Customer Reviews

Complete Vanguard Recordings

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Though Richard Farina is perhaps best known as a poet and author, and wife Mimi is perhaps most often remembered as the founder of the Bread & Roses charity (or for being Joan Baez's sister), the music they made in the mid-60s has shown surprising longevity. Their lasting impact of their joint work is all the more impressive, given the brevity of their recording career: the Farinas released only two albums, and performed professionally for a few months shy of two years, before Richard was killed in a 1966 motorcycle accident (as a passenger, no less!).

Vanguard's "Complete" three-CD set collects both of the Farinas' original studio albums, together with a posthumous 1968 release, "Memories," and adds seven previously unreleased recordings from the Farinas' 1965 Newport Folk Festival appearances. With all three LPs previously issued on CD, the extended Newport offerings (taken from the same festival at which Dylan so famously went electric) are the set's trump card, considerably enhancing the scant pair of live tracks previously issued on "Memories."

The Farinas' music is a compelling mix of mountain sounds (courtesy of Richard's dulcimer playing), mid-60s politics and folk-rock. In contrast to the Byrds, and other folkies-gone-electric, the Farinas leaned heavily on Appalachian, Irish and other roots music, offering numerous acoustic instrumentals in contrast to the occasional electric folk-rocker.

Their debut, "Celebrations for a Grey Day," was a template for all the music that would follow. The album mixes dulcimer-led instrumentals, guitar-based folksongs, and folk-rock that bubbles with Bruce Langhorn's amplified acoustic guitar, Charlie Smalls' vamping piano and Russ Savakus' bass. The instrumentals put the dulcimer up front, against a background guitar, autoharp, or simple percussion (including Langhorn's incredible Turkish tambourine playing on "V").

The melodies mix flavors from the Appalachians, Ireland and the Far East. The title track, for example, offers a medley of Frere Jacques, Old Joe Clark, Bonaparte's Retreat, Boil 'em Cabbage Down, and three more tunes. The Farinas' vocals - panned into separate stereo channels - enrich Richard's somewhat plain voice with Mimi's harmonies, creating a balance that shines brightly on both low-key traditional folk and upbeat electric tunes.

Richard Farina's lyrical contributions include "Pack Up Your Sorrows," a song quickly adopted by Joan Baez (among others); "Michael, Andrew & James," in memory of three slain civil rights workers; the travel escape of "One-Way Ticket"; "The Falcon," an uneasy tale inspired by the right-turn of early-60s California politics; and a song full of allegorical chance, "Reno Nevada."

Their second LP, "Reflections in a Crystal Wind," recorded a year later, offers much the same mix as the debut, but with expanded lyrical contributions, harmonica from John Hammond, and Mimi's voice moved increasingly to the fore. Standout tracks include their second rumination on the Klan, "Bold Marauder," a pair of 60s folk-rock classics, "Hard-Loving Loser" and "House Un-American Blues Activity Dream," and the bluesy "Mainline Prosperity Blues."

Their posthumous release, "Memories" is a grab-bag of tracks left in various states from their first two albums. Also included is a pair of tracks Richard produced for a Joan Baez LP that was never completed, and a pair of live tracks taken from the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Disc 3 reorganizes the running order of "Memories" by lifting the live tracks and moving them to their proper sequence among the subsequent Newport recordings.

Productions dating from their first album sessions include "Joy 'Round My Brain" (with a vocal that splits the difference between Bob Dylan and Paul Simon), and a single version of "Pack Up Your Sorrows" whose second and third verses differ from the album cut. Tracks dating from their second album sessions include the sea chantey, "Blood Red Roses," and the Southern blues, "Lemonade Lady." Also included is the Fairport Convention-styled Mimi Farina solo, "The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood," and the angry waltz-time poke at Bob Dylan, "Morgan the Pirate." The latter, recorded in Nashville, features a powerful sitar-like guitar solo.

The live tracks, nine in all, greatly expand on the pair originally included on "Memories." Drawn from two of their three performances at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, they provide looser versions of songs from their first two LPs, including a nifty acoustic version of "House Un-American Blues Activity Dream," complete with introductory stage patter. "Pack Up Your Sorrows" adds Peter Yarrow to the vocal mix, and "Hard Lovin' Loser" features Bruce Langhorne (on tambourine) and Al Kooper. The one previously unrecorded track is a version of "Shady Grove," recorded with Jean Ritchie at the Festival's dulcimer workshop. For those who've loved the duo's studio catalog, these sides provide a rare opportunity to hear familiar songs fleshed out in front of an audience.

