<!--
These data are only offered for use pursuant to the license agreement
posted at http://webservices.rhapsody.com/rws-license.html.
Any use of these data indicates your agreement to the terms and conditions
set forth therein.
-->
<opml version="2.0">
<head>
<title>Top British Folk Artists on Rhapsody Online</title>
<dateCreated>Tue Dec 15 10:41:15 PST 2009</dateCreated>
<dateModified>Tue Dec 15 10:41:15 PST 2009</dateModified>
</head>
<body>
<outline type="include" text="Nick Drake" description="A sound more gentle than the soft, almost timid singing of Nick Drake never passed human lips. Of all the melancholy balladeers of the past fifty years, none have so effectively captured the sound of the human heart in conflict with itself. Of course the saddest thing about Drake's music is that &quot;Pink Moon&quot; is being used to sell Volkswagens. If the first time you heard Drake was during a car commercial, then buying &lt;I&gt;Fruit Tree&lt;/I&gt; straightaway is the least you can do to make amends. The collection gathers Drake's three studio albums and the posthumous disc &lt;I&gt;Time Has Told Me&lt;/I&gt;. Though it's impossible to pick favorites with Drake, his debut &lt;I&gt;Five Leaves Left&lt;/I&gt; may turn out to be the album you play most. It takes listeners on a gorgeous sojourn through rustic themes, wafting strings and Drake's lapidary acoustic guitar playing. The follow-up, &lt;I&gt;Bryter Later&lt;/I&gt;, is a more urbane record; a purple-prose serenade from a dream corner of London. The partly cloudy skies of &lt;I&gt;Bryter Later&lt;/I&gt; suddenly turned gray and glowering on the last album Drake recorded. The stark, eerie &lt;I&gt;Pink Moon&lt;/I&gt; contains what is arguably some of the saddest music ever recorded, which is precisely what makes it so ineffably beautiful.
- Chad Driscoll" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/nick-drake/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Donovan" description="Generation X moviegoers thank him for producing Ione Skye, while &lt;i&gt;Details&lt;/i&gt; readers are into his son's band Nancy Boy, but aging Aquarians know that Donovan was one of the key artists of the revolutionary 1960s. He started his career as Britain's answer to Bob Dylan, and his first two acoustic folk albums are charming, low-key winners; but he turned into a &quot;Sunshine Superman&quot; just in time for the Psychedelic revolution. If all you've heard from Donovan is &quot;Mellow Yellow,&quot; do yourself a favor and check out his late '60s material. He remained a folk-popper at heart and the ultra-groovy production touches are completely in key with the current Indie scenes in America and Europe. Donovan's career didn't survive the post-Altamont age of '70s cynicism, but in 1996 he cut his album &lt;i&gt;Sutras&lt;/i&gt; with Rick Rubin, showing that his flowery style is as groovadelic as ever.
- Eric Shea" category="Folk-Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/donovan/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Richard Thompson" description="This founding member of Fairport Convention -- much acclaimed for his classic &lt;I&gt;Shoot Out the Lights&lt;/I&gt; LP, recorded with then-wife Linda Thompson -- plays Folk-Rock with a heavy dose of British flavor. His scornful songs have gained high praise from critics everywhere, and his fan base is serious and dedicated. His music is complex and exploits almost every avenue of guitar playing -- Thompson's up-tempo songs seem schizophrenic and disturbingly catchy, while his slower songs are perfect for staring out of your bedroom window on a rainy day. He is clearly one of the most underrated songwriters of our time, creating cerebral musings for cerebral listeners." category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/richard-thompson/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Fairport Convention" description="Any British geezer will tell you that Fairport Convention is the end-all be-all British Folk-Rock band. While The Byrds were watering their family tree throughout the 1960s with West Coast sun flare, Fairport Convention were tapping into their own pastoral roots, performing traditional English folk songs and original compositions (as well as popular cover songs) that fused tradition with innovation. However, when the band first formed in 1967, their sound was derived from the very same California bands (such as the aforementioned Byrds and the Mamas and the Papas) that would soon become musical peers of the Fairport Convention. Singer Judy Dyble was replaced for the otherworldly vocal stylings of Sandy Denny (from the Strawbs) in 1968, who is now regarded as the best female British folk singer of all time. Although she passed away in 1978, her time in Fairport Convention is undeniably the band's golden era. Denny's vocal inflections effortlessly danced with harmonies and coated song melodies with a woodland soul.
