, with ethereal harmonics reminiscent of Washington Phillips. Reissuing a private-press LP recorded in Arkansas in the early 1960s. Notes by John Renbourn.

Beautiful, stoned, outsider American folk, remastered from the original tapes (with superior sound quality to the super-rare original). From the eight years between First Songs LP in 1964 and Armchair Boogie.