If you think scathing Simon and lovable Louie are modern phenomena plaguing the music industry, think again. Way back before you were born pop moguls were pulling the strings of their puppets in the crazy swinging singles-centric world of the 60′s. One such was flamboyant Stones svengali Andrew Loog Oldham – though to be fair he was also a rare early champion of Pet Sounds. Following a blueprint already established with Marianne Faithfull: take one innocent posh bird and throw in a hearty dose of hedonist Stones song writing credibility; he set about propelling Vashti Bunyan on the road to stardom (and no doubt probable late night tangles with various of said Stones). However, in this case it was not to be: a couple of singles and albums that received scant attention, and she was on the pop scrapheap. Her heart had not really been in it, and Bunyan fell back to spending her time writing the more folksy songs that had originally caused her to drop out of Oxford University. She was invited to join Donovan’s commune in Skye, and set off with her boyfriend to travel there by horse and cart. Trouble was, by the time they got there everyone else had left; but the journey had been an inspiration for her song writing.

As the 60′s drew to a close she recorded those songs with the help of various members of Fairport Convention and The Incredible String Band. The album “Just Another Diamond Day” got good reviews but made no impact, and she withdrew to a life of rural family tranquility. Fast forward 30 years and it was being sold on eBay for more than £1000 and had become a seminal work for contemporary folk artists such as Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom. Banhart has reportedly written her name on his arm at times before performances. A CD re-release followed, a couple of years ago a second album “Lookaftering” emerged, and she is now back performing live as well as popping up as a guest on various albums.

This collection brings together picks from her early commercial output together with demo recordings – the majority of which were laid down in a single hour. Her supposed 1965 springboard to success, the Jagger-Richards single “Somethings Just Stick In Your Mind”, has the identikit full arrangement treatment found on Faithfull’s more familiar “As Tears Go By”, but it’s not as plodding and has a lot of charm with its slapdash upright piano over fruity brass. “Coldest Night Of The Year” is another nugget of pop goodness and is a British Sonny and Cher call and response duet with a Christmassy sleigh bells meets Beachboys vibe. Apart from that, it is Bunyan’s pure fully-rounded voice (think Judy Collins or Joan Baez) that has centre stage in simple bare love songs that can initially sound bland and devoid of emotion but somehow become hypnotically soothing if left to play in the background.

It’s indicative that this review has spent more time on context than content – it’s hard to recommend outright to those not already aware of her contribution to the British folk revival and seeking to complete their archive, or those with a particular ear for simple 60′s sounds. Personally I would fall more into the latter category, but how the pricing is pitched could also be a factor for the impartial buyer as it’s a double CD. It’s nice, but of course there’s alot of stuff out there clamouring for my time and affection, so has to be judged relatively.
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Links
Vashti Bunyan [official site]