Various Artists - The Sweet Primeroses (CD)

After a gap of about three years between releases, Shirley Collins returned to recording with the 1967 LP The Sweet Primeroses. While the U.K. folk scene was undergoing some changes at the time, in part due to the influence of folksingers writing their own material and the emergence of folk-rock, those influences aren't felt at all on this set, which remains traditional to the core. Collins' distinctively resonant, slightly smoky/husky voice is accompanied only by her own guitar and banjo, as well as her sister Dolly Collins' portative organ; there are a few a cappella performances as well. Occasionally there are also choral backing vocals provided by the Young Tradition, although that group was not credited on the original release. The tracks on which she's backed by Dolly's organ in particular have a medieval, slightly haunting feel, as if you actually are listening to something being performed several centuries ago, not in the 1960s. Even given that Shirley Collins often performed British folk music of the most traditional sort, the starkness of this particular collection might make it among her less accessible works, at least for those in the process of acquainting themselves with her music. For those who know they like her voice, though, this won't fail to please them. The CD reissue adds four tracks from her 1963 EP Heroes in Love that, despite the four-year gap, are so similar in flavor that you wouldn't suspect they were recorded at a different time, though these feature only banjo accompaniment. ~ Richie Unterberger