Folk Britannica

The fickle eye of pop may look askance at folk from time to time, consigning its finest artists to the margins, where they await rediscovery, but this collection of the greatest British folksters confirms a tradition immune to the vagaries of trend. Start, at the heyday of electric folk, with Fairport Convention, featuring Richard Thompson and the great Sandy Denny.

The hippies of the '60s looked to folk troubadours as leaders, and they found a hero in guitar virtuoso Bert Jansch: "Needle of Death", from his self-titled 1965 debut, was an especially influential track. Some wanted Jansch to become a British Bob Dylan, but he preferred to let his guitar do the talking. In 1973, Jon Martyn released the exceptional Solid Air, featuring "May You Never".

Left-wing folk hero Ewan MacColl founded the U.K.'s first modern folk joint — the Ballad and Blues Club — and in many ways he's the godfather of this playlist. His influence on folk stretches either side of the Second World War, but his reputation really began to soar at the start of the '50s. "Dirty Old Town", written about Salford, has become a rock-solid standard.

You can't keep good folk down, as our Essentials overview of the genre's British, post-War family tree conclusively proves. All of these artists have in common that desire to re-invigorate tradition to reflect their times, and it's great to see actual bloodlines running between the various shared musical connections. Eliza Carthy ("Rolling Sea") is the daughter of Martin Carthy ("Lord Randall") and Norma Waterson, here heard on "The Old Good Way" by the Watersons. Intimate, yet universal, these tracks provide a link to the past and a mirror to the present.