Anybody else heard this woman? She was a British folk/rock artist who released two albums in the early 70's. Sounds like some mix of Sandy Denny and early Joni Mitchell. Both albums, "The Shelagh McDonald Album" and "Stargazer" have been reissued with lots of extra material on a 2 CD set. The story is that even though she wasn't much into drugs, she was dabbling a bit, took some LSD, and ended up in the hospital. Her parents came down from Scotland and took her away, and nobody heard from her again until she surfaced in 2005. The material is very impressive. She has an outstanding voice, and her songwriting was quite good; the second album was all originals. Apparently, she was touted as a possible replacement when Sandy Denny left Fairport Convention, and it's easy to see why. If you're a fan of British folk/rock of that era, I highly recommend you check this out. I wouldn't say it's as good as the best Sandy Denny/Fairport material, but it's very close. It's blowing my mind that she's become so obscure.

Just when I think every great but nearly forgotten artist has been unearthed, another one pops up.

Cover art and details ...





Disc: 1
1. Hullo Stranger [Live]
2. Street Walking Blues [Live]
3. Mirage
4. Look Over the Hills and Far Away
5. Crusoe
6. Waiting for the Wind to Rise
7. Ophelia's Song [Version 1]
8. Richmond
9. Let No Man Steal Your Thyme
10. Peacock Lady
11. Silk and Leather
12. You Know You Can't Lose
13. Ophelia's Song [Version 2]
14. Jesus Is Just All Right
15. Book of Rhyme
16. What More Can I Say?
17. City's Cry [Demo 1]
18. City's Cry [Demo 2]
19. Rod's Song [Demo Version]
20. Stargazer [False Start]
21. Stargazer [Demo Version]

Disc: 2
1. Rod's Song
2. Liz's Song
3. Lonely King
4. City's Cry
5. Dowie Dens of Yarrow [Version 1]
6. Baby Go Slow
7. Canadian Man
8. Good Times
9. Odyssey
10. Stargazer
11. Road to Paradise
12. Sweet Sunlight
13. Spin [Version 1]
14. Rainy Night Blues
15. Spin [Version 2]
16. Dowie Dens of Yarrow [False Start]
17. Dowie Dens of Yarrow [Version 2]

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006OL5HW/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0006OL5HW/?tag=imwan-21

Thanks, Linda. You're the helpfulest!

Thank you for the heads-up on this lady, Greg. (Sometimes I think a person could have a CD collection nearly the size of Jimbo's just from getting Fairport Convention related material. )

I agree, Linda. There is so much British Folk/Rock from that era, and a lot of it is pretty obscure, especially to us here in the U.S. It's not all first-rate, of course, but I have no reservations about recommending this one. Ever heard a band called Trees? I may be checking them out next.

The story:
http://www.btinternet.com/~blackvelvet/

Yeh, I backed into Trees in an odd way. They kept being namechecked by the acid jazz groups around '94/'95, so I got the two Trees albums to see what the fuss was about. (They're very easy to collect, only two studio albums, same as Shelagh. ) Personally I think the second album On The Shore is stronger, but that's the one that's been sampled all over acid jazz recordings ... the first album The Garden Of Jane Delawney is more of a folk purist endeavour and I wonder if you might prefer that one.

(Amazon has plenty of cheap copies through their third party dealers, BTW.)



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005UJ96/?tag=imwan-20



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000JXAK/?tag=imwan-20

Thanks for the recommendations, Linda. I was actually thinking about starting with the second one (I'll probably end up with both anyway). I'm not really much of a purist; I do like a lot of traditional British folk, but I think what I like about this stuff is the way the folk influences mix with rock styles of the period. For example, I think "Liege and Lief" is a great album, but I probably listen to "Unhalfbricking" and even the first album more. The Shelagh McDonald albums aren't that pure, by the way. There's a lot of rock influence, and she really rocks out a couple of times, including a smoking version of "Jesus is Just Alright."

Have you heard Jade? They did one album, "Fly on Strangewings," that was reissued on CD a couple years ago. Very Fairport-like; not quite as good, but very worthwhile.

All of this makes me think about the phenomena of discovering an artist you really love (Fairport Convention, in this case), buying up all of their material, then all or most of the offshoot solo stuff (Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson), THEN getting into similar but maybe slightly inferior artists. The question I always ask myself is if this stuff is really worth it to me, or am I just making doomed attempts to recreate my original discovery, because I really want to buy more of the original artist (Fairport), and there isn't any?

Then there is the variation where you go and get into all the influences and sometimes end up liking the influences better than the artist you started with. Shelagh McDonald is on my buy list along with Anne Briggs & Brass Monkey & Peter Bellamy and others in various stages of 'purity'.

Thanks to all for the information. I'm always interested in anything related to British Folk/Rock.
I came to this type of music through Steeleye Span, specifically Commoner's Crown in 1975. I heard "New York Girls" on the radio, and that got me hooked. As far as Fairport, my first connection was the Richard Thompson release Live!(more or less) in 1976.
I'm thrilled that so many years later, both groups continue to tour and make new music that at times ranks with the best they made in their primes.
I look forward to hearing this.

I actually got started in British Folk Rock in the late 80's when I first got into Nick Drake and wanted to explore similar artists. Got the first Sandy Denny box, then some Fairport Convention. Then Richard Thompson, John Martyn, Anne Briggs, Lindisfarne, and eventually newer artists like Kate Rusby. Don't have any Steeleye Span, though -- any recommendations?

Spanning The Years is an excellent 2 disc compilation that covers Steeleye's career from 1970 until the late 80's. It does a good job of tracing their beginnings as a pure folk traditional band into a more rocking one.As for the individual albums, I would go with Below the Salt, Commoners Crown, and Time. They're from different phases, and should give you a good idea about where you want to go next.
I hope as you get into this band you enjoy them as much as I have over the years.

Since this has become the Britfolk thread I might as well add this here rather than make a new topic. There's a highly-touted import of this album coming out this week, but hold off on that, because a domestic pressing is coming on April 2nd:

Anne Briggs ~ The Time Has Come



One of the Most Important Figures of the British Folk Revival of the 1960s, Anne Briggs was a Huge Influence on Such Luminaries as Sandy Denny, Maddy Prior and Linda Thompson. This is her Second Full Length, Originally Released in 1971. Unlike Previous Releases which Contained Mostly Traditional Songs with Little Or No Accompaniment, this Album features Many Self-penned Numbers as Well as a Few Contemporary Covers with Briggs Playing Guitar and Bouzouki. Briggs Only Released Two Albums and a Handful of SINGLES/EPS Before Retiring from the Music Business Making this Reissue an Important Document of the British Folk Revival.

1. Sandman's Song
2. Highlodge Hare
3. Fire and Wine
4. Step Right Up
5. Ride, Ride
6. Time Has Come
7. Clea Caught a Rabbit
8. Tangled Man
9. Wishing Well
10. Standing on the Shore
11. Tidewave
12. Everytime
13. Fine Horseman

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MGTF94/?tag=imwan-20

Thanks, Linda. You don't miss a beat, do you? I've been hoping this would be reissued some day. I've got "Classic Anne Briggs" which has most of her material, the main exception being this album, which has been hard to find at a reasonable price.

I believe Sandy Denny refers to Anne Briggs in her song "The Pond and the Stream," which would seem to be about Sandy's friendship with Anne and the differences in their lifestyles ("Annie wanders on the land...")

Got my copy of Trees - On the Shore. Pretty interesting stuff. Trippier than Fairport. I may need to pick up the other one, too. Thanks for the recommendation, Linda.

Now on to Steeleye Span...