Sorry guys, I’m in a rush to get ready for an event tonight so I don’t have time for a Top 10. Have no fear, though, next Friday you’ll get the Top 10 Albums of 2013…SO FAR list. It’s a doozy.
Until then…
From Wikipedia:
“Dando Shaft is the name of a short-lived psych/progressive folk and folk jazz band that was primarily active in the early 1970s. The band has attracted a measure of attention from recent compilation releases and Dando Shaft is today known primarily as one of the major influences on the progressive stream of the 1960s folk revival.
Forming in Coventry, England, in 1968, the original Dando Shaft was an all-male quintet composed of the two guitar/vocalists Kevin Dempsey and Dave Cooper, multi-instrumentalist Martin Jenkins, bassist Roger Bullen, and tabla/percussionist Ted Kay. The band’s name was taken from that of the title character of a 1965 novel by Don Calhoun. Performing in local English venues for the next two years while remaining active in the folk revival scene, the band was offered a recording deal with Young Blood Records and in 1970 they recorded their debut, An Evening With Dando Shaft. The album was well-received, drawing immediate comparison to the work of fellow folk revival musicians Pentangle, but demonstrating more of an emphasis on original folk compositions as well as showcasing a more progressive use of bluegrassy multi-instrumentation (especially due to Martin Jenkins’s diverse talents) and Balkan (particularly Bulgarian) rhythmic structures.
Comparisons to Pentangle were only enhanced when, after moving to London in 1970, the band grew in October of that year to include Leamington Spa singer, Polly Bolton who had previously sung with June Tabor. Bolton’s contributions to the band received praise with her voice described as pure and expressive and Bolton herself has been described as a half-forgotten female vocalist of the era ranking alongside Pentangle’s Jacqui McShee as well as other contemporary legends like Shirley Collins, Sandy Denny, and Maddy Prior. Creating an even more favorable impression on critics, Dando Shaft were soon signed to RCA’s progressive offshoot, Neon, and in 1971 they created the eponymous album, Dando Shaft. This album received much critical praise and has been characterized as perhaps the most-competent folk-jazz album of the era.”
Dando Shaft
Dando Shaft
(Neon (RCA), 1971)
MediaFire DL Link
01. Coming Home To Me [MP3]
02. Sometimes
03. Waves Upon The Ether
04. River Boat
05. Dewet
06. Railway
07. Whispering Ned
08. Pass It On
09. Kalyope Driver
10. Till The Morning Comes
11. Prayer
