British Folk

The electric revolution that Dylan started in the '60s swept England like a hurricane, but not only the folkies took notice. When the late Sandy Denny wasn't romping with Robert Plant in Led Zep's "Battle of Evermore" (or being sampled in Groove Armada's "Remember"), she's best recalled for co-leading Fairport Convention, who turned her crystalline-voiced "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" into a standard. Blues folky John Martyn owes Eric Clapton a debt of gratitude for making "May You Never" an FM radio hit, but this version shows that Martyn, like Slowhand himself, is no six-string slouch. And Zeppelin figures again in "Blackwaterside" (which they adapted for "Black Mountain Side"), first popularized by Pentangle's Bert Jansch, but performed here by England's best-kept guitar secret, Gordon Giltrap.

In Next Steps we'll hear poets, pipers, Pogues, . . . and more.

Not only is the Brit folk sound eclectic, but so is the range of instruments employed in creating it. Robin Williamson, cofounder of the eclecto-hippie Incredible String Band, celebrates folk's other great poet named Dylan in "For Mr. Thomas," accompanied by guitar and, of all things, tuned wine glasses. But it's recorders, crumhorns, and other earthy instruments for Gryphon, who bring a Renaissance faire atmosphere to their version of "Kemp's Jig." Pentangle guitar wizard John Renbourn also travels back to the era of knights and damsels gay in his title track from "The Lady and the Unicorn." And the late Johnny Cunningham fiddles like a man possessed in "The Flight."

In Deep Cuts we'll hear from ramblers, revolutionaries, romantics, and still more.

If you think former Fairport vocalist Ian Matthews ripped off the Eagles in his version of "Seven Bridges Road," you've got it backwards; this version predates the Eagles' by seven years. Two of Brit folk's finest players, guitarist Richard Thompson and fiddler Dave Swarbrick, spur each other to a near meltdown in a song they cowrote, Fairport Convention's epic "Sloth." Steve Tilston and ex-wife Maggie Boyle wrap an American history lesson around four chords and honeyed harmonies in "Here's to Tom Paine." And we close out our tour through the ancestral home of bangers and mash with a tune far more inviting than the island's cuisine — occasional Albion Band member John Tams' "Who Will Blow the Candle Out Tonight."

Not long after Bob Dylan upended the entire music world by plugging in at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, the revolution spread to the U.K. The singer-songwriter genre exploded, with the likes of Al Stewart, Donovan, and Martin Carthy leading the way, followed closely by folk-rock bands such as Fairport Convention, Pentangle, and Steeleye Span, who laid the groundwork for the modern generation of Brit folkies. And as you'll discover, much of the music they uncovered made its way into your favorite rockers' repertoires. We'll take you from godfathers Davy Graham and Ewan MacColl (Kirsty's dad) right up through modern faves Kate Rusby and Eliza Carthy (Martin's daughter). Electric and acoustic, rowdy and mellow, ancient and modern . . . we have stacks of tracks tailored to every taste and temperament.