Dr. Strangely Strange

Forest were a late 60's minstrel/medieval type of folk-prog trio in the style of The Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention and Dr. Strangely Strange. They released a couple of albums with dark but subtle acid lyrics, incorporating pipes, harmonium, harpsichord, mandolin, 12-string guitar and percussion to their sound. Their music doesn't have the electricity normally associated with rock, yet it can't be described as straight folk either, the lyrics being rather strange and the band's approach being far too eclectic - thus their inclusion here.
Their eponymous album (1969) is practically a clone of The Incredible String Band whereas "Full Circle" (1970) shows more original songwriting and more diverse arrangements, with themes still dealing with nature, mystery and darkness. Both albums are altogether esoteric, pastoral, serious and communal as befit the times.

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music
A friend of mine asked me name, in my opinion, five best albums of all time. In order, at that. Well, “In the court of the crimson king” got the No.1-spot and Culpeper’s Orchard came in as No.2. Alongside the Crimson debut this album ranks among my absolute favorite albums of all time.

Tim Goulding - Big Red, Old Yalla
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 155 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Sweet Ticket Music # STMCD002 | Country/Year: Ireland 2003
Genre: Electronica, Folk, World | Style: Ambient, Irish Folk

Tim Goulding, songwriter, performer (piano, keyboards and whistles) and member of Dr. Strangely Strange released his first solo album on Sweet Ticket Music.

Although Ramases' debut album is best known today for featuring the infant 10cc as accompanying musicians (the 1990 Repertoire reissue even flags their involvement on the front cover), it is, in fact, deserving of considerably more attention than even that merits. Insistent, percolating rhythms float across a lightly funky soundscape, building with an intensity that ebbs and flows with every track and begging comparison with some of the other, darker folk devils that danced around the fringes of the early-'70s British underground. Comus, Gravy Train, and Dr. Strangely Strange all inhabit similar musical caverns, even as they strained toward new peaks of uniqueness, and Ramases shares that ambition - and occasionally even surpasses it…

‘Buntús Rince’ translates from Irish as ‘basic rhythms’, and this new compilation explores how Irish musicians were influenced by strands of different genres of music from around the world, merging them to create their own unique sounds. The compilation features some of the most innovative and talented figures in the history of Irish music and includes rare Irish jazz, fusion and folk outliers from the 1970s and early 1980s from musicians relatively unknown outside of Ireland.