- Eric Shea" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/fairport-convention/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="John Martyn" description="Emerging out of the London folk scene in the late '60s with a fingerpicking style not unlike that of Bert Jansch, John Martyn's first few records were quiet bluesy affairs that accented his trademark rumbling voice. The release of both &lt;I&gt;Bless the Weather&lt;/I&gt; in '71 and &lt;I&gt;Solid Air&lt;/I&gt; in '73 solidified the cult audience that has followed him his entire career. Both records relied on his vocals as an instrument while acoustic echoplexed guitars and jazz-inspired compositions held the backdrop. While former friends and contemporaries like Nick Drake and Richard Thompson have received a much more devoted and wider following, Martyn's music and career have maintained an integrity and longevity not often rivaled.
- Jon Pruett" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/john-martyn/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Robyn Hitchcock" description="Robyn Hitchcock's lengthy career has been marked by a myriad of highs and lows, veering close to a commercial breakthrough on several occasions: he was the subject of Jonathan Demme's 1998 film &lt;I&gt;Storefront Hitchcock&lt;/I&gt;, and he and his band the Egyptians toured with R.E.M. back in 1989. However, this ever-enduring and always endearing singer-songwriter will most likely be remembered as an under-appreciated, oft-erratic, quirky and remarkably singular genius. Unlike admitted influence Syd Barrett, Hitchcock is always in perfect and absolute control of his craft, and can take whimsical, often lunatic subject matter and put it into easily accessible song structures, i.e., &quot;Lost Madonna of the Wasps&quot; from &lt;I&gt;Queen Elvis&lt;/I&gt;. Conversely, he can go to wild extremes, abandoning conventional rock or pop music altogether. No pop psychologist, Hitchcock turns his wry, adroit, and absurdist lyrics inwards, revealing to his listeners his razor-sharp wit, reckless imagination, and beautiful poet's heart.
- Will Lerner" category="Neo Psychedelic" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/robyn-hitchcock/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Neil Halstead" description="While Neil Halstead's Mojave 3 have written and recorded some amazingly beautiful songs, there are places in his musical mind that Mojave 3 may not be able to travel to. But on his solo debut, &lt;I&gt;Sleeping On Roads&lt;/I&gt;, Halstead dives into Nick Drake influences and instrumentation never previously used by Mojave 3, including Moogs and other digital sounding synthesizers. The songs are demure and love-starved and even a bit dramatic at times, but it's refreshing to hear Halstead sound more like an Englishman in England, rather than an Englishman in the California desert.
- Eric Shea" category="Dream Pop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/neil-halstead/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Pentangle" description="Mention the name Pentangle to fans and you'll probably witness the same bliss-dazed state affected in cartoons by faeries' wands and frying pans. Fans are likely to slip into a daze of adulation characterized by dilated pupils and a string of back-lit cliches like &quot;inspired,&quot; &quot;sublime&quot; and &quot;magical.&quot; Indeed, it's difficult to do the original 1969-1973 lineup justice without sounding smarmy. The partnership of Bert Jansch and John Renbourne brought together two legendary fingerpickers -- adherents of a style far surpassing plodding thumb-strumming in difficulty and range. Singer Jacqui McShee was no less of an asset to the group; words passed as smoothly and brilliantly through her vocal chords as light through a prism. Next to Jansch's stony deadpan, her vibrato soars. Bringing together the disparate influences of jazz, traditional British Folk songs, and even the blues, Pentangle thatched their sundry roots into daring, unpredictable albums that roved merrily o'er the channel and overseas. The band gathered timeless yarns, spinning them anew into a lush fabric of folk/jazz. Pentangle continued performing throughout the '80s and '90s, and though the late material rarely possesses the stature of the early work, it can still charm.
- Chad Driscoll" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/pentangle/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Renaissance" description="A cross between Lilith Fair folk progressions and Medeival song studies/instrumentations (hence the name Renaissance). Their art-school prissiness and haunting vocals made this late '60s collective a Dead Can Dance of their era.
- Eric Shea" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/renaissance/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Mojave 3" description="After Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell extinguished virtually all the possibilities of their original incarnation, Slowdive, in 1995, they reformed as Mojave 3 the following year. Extracting Slowdive's waves of distortion and sound experiments, Mojave 3 sacrificed their predecessor's confining shoegazer ideal for the solace of love-starved country music. Mojave 3's earlier material was filled with falling piano keys, slide guitar, and intertwining vocals filled with enough heartache to bring tears to the most staunch cowboy. More recently, they've latched onto the harmony-laden West Coast sound of the late '60s and early '70s, while at the same featuring many a nod to Bob Dylan. Halstead's songs have become saturated with whirring organs and slide guitar, and could now even be labeled traditional. &quot;Tradition&quot; fits Mojave 3 well, as exceptional songwriting, aching harmonies, and slide guitar so rarely fail to break hearts.
