Swaddling Songs [Import]

Mellow Candle | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 17, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Acme
• ASIN: B0001V59MW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #444,269 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Heaven Heath

2. Sheep Season

3. Silversong

4. Poet And The Witch

5. Messenger Birds

6. Dan The Wing

7. Reverend Sisters

8. Break Your Token

9. Buy Or Beware

10. Vile Excesses

11. Lonely Man

12. Boulders On My Grave

13. Feeling High

14. Tea With The Sun

Editorial Reviews

Highly collectable folk-prog classic originally released on Deram in 1972. Remastered from the original tapes it includes two extra tracks, 'Feeling High' & 'Tea With The Sun', from a 1968 single. Acme. 2004.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One "lost classic" which deserves its reputation, July 25, 2001

By 

S. GODFREY "Stuart" (Risca, South Wales) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swaddling Songs (Audio CD)

Like most people, I'm a bit wary when someone says "Listen to this, you'll love it", but I am grateful to the friend who, knowing my fondness for the Incredible String Band/Fairport/Steeleye etc loaned me copy of "Swaddling Songs". After the first track I had to collect my eyebrows from the ceiling and my jaw from the floor. Forgive the hyperbole, suffice to say before the second track had finished I was online and placing an order for my own copy of this terrific album. I know nothing about the band apart from what I've read in the sleeve notes. It seems amazing to me that an album of such evident quality was largely ignored when it came out in 1972, especially as the aforementioned folk-rock groups were doing such big business back then. The music is tight, with Rush-like precision in many of the instrumental passages. Baroque, folk, mystical and just plain wierd flourishes abound (all of which is fine with me), but the real eye-opener is in the quality of the vocal performances. Comparisons with Maddy Prior and Sandy Denny are inevitable, but these two girls sing with an individual brilliance and frequently stunning harmonies which really make such comparisons pointless. Among the more gentle, reflective tracks "Reverend Sisters" and "Silver Song" are standouts, while "Dan the Wing", "Buy or Beware" and especially "Boulders on My Grave" are simply breathtaking uptempo pieces delivered with great flair. The whole album is hugely entertaining, and yes, I do recommend it to anyone with an interest in classic folk-rock.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing album, long forgotten, July 5, 2004

By 

K. Ralske (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swaddling Songs (Audio CD)

It's amazing that an album this good could be lost to the ages. This was given to me by a friend who likes all sorts of B-level 60s and 70s music....he likes stuff just because of its 60s or 70s-ness. This album is totally not like that! It holds up as a great piece of work, not just a period piece. It's every bit as good as the best of Fairport Convention or Sandy Denny or even early Yes, but doesn't sound like anything but itself. Mellow Candle were, for one magic moment, the best group in the world.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful singing, July 8, 2005

By 

prog "Shachar" (Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swaddling Songs (Audio CD)

Another lost treasure from early seventies.
Very unique music, specially the combination of the two voices of Clodagh and Alison.
I think that this album is a combination of Pentangle and Reneissance, although the music is less symphonic and less sophisticated.
The songs are well written and are like little stories with fine music.
It sometime amazes me what made a band succussful?
Why didn't that band made it?
I think the answer is complicated and not for me to define.
Listen to this band, inhale the soft voices and enjoy it from the first sound of Heaven Heath.