The Philadelphia Folk Festival 1972 & 1977

Following on the heels of Michael Cooney, here's a festival he's been very involved with throughout its 40-year history. It's one of the top folk festivals in the country, or at least it seems so based on the talent they bring. I've never gone, so I suppose I don't know. I'm giving you 2 things here: one is a out-of-print vinyl that I just ripped, of the festival from 1977. It's a mixed bag stylistically, but top quality throughout. A highlight is definitely Michael Cooney's rendition of the old British ballad "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight." Grisman fans will want to check out Lew London's very swinging mandolin take on "The Glory of Love" and compare it to Joseph Spence's wild grunting version.

The other share is a 20-minute bootleg of John Hartford & Norman Blake performing at the festival in 1972. I haven't said anything about Hartford on the blog so far, and I'm not going to start right now; but perhaps he'll be the subject of a future post, who knows. Anyways, I probably don't have to say too much about this music. If you know the artists, you know it's good...


John Hartford & Norman Blake - Philadelphia Folk Festival (1972)

Recorded: 08/25/72
Philadelphia Folk Festival
Old Poole Farm
Schwenksville, PA

Tracks:
01 - Old Joe Clark (6:01)
02 - Instrumental (2:30)
03 - You Can Do Anything (3:28)
04 - Randall Collins Is My Name (2:54)
05 - Skippin' In The Mississippi Dew (3:56)
06 - Orange Blossom Special (2:05)

you could be down there when the glory rocks.
sbdmr>dat>wavelab>cdr>eac>shn>320kbps mp3.


The Philadelphia Folk Festival (1977)

Flying Fish Records FF-064 (LP, USA, 1978)

Recorded at the Old Poole Farm, Upper Salford, PA, August 26-28, 1977

An Amazon customer said:
This record features a solidly strange cross-section of folk songs and musicians from the mid-1970s, when the "folk revival" was well past, Dylan's electric turn old news, and the hipsters had moved on. Notable names include Odetta, Kate Wolf, Tom Paxton, Dave Van Ronk, and Norman Blake -- often thought of as a leader of the "bluegrass revival" in the 1970s. Plenty of bluegrass does pop up, of course, but the sounds are diverse across the record and include many traditional songs alongside more original/new material. Other highlights include Debbie McClatchy's version of the racy "A Little Piece of Wang" and a Gershwin cover by the Lew London Trio.

Tracks
Side 1
1. Bruce Martin: Scots Piping
2. Paxton: Did You Hear John Hurt?
3. Norman Blake: Jerusalem Ridge
4. Michael Cooney: Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight
5. De Danann: Irish Dance Medley: The Boys of Ballisodaire / The Longford Collector
6. Kate Wolf: Then Came the Children
7. John Jackson: Step It Up and Go
8. Odetta: I Gotta Be Me

Side 2
9. Dave Van Ronk: Green, Green Rocky Road
10. Lou Killen: All for Me Grog
11. Roger Sprung, Hal Wylie & the Progessive Bluegrassers: Wild Goose Chase
12. Debbie McClatchy: A Little Piece of Wang
13. Lew London Trio: The Glory of Love
14. Highwood String Band & The Green Grass Cloggers: Dance All Night

step it up.
fresh vinyl rip | mp3 >256kbps vbr | w/o cover

oh, and one of the featured artists on this set is Roger Sprung, Hal Wylie & the Progessive Bluegrassers. If any of you have anything else by them, particularly the album 'Grassy Licks', I would love to hear it.