- Jon Pruett" category="Dream Pop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/mojave-3/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Rachel Goswell" description="" category="Adult Alternative" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/rachel-goswell/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Lilac Time" description="Listening to the Lilac Time is like whiling away a sunny Saturday afternoon walking through fields with a young girl and an old, shaggy dog. Sure, there are more &quot;important&quot; things to do, but that doesn't mean that life offers better things to do. Led by ace songwriter Stephen Duffy, the Lilac Time ruled the British critics' polls throughout the late '80s and early '90s without ever making a serious dent in the charts. Their mixture of Beatles harmonies and shimmering Folk Pop guitars with countrified banjos and pedal steel instrumentation fit perfectly into songs about catching trains and missing opportunities. Named after a Nick Drake lyric, they were ahead of the current &quot;quiet is the new loud&quot; retro sound curve by a decade. If you were too busy listening to Grunge during the band's glory days, you've been given another chance to discover great pop music. The Lilac Time have reformed and the brilliant &lt;i&gt;Looking For a Day in the Night&lt;/i&gt;, found them in an even more pastoral and introspective mood than before. &lt;i&gt;Lilac6&lt;/i&gt; keeps the folk feeling but brings back some electric guitar crunch. The world needs more songs about public transportation, rainy days, and romantic regret; hopefully the Lilac Time will always be around to provide them for us.
- Nick Dedina" category="Indie/Alternative" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-lilac-time/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Sandy Denny" description="Divas are a dime a dozen. Sandy Denny was the penultimate goddess of British Folk. Whether she sang with the interestingly attired Fotheringay, the electric Fairport Convention, or a pre-prog version of the Strawbs, the late (and we do mean great) Denny possessed an absolutely unpolluted voice that sounded like it was never touched by smoke or drink. Her singing was like the touch of the fabled King Midas, turning everything she graced into gold. Her own songs balanced all the folkloric tones of yore and the fantastical renaissance images of Middle Earth with a grounded side that made her work relevant. In this balance Denny displayed a bittersweet earnestness that could make Joni Mitchell cry. She died in 1977 from critical injuries following a fall down a staircase.
- Eric Shea" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/sandy-denny/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Steeleye Span" description="This female-fronted British Folk band was often accused of copying the sounds and styles of Fairport Convention; to British Folk enthusiasts, Steeleye Span seemed like an otherworldly, bizarro twin of the Fairports that was more rock than folk. Their covers of old Traditional Folk songs, as well as material by their contemporaries, always possessed the band's signature style of smile-inducing vocal harmonies saturated in the nurturing voice of Maddy Prior. Today, Steeleye Span play the occasional reunion show with a revolving door of band members.
- Eric Shea" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/steeleye-span/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Incredible String Band" description="In the mid '60s, Incredible String Band were among the first hippies to take Scottish, Celtic and British folk and fold in a heady mixture of Indian music and psychedelia. With rough musicianship and a sense of the absurd, ISB created some of the most unique music of their time, winning the praise of critics and a fervent following. Mike Heron, Robin Williamson and Clive Palmer formed the ISB in 1965. They recorded a self-titled album for Elektra in 1966, but it was their 1967 alum, &lt;i&gt;The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion&lt;/i&gt; (now minus Palmer), with its far out cover art and colorful take on folk music, that introduced them to the LSD-gobbling public at large. 1968's &lt;i&gt;The Farmer's Beautiful Daughter&lt;/i&gt;, with even stronger psychedelic elements, went to No. 5 on the UK charts. Their star continued to rise until 1970, followed by a steady decline until they called it quits in 1974. Palmer returned for a 1999 reunion, and the band has continued to perform here and there, touring the UK in 2006.
- Mike McGuirk" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-incredible-string-band/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Bert Jansch" description="An amazing guitarist, Bert Jansch was a key player in the nascent years of the British folk scene. A friend of and heavy influence on Donovan (see &quot;Bert's Blues&quot; or &quot;House of Jansch&quot;), as well as Neil Young and Jimmy Page, his recording career began with one microphone, a bedroom, and an acoustic guitar. His stark, finger-picking instrumentals found him an audience with fellow guitarist John Renbourn, an association which eventually led to their legendary work with Pentangle. His ability to mix classical and jazz guitar with American acoustic blues has made his early records a staple of virtually every up-and-coming guitarist.
