Search - Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, Traffic :: Troubadours Of British Folk: Vol. 2

Rhino sometimes skirts superficiality when compiling genre packs, but its three-CD Troubadours of British Folk is a superior primer for those wishing to delve into English folk from the late '50s skiffle craze on into the '90s. While volumes 1 and 3 are more than worthwhile, the second set in the triad represents the pinnacle of the movement. By the late '60s, when most of the artists represented here first made their marks, UK upstarts, like their U.S. kin, were electrifying and popularizing the traditional sounds they'd schooled themselves on earlier in their musical explorations. Brit folk-rock, however, drew upon old-world jigs, reels, and ballads rather than Appalachian and blues roots. At the same time, a handful of particularly gifted figures emerged to anchor the activity: Richard & Linda Thompson, Sandy Denny, Roy Harper, Nick Drake, and Steve Winwood are among the plugged-in folkies who adorn this amply annotated 13-song anthology. --Steven Stolder