The liner notes (which include an excellent, informative essay from Todd Everett, as well as Richard's original notes from the first two albums) suggest that there is little else of releasable quality in the Vanguard vaults. Still, it might have been nice to include the non-LP instrumental, "Tuileries," that was issued on the "Pack Up Your Sorrows" collection in '99. (Of course, it would be even greater if the solo tracks Richard waxed for Elektra could also have been licensed.) Those who already own the three individual CD releases may find the price of this set a bit steep for seven live tracks. Those who haven't yet experienced the Farinas, or have worn through the original vinyl LPs (or simply have to own everything that's available!), will find this a compelling buy.

4-1/2 stars, if Amazon allowed fractional ratings.

Today, the name of Richard Fariña probably is best known for his insider's novel, "Been Down So Long Looks Like Up to Me," which has maintained sufficient sales to stay in print uninterrupted since its first release in 1965. The name of his wife Mimi may ring the most bells with her maiden name attached: Mimi Baez, the younger sister of Joan Baez. When the folk revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s began sharing common ground with the serious segment of rock music, the Fariñas were second only to Bob Dylan in the vanguard of that movement, but their day in the sun was doomed to be brief. Richard Fariña, his deep-running lyrics and wildly free music all died in a motorcycle accident in 1966. His recorded legacy was far too brief. It consisted of two Vanguard LPs: "Celebrations for a Grey Day" and "Reflections in a Crystal Wind," both released in 1965. There also were outtakes from these recording sessions, released by Vanguard on vinyl in 1968 on an album called "Memories" along with two tracks recorded at the famous "rain concert" during the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. The CD release followed in 1994. In 1968 Vanguard also released a 2-LP set called "The Best of Mimi and Richard Fariña," which simply was a re-release of "Celebrations for a Grey Day" and "Reflections in a Crystal Wind" in a new package. It was released again under the same name on CD with six songs subtracted in 1988. This new triple CD release claims untruthfully to be "the complete Vanguard recordings." Vanguard's vaults include not only the Newport material released in this package but also the "rain concert." The two Newport tracks released on "Memories" are missing from this allegedly complete set, which offers the same but substantially different songs from the afternoon set at the festival. The rest of the "rain concert" still remains locked in Vanguard's vaults. Most folks who will ponder buying this new set probably are familiar already with the Fariñas, and many doubtless will have at least one of their previous releases. It's tragic but true, that these wonderful recordings belong to the insiders' niche these days. They would find a much wider audience, if only people knew they were there. For most, therefore, the question will be, "Should I buy this release too?" That depends. Are you a casual Fariña fan? If so, you may not get too much more for your money, even though the price is extremely friendly. If you're in my boat, where the Fariña albums are a part of your desert isle collection, this is a must. Some of the Fariñas best work was in their complex instrumental selections. If you have the "The Best of ..." CD, you're missing six of the best - "Dandelion River Run," "Tommy Makem Fantasy," "Dog Blue" and "V" from "Celebrations" and "Chrysanthemum" and "Allen's Interlude" from "Reflections." They're back here. For the first time ever, you get all eight tracks from the afternoon set at Newport, where the duo had help from Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul and Mary), Bruce Langhorne and Al Cooper (60s Dylan releases), Fritz Richmond (Kweskin Jug Band) and Kyle Garahan. These are a mixed bag. The microphone work was unfriendly on several tracks. There's also a Newport workshop track with the Appalachian legend Jean Ritchie that frequently is drowned out by the sound of airplanes flying over the festival grounds. These things alone are worth more than the price of this new set. But there's something more that's very valuable and less obvious: Like so many 60s recordings, Vanguard's original mixes were done to make the records sound good on inexpensive record players. The bass was rolled off, etc. In this three CD-set, engineer Jeff Zayara returned to the original tapes and mixed anew for the CD era, giving us these great performances of the past with a transparency and quality of sound heretofore unknown. All that's missing are those Newport "rain concert" recordings still locked up in Vanguard's vaults. Anyone who's listened to the takes from those concerts on the "Memories" LP or CD knows that Vanguard can keep us hungry and waiting for next set, maybe called "The More Complete Vanguard Recordings."

No one packed more memorable lyrics nor better accompaniment than did the magical sixties folk duo of Richard and Mimi Farina. Though their tenure at the top was all too short based both on Richard's other ambitions in terms of serious writing (He had just published what would soon become the runaway best-selling "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me" when he was thrown off the back of a motorcycle at the publication party for the hard cover edition of the book and killed) and time itself, given his untimely demise. Yet they seemed to be a very promising entity, with strong vocals and guitar work from Mimi and the superb song writing by Farina himself.