- Jon Pruett" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/bert-jansch/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Iain Matthews" description="Followers of the '60s British folk movement will recognize Iain Matthews as one of the founding members of the seminal outfit Fairport Convention. Matthews went on to play more uptempo, cosmic American-oriented folk rock in the band Matthews Southern Comfort before waxing solo with some Jackson Browne inspired singer-songwriter material.
- Eric Shea" category="Folk-Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/iain-matthews/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="John Renbourn" description="In the '60s, fingerpicking was all the rage among folkie guitarists; the playing style renders notes clean and distinct -- just the opposite of the strum-it-to-death approach usually taken by neophyte guitarists. It's the difference between an eyedropper and a garden hose, musically rendered. The two men primarily responsible for the rise of fingerpicking in the U.K. were John Renbourn and Bert Jansch. The two were actually roommates for a brief time in the mid-1960s, putting together in their spare time a collection of original material interspersed with subdued traditional ballads and anglicized blues. Still influential today, the recordings were released in 1966 as &lt;I&gt;Bert and John&lt;/I&gt;. The album inaugurated one of the most important collaborations in modern folk, as the two then went on to form Pentangle. An important British Folk band astounding in its range of reference, Pentangle brought together Celtic Folk, blues, antique ballads, modern jazz and Continental guitar styles. Since his days with Pentangle, Renbourn has remained a tireless explorer of new directions in guitar-based folk, incorporating new influences from Indian music to medieval carols.
- Chad Driscoll" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/john-renbourn/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="James Blackshaw" description="" category="Progressive Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/james-blackshaw/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Vashti Bunyan" description="She should have been bigger than Marianne Faithfull. Her voice was arguably better back in 1965 (and unarguably better today). But the reason why English folkie cult chanteuse Vashti Bunyan isn't as well known is because supporter and high profile fan (and Rolling Stone manager) Andrew Loog Oldham touted her as a Faithfull follower. To complete the picture, after Faithfull recorded the Jagger/Richards-penned &quot;As Tears Go By,&quot; he urged Bunyan to record the pair's &quot;Things Just Stick in Your Mind,&quot; overriding her own objections. She proved to be right and the song bombed, leaving her disenchanted with the music business -- so disenchanted, in fact, that she turned her back on it and stayed away for 35 years. But before she left, she planted a seed -- a bona fide gem of album genius entitled &lt;I&gt;Just Another Diamond Day&lt;/I&gt;. Although it didn't do much upon its release in 1970, the Joe Boyd-produced album became a coveted prize for a crop of collectors and vinyl fetishists. No other psychedelic folk record, not even Linda Perhacs' &lt;I&gt;Parallelograms&lt;/I&gt;, sounded as soothing and as ethereal as &lt;I&gt;Diamond Day&lt;/I&gt;. With Bunyan's fragile melodies and cooing, angelic voice, the record sounded as if it could float right off the turntable. More than 35 years following its release, &lt;I&gt;Diamond Day&lt;/I&gt; was reissued and became an important influence for trendy freak folkies like the Animal Collective and Devendra Banhart. In fact, both artists tracked Bunyan down through some intense Internet geeking to get her to record some vocal tracks on their respective albums. So with a heavy resurgence in enthusiasm for her incredible skills, Bunyan did what any respectable icon pulled from the ashes of obscurity would do. She recorded a comeback album. But 2005's &lt;I&gt;Lookaftering&lt;/I&gt; sounded like she had recorded it during the same 1970 session as &lt;I&gt;Diamond Day&lt;/I&gt; before locking it in a time capsule. Perhaps it was a respectable life of nurturing a family and tending to her garden (a lifestyle diametrically opposed to Faithfull's) that helped preserve her voice, because she sounds like she hasn't aged a day since her 1970 debut.
- Eric Shea" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/vashti-bunyan/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Strawbs" description="What sets the Strawbs apart from many other Prog Rock bands is that they cut their teeth on British Folk; they even had the pleasure of working and recording with UK folk chanteuse Sandy Denny before she joined the Fairport Convention. As soon as they added keyboard player Rick Wakeman, the Strawbs went the way of wizard rock, creating some of the most painstakingly arranged and dramatically performed Progressive Rock to come from Great Britain." category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-strawbs/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="OysterBand" description="The Oyster Band, like the Pogues, brought an unruly rock beat to folk while managing to keep the feel of their music traditional. This British band had a knack for picking pop material and transforming it to their own style. Billy Bragg and New Order tunes got them on the airwaves, but their classic material has the same good-time vibe.
" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/oysterband/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Martin Carthy" description="" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/martin-carthy/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Mary Hopkin" description="Although she was sometimes dismissed as the Marianne Faithful of the Beatles' camp, Mary Hopkin deserves her own identity and praise. Sure, the Welsh waif was discovered by Paul McCartney (via swinging London model Twiggy) who signed her to the Beatle's Apple Records and produced her 1969 debut &lt;I&gt;Post Card&lt;/I&gt;, but she was hardly a hanger-on to the fab four's supernova. Hopkin was more interested in recording British folk songs than attending star-studded parties. Although McCartney encouraged her to sing vocal standards that sound somewhat affected with Americana trappings, Hopkins lilting, watery voice proved to be better suited to more traditional songs as well as the folk-pop she aspired to record and perform. Just listen to her cover of the tacky show tune &quot;Those Were the Days&quot; and then listen to Hopkin sing &quot;Y Blodyn Gwyn&quot; in her native Welsh tongue and there's no real comparison. After her two albums with Apple, she recorded a third long player for Decca records in 1979, before throwing in the towel on furthering her musical career.
- Eric Shea" category="'60s Oldies" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/mary-hopkin/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Watersons" description="A well-balanced mix of male and female vocalists, the Watersons harmonize with precision. Employing polyphonic vocal techniques in their arrangements of carefully chosen British Folk tunes, they were an important force in the British Folk revival of the 1960s and continue to maintain a strong sense of integrity.
- Robert Leaver" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-watersons/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="June Tabor" description="June Tabor is a great traditional British Folk singer, but her style is so thoroughly modern that she has become the English version of Joni Mitchell. Her strong narrative skills and always beautiful but often serenely downbeat vocal style helped set the standard for guitar-playing, flaxen-haired beauties. She sounds just as great collaborating with Fairport Convention, the Oyster Band, Elvis Costello, or Richard Thompson as she does all on her lonesome. Check out her two albums with Maddy Prior under the Silly Sisters banner -- they work as well together as Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt do on their American trio recordings.
- Nick Dedina" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/june-tabor/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Ewan MacColl" description="Playwright, poet, and songwriter Ewan MacColl was almost single-handedly responsible for the folk resurgence that hit Britain in the '50s and '60s. His notion that a country's residents should embrace the music of that particular country led to England's first folk club strictly for English Folk back in '53. His music dealt with a mixture of traditional ballads and his own spare songs sung in his pliant and distinct voice. He is best remembered for tracks like &quot;The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face&quot; (the Roberta Flack version) and his marvelous &quot;Dirty Old Town&quot; (the Pogues version) as well as his strict adherence and total dedication to the idea of traditional folk music.
- Jon Pruett" category="Scottish Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/ewan-maccoll/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Ralph McTell" description="Although he was just as much a hardcore British folkie as Richard Thompson or Roy Harper, Ralph McTell's &lt;I&gt;You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here&lt;/I&gt; launched him into heavy Singer/Songwriter status in the early '70s. His voice was incredibly focused and controlled without sounding uptight, and his drew the listener in with his engaging narratives, like an old tribesman telling ancient stories to children around a campfire.
- Eric Shea" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/ralph-mctell/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Davy Graham" description="Probably one of the most underrated British Folk guitar players, Davy Graham's six string style effortlessly fuses bits and bobs of Middle Eastern music with blues, jazz and Indian ragas. With one Martin guitar under his arms, the man can approximate an entire acoustic symphony. His experimental folk-guitar playing especially helped to make a name for him during the '60s, when many people were experimenting with many different things." category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/davy-graham/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Amazing Blondel" description="" category="Art &amp; Progressive Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/amazing-blondel/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Robin Williamson" description="Robin Williamson and Mike Heron formed the core of the Incredible String Band. Since 1977, Williamson has been a prolific solo performer, releasing albums varying in approach from old English airs and Celtic instrumentals to children's songs.
