Mixed Bag
Artist: Richie Havens

Richie Havens' finest recording, Mixed Bag captures the essence of his music and presents it in an attractive package that has held up well. A close listen to lyrics like "I Can't Make It Anymore" and "Morning, Morning" reveals sadness and loneliness, yet the music is so appealingly positive that a listener actually comes away feeling uplifted.... Read More

California Bloodlines
Artist: John Stewart

Issued in 1969, California Bloodlines is regarded by many to be singer/songwriter John Stewart's finest work. That's debatable, but it is a hell of an album. Stewart who had finally left behind the Kingston Trio to pursue a solo career, solidified it here. Well known as the guy who wrote "Daydream Believer" for the Monkees and "Gold" for... Read More

California Bloodlines/Willard
Artist: John Stewart

This German import contains some of Stewart's most powerful work. California Bloodlines offers 12 original tunes backed by Nashville's finest studio musicians. Willard Minus 2, though not so powerful as Bloodlines, still features many great snogs (two tracks missing from the original) and a good cast of musicians. Highly recommended. ~ Chip... Read More

At Town Hall
Artist: Carolyn Hester

This recording is probably the best existing representation of Hester's work, capturing her voice in all of its natural vibrancy, in a setting where spontaneity matters more than control. The repertory may also explain -- along with Hester's Southern/Texas twang -- why she never quite caught on with folk audiences nationwide. By 1965, Hester was... Read More

Patrick Sky
Artist: Patrick Sky

Sky was one of the numerous folky singer-songwriters to be placed in the new Dylan camp during the '60s (and, for that matter, ever since). Although the comparison with Dylan is basically unfair, and his talents were not without modest charms, they didn't measure up to Dylan in the slightest. On this 1965 debut, Sky did present a mixture of... Read More

Townes Van Zandt
Artist: Townes Van Zandt
Community Score: 8.70

On his third album, Townes Van Zandt recut three crucial tracks from his debut album, "For The Sake Of The Song," "Waiting Around To Die," and "I'll Be Here In The Morning." It was some indication of the obscurity in which he remained enveloped, but no indication of the quality of his work. (Actually, Van Zandt rerecorded songs from his first... Read More

Stay Awhile
Artist: The Kingston Trio

As they did with the Nick-Bob-John album, Folk Era has gone back and added the trace of Capitol Records echo-chamber ambience that lent the group's Capitol-era recordings their special resonance. This was a pretty strong album to begin with, some strong songs by Tom Paxton ("Where I'm Bound," "Bottle of Wine") and Rod McKuen ("Rusting in the... Read More

Sings Beatles & Dylan
Artist: Richie Havens
Community Score: 8.50

Richie Havens is probably the only '60s icon who could get away with an album like this without apology. But for the presence of the electric keyboards, synth bass, and '80s-style drums, these performances by Havens could easily have appeared 18 years earlier. His performances of "Here Comes the Sun," "If Not for You," "Strawberry Fields... Read More

In My Life
Artist: Judy Collins
Community Score: 7.50

Judy Collins' musical ambitions often seemed to be a bit broader (and her style a shade more theatrical) than most of her contemporaries on the East Coast folk scene of the early '60s, and with her sixth album, 1966's In My Life, she made a clear break from interpreting the favorites of the singer/songwriter community into a broader and more... Read More

Sunday Street
Artist: Dave Van Ronk

This album, originally released in 1976, may or may not be, as annotator (and former Dave Van Ronk guitar student) Elijah Wald claims, "Dave's greatest single album" (frankly, Van Ronk has made so many albums for so many fly-by-night labels that it is hard to endorse so sweeping a statement), but it is certainly a very good one. Van Ronk had... Read More