Yet for all their ambitions this was a duo that had only a brief moment basking in the sun; their recordings spanned only a few years, and some of what is presented here is culled from the outtakes and live recordings that were previously unreleased. Surprisingly, though, given the brevity of their singing careers, there is much here that deserves a close hearing, for Farina was an eclectic and sometimes quite gifted poet and songwriter, a stylist fully as surprising and as colorful as Bob Dylan, although with a very different artistic style. There are few poems that compare with the romantic appeal of "Reflections In A Crystal Wind", for example, nor anything quite as wry and comical as his cynical "Hard Loving Loser".

Indeed, his original version of "Pack Up Your Sorrows' became a sixties folk standard, and the evocative and mysterious lyrics to "Children Of Darkness' catch the sense of alienation and disenfranchisement of the sixties counterculture better than anything else I have ever heard. Another of his poems put to music, "Celebration For A Grey Day' is a good an excuse for listening to folk music as almost anything else emanating from that period. I had the chance to see Mimi years later, long after his death, and it was quite clear that she was still in the process of recovering from that time, after all those years. Ah, and what a time it was, when immortal giants like Dylan and Farina walked the earth, and many of them, with clear and strong voices and an array of amazing poems crashing from their souls rose from the crowd to sing to us of what was, what is, and what may never ever be. I still miss Richard Farina. Enjoy!

This is a very special collection (although the 3rd CD is

pretty rough & about half of it is not as good). I played

these guys on my 33 1/3rd turntable & it sounds better

now! A great loss when Farina did the fly up into palm

trees exit. The enclosed book is a grand read, lots of

info (much of it sad) about them, their music, their

work. Anyone who has missed their art deserves to gift

themselves w/fine, moving lyrics & excellent instrumentation.

I value this collection.

For anyone with an interest in the music of the mid-60's, Mimi and Richard Farina are a must buy. Poised at the end of folk music's massive popularity, it is a beautiful conbination of both acoustic and electric influences. Richard died tragically shortly after their second album. The first two disc of this collection contain those two masterful efforts, "Celebrations For A Grey Day" and "Reflections In A Crystal Wind".

For those of you unfamiliar with the duo, Mimi is the younger sister of Joan Beaz. Richard was a true rennasunce man: poet, author, songwriter, musician. He died at the brink of what I believe would have been superstardom. His poetry weaves his songs into spellbinding stories of love, adventure and loss. The music is truly haunting. It will rattle around your brain long after you listen to it.

The music is also full of sadness. For anyone who knows the story of Richard Farina you are stick with the question, what would this world have been like if he had lived?

I also stongely recommend the book "Positively 4th Street" by David Hajdu that tells the fascinating story of Richard and Mimi along with Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Also available is Richard's first and only book, "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me". It had just been published at the time of his death.

I give the AMAZON REVIEW 2.5 stars (R Farina is certainly more well-known for his musical work with Mimi than for his novel, and whether or not Mimi was a better singer than Richard is completely beside the point - this review reads like an article from the Enquirer) and likewise to the other complainers here. M & R Farina deserve better from the peanut gallery!!

This album is a great way to pick up all their music in one buy. I've listened to Crystal Wind and don't have the original to compare it with so I can't comment on difference in sound quality, though it sounded ok to me (GREAT ALBUM). Now I'm listening to Grey Day and it sounds at least as good or better than the single cd version which I also have. This was the only one I'd had before I got this 3-disc set.

Finally, I've also listened to Memories (the cover art alone chokes me up) which is a nice album and the sound quality seemed fine. Yes, people are right when they say the bonus tracks from Newport aren't great quality - they sound like someone smuggled in a tape recorder. On the other hand, I'd rather have them than not! You get to hear Richard and Mimi rapping with an audience - that sounds more like a small gathering of friends (maybe one of them taped this). "House Unamerican Blues", "Bold Maurader" and other numbers that the audience participates in with them, sometimes with airplanes flying over (!).. the concert gets better as the performers begin to relax with an appreciative audience. Great to hear these, never mind the quality - it's a little time window. The guitars are slightly out of tune - it's raw - but this is the only set so far that INCLUDES these rare recordings! Another reason why this set is a fine deal. You'd pay more buying each CD individually, and wouldn't get the bonus tracks they've included here. The magic of Richard and Mimi Farina shines in this collection and is well worth adding to your collection especially if you don't already have their 3 main albums.