- Chad Driscoll" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/robin-williamson/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Norma Waterson" description="" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/norma-waterson/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Dave Swarbrick" description="Though he started out as a piano player, Swarbrick switched to fiddle and began playing with various folk groups prior to joining seminal British Folk-Rockers Fairport Convention. This Englishman's electric fiddle and songwriting were as integral to the sound of the band as Richard Thompson's guitar and Sandy Denny's vocals. He departed the band in 1979 and began playing quieter, mostly acoustic music, often with folks that were part of the extended Fairport family.
- Tom Heyman" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/dave-swarbrick/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Linda Thompson" description="Partner in crime of Richard Thompson, Linda contributed to his first solo effort, &lt;I&gt;Henry The Human Fly&lt;/I&gt; in 1972, the same year that she married him. A solo debut of her own didn't actually surface until just over ten years later (following a break up with her husband). Although her songs are not too different from the melancholy musings of the late Sandy Denny, Thompson's vocals are defined by off-the-wall speech patterns and exaggeratedly emotional inflections." category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/linda-thompson/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Tyrannosaurus Rex" description="" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/tyrannosaurus-rex/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Show of Hands" description="" category="Progressive Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/show-of-hands/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Bridget St. John" description="" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/bridget-st-john/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Triona Ni Dhomhnaill" description="Respected as a leading singer in the Irish revival of traditional music, Dhomhnaill's inspiring voice sings in Gaelic and English with a sprightly charm. She often accompanies herself on piano or harpsichord.
- Robert Leaver" category="Celtic Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/triona-ni-dhomhnaill/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Voice of the Seven Woods" description="Voice of the Seven Woods is Rick Tomlinson of Manchester, England, who is part of the B-Music collective that also includes Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals, as well as many DJs and visual artists. Though his music shares the same bloodline as British folk royals John Renbourn and Bert Jansch, it is as much influenced by Turkish psychedelic recordings of the 1970s and South Indian raga, with its mystic tilt and droning rhythmic cycles. Tomlinson's guitar work is both contemplative and spirited, austere and complex. He released several limited-edition vinyl records before he made &lt;i&gt;Voice of the Seven Woods&lt;/i&gt; for B-Music in 2007.
- Nate Baker" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/voice-of-the-seven-woods/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Ian Campbell Folk Group" description="British Folk Revival group that was insanely popular in the U.K. back in the '60s. Expect fiddles, harmonized group singing and the faintly Celtic sound of British Folk music.
- Mike McGuirk" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-ian-campbell-folk-group/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Gryphon" description="" category="Art &amp; Progressive Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/gryphon/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Eliza Carthy" description="
- Michele K-Tel" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/eliza-carthy/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Paul Giovanni" description="" category="Film Scores" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/paul-giovanni/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Shirley Collins" description="Popular during Britain's Folk Revival of the 1960s, Shirley Collins is pretty much unknown outside of the United Kingdom. Her otherworldly voice soars like the fabled sirens when she's singing runic inflections over traditional British folk. Collins also dipped deep into Renaissance-inspired music and British Folk Rock. If you can imagine the ghost of the late, great Sandy Denny singing warmly to you when you're under your sheets on a cold night -- that's kind of what Shirley Collins sounds like." category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/shirley-collins/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Emerald Rose" description="Emerald Rose are a Celtic folk band from Georgia. Their mix of traditional and original tunes take a tour of all of Ireland and the British Isles. They prefer raucous dance numbers over brooding ballads.
- Nick Dedina" category="Celtic Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/emerald-rose/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Albion Band" description="" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-albion-band/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Welsh Traditional" description="" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/welsh-traditional/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Ashley Hutchings" description="Ashley Hutchings (a.k.a. &quot;Tyger&quot;) is a British Folk jack-of-all-trades. He's put in time with such seminal acts as the Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, and he has spearheaded almost every incarnation of the Albion Band. Hutchings' controlled voice often comes across as something that channels the spirits of England's folkloric bards and minstrels from the high courts of yore.
- Eric Shea" category="British Folk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/ashley-hutchings/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Starless &amp; Bible Black" description="" category="Indie/Alternative" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/starless-bible-black/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Peggy Seeger" description="Half-sister of folk singer Pete Seeger and widow of famed British singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger is a singer-songwriter and musical scholar who has dedicated her life to singing, playing and preserving British and American folk music. She is also a multi-instrumentalist who plays many stringed instruments as well as concertina. She has a lovely, slightly fragile soprano voice which has graced many recordings in her forty-year career.
- Tom Heyman" category="Folk Revival" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/peggy-seeger/data.opml?rws=%2Ffolk%2Fbritish-folk%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
</body>
</opml>