I am a huge fan of Renaissance’s early work (e.g., Carpet of the Sun, Song of Scheherazade, Mother Russia, At the Harbour, Kiev), and Blackmore’s Night (e.g., Crowning of the King, Dandelion Wine, Village on the Sand, Cartouche).
I love the mix of traditional instruments with a somewhat “rocky” feel, and I like the strong vocals. I’ve noticed some of my favorite Celtic bands have a similar sound, too, such as Wolfstone (Where the Summers Go, Brave Foot Soldiers), Tempest (The Journeyman, Nine Points of Roguery), and MacKeel (Haul Away Joe).
There’s even a touch of this sound I like leaking over from traditional rock (e.g., Jethro Tull’s Broadsword and the Beast album), instrumental death metal (e.g., Opeth’s Patterns in the Ivy), and whatever the heck genre you call Rick Wakeman’s Myths and Legends of King Arthur album.
A lot of the stuff you hear performed at Ren Faires is along these lines, but tends to be more traditional and have less of the modern/medieval blend.
I’m looking for more music like this–especially anything with the Renaissance/Blackmore’s Night feel. Any recommendations?
That wasn’t their early work. Their early (and best) work was when they had just spun off with the Yardbirds. Most people have never heard of their first album.
In any case, I’d suggest Pentangle. They’re exactly what you’re looking for.
I don’t know if this fits your criteria exactly or not. I will say that I did buy the CD and do play it from time to time. It’s interesting and introducing Black Sabbath fans to it is amusing.
This is a little bit different, but the album Patchwork by the group Hesperus is essentially a blend of medieval music with American roots music. It’s got medieval tunes played by a jug band; it’s got early blues pieces accompanied with recorder. Good stuff.
Thanks for all these suggestions! I look forward to checking them out after work today. I have a plane flight tomorrow that would be perfect for some uninterrupted listening time.
Pre-Annie Haslam Renaissance was really a completely different group, and I must admit I’d completely forgotten about that album. When I say “early,” I’m just trying to rule out Camera Camera and Tuscany, which I didn’t like nearly as much–too much pop. I heard them live on the Azure d’Or tour, which I considered the end of the era, since the old sound was pretty well gone by then.
Circulus seconded. You might also look into Gryphon (youtube), if you don’t mind instrumentals. They were proggy, and probably a bit heavier on the modern side of the scale than the medieval, but not bad.
You might try the Strawbs. They started out more like straight folk and gradually got more prog & pop. I would suggest starting with the albums “Grave New World” and “Bursting at the Seams”, both of which are huge favorites of mine.
Also:
“No Roses” by Shirley Collins & the Albion Country Band
Morris On (by the group of the same name)
“Sandy” by Sandy Denny
There was a folk-rock group called Annwnthat made some really cool music back in the 90’s. They kind of fell apart after the lead singer was killed in a motorcycle accident, but the music lives on.
Traffic did a lot of styles but a number of their songs do fit this category. Their best known is probably their cover of an old English folk song, “John Barleycorn”.
Agreed on Steeleye Span (although I always thought they copied the name from Steely Dan which for you trivia buffs, is supposed to be a dildo).
Some Moody Blues kinda fits the “Bill” for me too.
And Blackmore as well. I think they have a Christmas cd I need to get.
Every year, I promise myself, no more Christmas cd’s! (I have a whole case/folder(?) dedicated to just Christmas - the last ones I bought were Brian Setzer’s!)
Quasi-Question: Which ones of the ones mentioned would be good accompaniment to playing World of Warcraft? I really like the music they play during the game, but it gets kinda repetitive.
Thanks
Quasi
ETA: For RChuck: is there a link for your Dad’s song?
Agreed on Steeleye Span (although I always thought they copied the name from Steely Dan which for you trivia buffs, is supposed to be a dildo)
/QUOTE]
It’s not- it’s from a traditional song called Horkstow Grange
Old Steeleye Span he was filled with John Bowlin
It happened to be on a market day
Old Steeleye swore with all his vengeance
He would swear his life away
Pity them who see him suffer
Pity poor old Steeleye Span
John Bowlin's deeds they will be remembered
Pity poor old Steeleye Span
Pity poor old Steeleye Span
for me too.