The Owl Service

cover: 28149

A Garland Of Song CD 28149

  1. A Garland Of Song (Folk Revival)
  2. Child Ballad no.49 (or The Rolling Of The Stones)
  3. Hoodening
  4. The North Country Maid
  5. Katie Cruel
  6. The Lammas
  7. Oxford City (Or The Jealous Lover)
  8. Turpin Hero
  9. The Dorset Hanging Oak
  10. Apple Tree Man
  11. Child Ballad no.219 (Or The Gardner Child)
  12. Corn Dollies
  13. Flanders Shore

SOME WORDS FROM ITS CREATOR:
“A Garland Of Song was born out of a love for traditional music - it began as something I needed to get out of my system, but it soon became an obsession that took over my life for six months. The original idea was simply to record a traditional-based album, I didn't really have a theme or idea of how I was going to go about it. But then the recording was delayed by a few months and in that time ideas came thick and fast and the seed soon blossomed. Although it's not exactly a concept album, a feeling seemed to emanate over the sessions that tied the songs together and it soon became clear that (for me at least) this was going to be a very special project.

The first songs I chose to record were those I knew well and had loved for what felt like a lifetime, but as the album progressed my thirst for traditional song grew and I begun unearthing music from the original revival which I'd never heard before. Every day I was finding new material that I desperately wanted to tackle and a wealth of songs couldn't be accommodated (making this very much an ongoing saga). By the time I had completed the album, with the help of some wonderful collaborators, I'd managed to truly get inside of these songs that I ended up feeling as though I'd written them myself. I set out to make the most exciting English folk album since Liege And Lief - I'll leave it up to you to decide whether I actually achieved that: it's certainly a celebration of the tradition, the beginning of a joyous re-telling of our song tapestry and ultimately something I'm incredibly proud of. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.”

— Steve Collins (Leigh-on-sea, June 2007)

Southern Records

A Garland Of Song was recorded and mixed almost entirely at home, with a group of like-minded collaborators, between December 2006 and June 2007; it fuses traditional British folk ballads with elements of psychedelic rock, occasionally bordering on a doom-laden garage sound, and is interspersed with Steven's original instrumental compositions. It recalls the great acid-folk bands of the late '60s/early '70s but never once sounds contrived or overtly retro - nobody has approached trad folk quite like this for over 30 years.