Since their formation in 1968 and taken their name after a
local pub, this obscure acid folk band’s sole self-titled debut album is considered
one of the most rarest and must have albums in the history of record collecting
and in the prog and obscure folk community in the Vertigo label that is one of
the truest gems that any vinyl lover would sink their teeth into. It is a lost
album that didn’t sell enough copies by the time it was released in 1971.
But it did get some good reviews and helped the band get
some recognition, but my belief that it didn’t sell well was they just weren’t
ready yet for another folk album and they just didn’t get it. And the second
thing, they were completely ahead of their time and not enough marketing that
they wish they could have gotten and would take a couple of years, years later
to understand why this album stood the test of time to put their toes back in
the water while giving the Acid Folk genre a small boost as if they were
finally shaking hands to a younger generation on how this album made an impact
on them.
However, it’s the artwork and the multifold-out textures of
the band members done in a psychedelic way in black and white as it shows them
in different formats with Lyndon Green looking to his left with psychedelic
flowers with eyes watching him while John Stannard is smiling and imagine he is
flying in a puzzle-like atmosphere while Ann Steuart is this angelic goddess
that would be perfect as a poster on the wall in your room or in dormitories in
colleges back in the early ‘70s. The music itself has a very rich and classical
fantasy story-telling in an acoustic lukewarm crisp as if it was recorded in a
tiny cottage in England going on throughout the night.
The Acid Folk genre has been overlooked and there a few reasons
why the genre has been ignored in the folk community during that time period.
At the time, some of the obscurity bands like; Forest, Spirogyra, Comus, and
Mellow Candle to name a few were singing about tales from books, darkness, and
sometimes the occult, (If you have seen the 1973 cult classic, The Wicker Man,
starring the late great Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, and Christopher Lee, you
get the general idea) would sometimes make the folkies cringe and turn away
from it and they want another Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, or Pete Seeger and singing
Protest Songs and about the Common Man.
Now does it say Acid Folk is horrible? No, but finally
people are waking up to realizing how Acid Folk is no longer a dirty word and
take inspiration from them. But dare I say there are some amazing centerpieces
on Tudor Lodge’s album? You Bet! There’s the collaboration between the trio and
the vocalizations on the Male/Female sounds work like a charm on the ‘60s vibe
Folk Rock attitude with heavy guitar work on The Lady’s Changing Home while the
lullaby gone wrong turned mythical scenery on Willow Tree makes it very
orchestral from the string quartet including the jazzy ballad, Nobody’s
Listening, the walking down to the yellow brick road with a dance on Would You Believe?, and the soothing Celtic touches on Forest about how the changes of the trees go through Spring, Fall, Autumn, and Fall make it a perfect scenery.
However, the closing, Kew Gardens, resembles The Sallyangie’s
music and mystical beauty, that it makes you feel right at home enjoying a nice cup of tea. This is one
of the most obscure albums that I’ve enjoyed listening to and played it five times already and it never lets me go and its one of the most listenable albums I’ve enjoyed
and you need to buy this. A must have in the Acid Folk and Prog Folk album
collections!
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