Heralding The Folk Revival
Apparently folk music is currently the trendy genre to indulge in. Where once trend setters flocked to record stores to devour classic jazz rumour has it that they are now turning their thoughts to folk. It is only fitting then that a compilation of folk music panders to their needs and so step forward 'Feel The Spirit: Other Worldly Folk Music Gems and Psychedelics'. What it lacks in a catchy album title it makes up for in quality and style and sheer out of the worldness. Forget your Joni Mitchells and Bob Dylans though, this is a collection that resists the temptation of folk artists who crossed over into the mainstream and instead 'Feel The Spirit' is a collection of songs by artists who may have been somewhat overlooked and took for granted in folk's heyday but are now on full view for the next generation of folk lovers to embrace as folk once again becomes cool.
Heaven and Earth's 'Feel The Spirit' sets in motion the album's lesson into folk music. Whimsically bewitching vocals over play floaty slumber like instrumentals that glide past, providing a subtle introduction to folk music. It is left to 'Righteous Life' however to really set the ball rolling. From the first chord 'Righteous Life' miraculously takes you to the late 1960s when Dylan was king and folk music was seen as the way forward, providing the soundtrack to the decade. This is a song that brings to life the essence of folk music, displaying the gripping effect it can have and the appeal it can generate. Rightly so the hippie association with the genre soon materialises in the form of Sunforest's 'Magician In The Mountain'; a heady trip of psychedelics equipped with swirling atmospherics to really create the mood. In the end though it is 'Winter's Going' that steals the show. Duo Barbara and Ernie's tale of misery consists of vocals that offer a innocent purity that gently overplay a more menacing and threatening instrumental that is both beautiful and frightening.
'Feel The Spirit' isn't going to appeal to everyone, after all it is what it professes to be; a folk album with an added dose of funk courtesy of a psychedelic injection. That said, if you're wanting to try some music that's a little more challenging or want to break free from the herd then 'Feel The Spirit' could just be the perfect solution. It will take you away from the mainstream and transport you back in musical time coupled with the added bonus that supposedly folk is the new cool. Could your intellectual trend following self really ask for more?