I received the album "Memories" for Christmas in 1968. The recording of "House Un-American Blues Activity Dream" (live at the Newport Folk Festival) gave me goosebumps. The album suffered some damage, so I bought the CD set. The CD version in this compilation includes additional Newport recordings BUT the recording of H.U.B.A.D. is not the same performance (the tempo is different) and is of vastly inferior recording quality. To make sure I wasn't imagining that, I played the album and the CD simultaneously, switching back and forth. The CD version sounds terrible. The Newport recordings on the CD are maybe interesting from a historical standpoint, but hard to listen to. If you want R&M's complete works, buy this. If you want the album "Memories" (which, by the way, is mostly excellent) try to find the original. For a detailed review of this CD (if your're not familiar with the music) see one of the other reviews.

For anyone interested in the history & development of modern song, this is an essential document. There's a certain purity to this music, a sincerity that's considerably enlivened by sly wit & humor, as well as an occasional blaze of righteous anger at the cruelties of the world. Not only is folk-rock pretty much born in these tracks, but there are already hints of the rich & rewarding fusion of several musical strands to come in the fullness of the 1960s.

Yes, this collection is firmly rooted in its time ... but is that necessarily a bad thing? I don't think so! The songs that some call "dated" because of their topical content are history written on the pulse, and far more revealing of the temper of the times than any retrospective decades later. Honestly, I don't understand the mindset of those who want everything to be utterly contemporary! In any case, while the specifics may be bound to the early 1960s, the hunger for justice & joy in the face of the powers that be remains as potent & relevant as ever.

That said, there's also plenty of timeless material to be found here, for those who set aside a blinkered, time-bound view ... songs that chime & can still transport the open-minded listener just as beautifully as they did in their heyday. The instrumentals in particular sound wonderfully fresh; these days they'd be considered something like roots music, I suppose. For a young couple just beginning to explore songwriting, this is accomplished work.

So let's set the arguments about ego & the legendary status of Mimi & Richard Farina aside, and simply listen as if hearing two eager, enthusiastic strangers performing for the first time. See if you don't find your foot tapping & your body swaying to the music, and their poignant harmonies making the lyrics linger in your mind! If that touches you, then start delving into their lives & truncated histories -- but never lose sight of the music. In the end, that's what matters -- highly recommended!

If you want to explore the full context of folk music in the 1960s, you'll have to deal with Richard and Mimi Farina sooner or later. They, and not Dylan, arguably invented "folk-rock," and their brief musical career showed some promise, at least two classics, and a lot of wasted potential. You see, Richard Farina thought himself a Renaissance Man--poet, novelist, musician, essayist, critic: you get the picture. According to David Hajdu's *Positively 4th Street*, he was a man who loved a party, and who, in the early years, jostled with Bob Dylan for the spotlight, becoming somewhat bitter that Dylan became a big music star *and* looked set to publish a novel before Farina had finished his. Obviously, a figure such as Farina can be seen as a tragic figure--a promise of great things in his few songs and one novel, and an untimely early death. He could be the James Dean of the folk world. However, the proof of the CD is in the listening. And listening to the Complete Vanguard Recordings, one suspects that Farina might have gone on to great things, but more likely he would be remembered as an interesting figure of his time, but not likely to translate well 40 years on.

And that's basically what you get here. Some of these songs are wonderful--"Pack Up Your Sorrows," for instance, is bouncy and refreshingly optimistic without being sappy. It's the kind of song Dylan could never have written, and that's meant as a compliment to Farina's own idiom. You can also enjoy the despair of "Reno, Nevada," or the cutting wit of "Morgan the Pirate" (said to be Farina's own swipe at Dylan, in response to "Positively 4th Street"). The instrumentals on the first two discs are also a treat, if only because Farina's dulcimer has a fine, other-worldly sound to it. Folkies will also love the recordings from the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, especially the unedited audio of the dulcimer workshop with dulcimer master Jean Ritchie (and Richard and Mimi's charm and warmth come through in the spoken portions of the recording). But much of the music here remains very much of its time: the protest songs seem too mired in the vernacular of the 60s to be of much interest today, and Richard seems carried away with his own cleverness in the song titles and liner notes. Mimi's playing and singing--far greater in terms of talent and technique than her husband's--gets pushed to the background, although there is no doubt that she can handle a solo performance like "Quiet Joys of Brotherhood" in a way Richard never could.

Don't stay away from this set. Do buy it if you're serious about learning more about 60s music. This music is well worth having: but it's not timeless, even if it captures something of a long-lost era.

From the duo that proclaimed their music was often made up from country eggs, Kraft cheese, macrobiotic encounters, Maine lobsters and the Ying-Yang seesaw (Yes, all of that!), here's a great collection for the nostalgia Dick'n'Mimi lover! Personally, I love this set, got it from the local library and listen to it often.