Customer Reviews

Four Strong Winds

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This is an album that is an absolute necessity for the real folk enthusiast, and also a wonderful listening experience for anyone interested in a wonderful and very talented folk duo performing just as they emerged into their own special limelight. Both Ian and Sylvia are Canadians, and at the time of this album were husband and wife. The music is simply magical, although a bit uneven, but the title cut of "Four Strong Winds" is worth the price of the CD alone. I also especially like "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue", a song Judy Collins has done a wonderful cover of. The whole song cycle on the CD is interesting, eclectic, and worth the listen. A few of the songs take a little time to warm up to and appreciate, but a few plays will have you unexpectedly humming them in the car until you can memorize the words. Incidentally, everyone from Neil Young to John Denver to Judy Collins has recorded "Four Strong Winds", but although I prefer Judy Collin's version to all the others, the one on this CD is the definitive version. After all, Ian Tyson wrote it! Enjoy!

I first heard them play when I attended a concert more than 30 years ago. Immediately afterward, I bought this album and then all others as they became available. My tastes in folk music are rather eclectic. For whatever it may be worth to those who read this review, I would rank Ian and Sylkvia in the company of Leadbelly, the Weavers, Bud and Travis, Odetta, and others who finally received appropriate recognition in the 1960s. Every cut on this album is superb.

IAN & SYLVIA are a duet with deep roots in the folk revival of the 60's. Their wide range of music spans the traditional (Cruel Mother, Silver Dagger, etc.) to the more contemporary (Thirsty Boots, Four Strong Winds, Song for Canada.) Ian's attractive masculine tenor blends well with Sylvia's "purest" alto. They are noted for their flawless timing and vocal clarity. Songs range from the bittersweet to the jocular.

Four Strong Winds
Early Morning Rain
Early Morning Rain
Northern Journey

I think Four Strong Winds is one of the best folk albums ever - I still have the original 33 1/3 LP recording.

Ian & Sylvia hit their stride on their second LP, which features the first in a line of talented second guitarists (John Herald) they would use to augment their original guitar-autoharp-basslineup. The album featured an assortment of largely traditional material that was unsurpassed in its time, encompassing bluegrass, spirituals, gospel, hillbilly, the French-Canadian standard "V'La L'bon Vent," a British prison song, and two tunes from the Cecil Sharp collection of Southern mountain folk songs of British origin. Two of the most impressive cuts, however, were contemporary compositions. One was their version of Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is a Long Time," one of the first obscure Dylan tunes to be committed to vinyl. The title cut, an Ian Tyson original, would prove to be the duo's first song to influence rock musicians, as the Searchers covered it shortly afterwards with a reverent version that was quite close to the original; Neil Young revived it in the late '70s.

It was great to hear this couple again. I had forgotten some of their songs. It still was as fresh as when I heard it years ago.