Earsdon Sword Dance Song’ is the original that Steeleye Span morphed into their quite familiar ‘A Calling On Song’. We thought – my generation of musicians – that we'd all get old and grey and there'd be nobody left. And then all this new generation of young musicians came up, and we all said, 'Thank God.' So if people say traditional music has got to be like that, or like that, then you're going to freeze it. You may as well put something in a museum or bury it in the ground in a time capsule and dig it up so many years later to see what it was like then. You can't do that with tradition. You have to hope each generation brings their own thing to it, so it keeps going forever." Original members were Norma, Mike, and Lal Waterson, with their cousin John Harrison from Kingston High School. They had a skiffle band in the early 1960s but moved on to playing more traditional material. They were briefly known as "The Folksons". On October 28th, a new generation gets the chance to fall under its spell as a fresh edition appears on Topic Records. The vinyl edition has been re-cut 45 rpm for optimal sound quality, and the sleeve is a replica of the original (with minor adaptations for 2022), including the original sleevenotes by legendary folklorist, A.L. Lloyd.

The Watersons: Mighty River of Song Sound, Sound Your Instruments of Joy The Watersons: Sound, Sound Your Instruments of Joy; Pareles, Jon; New York Times News Service (10 December 1987). "A NEW VOICE FOR AN OLD TRADITION". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 6 January 2022.Norma’s family band, the Watersons, helped to spearhead the folk revival in the 1960s, playing London’s Royal Albert Hall and touring across the UK. She managed them, prioritising the values of real life above any professional commitments: one week of gigs were always followed by a week off so they could practise together, read books, and spend plenty of time with their children. Her younger sister Lal, brother Mike and she were its core, and they sang together as they had ever since they were children (they were brought up by their grandmother, from a Gypsy family, after their parents died young). Their voices had a bone-jolting beauty together: the title of their first album, Frost and Fire, conveyed their elemental power, as did the ballads they chose to sing on it. The Watersons: Early Days All I Have Is My Own (The Brisk Lad) Mike Waterson on The Watersons: Mighty River of Song Altisidora Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight: Once in a Blue Moon Amazing Grace The Watersons on Peter Bellamy: Both Sides Then; The Watersons: Mighty River of Song Wilson’s Arms Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight: Once in a Blue Moon;

The sisters also became good friends with Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Gift is dedicated to Kate, who died earlier this year. McGarrigle's death has affected Waterson profoundly. "When you lose a member of your family who is your singing partner, as well as your best friend and sister …" She shakes her head. "It's irreplaceable." Norma Waterson on Folk Festival Sidmouth There Are No Lights on Our Christmas Tree The Watersons: Mighty River of Song There Is a Fountain of Christ’s Blood Norma Waterson: Norma Waterson Thirty-Foot Trailer, The The Watersons: Travelling for a Living; The Watersons: The Definitive Collection Man in Need The Watersons on Richard & Linda Thompson: Shoot Out the Lights Man o’ War, The Mike Waterson: Mike Waterson; Blue Murder: No One Stands Alone Rumpsy Bumpsy Mike Waterson on From the Humber to the Tweed Rumpsy Bumpsy Toralee Mike Waterson on The Watersons: Mighty River of Song Run to Catch a Kiss Marry Waterson & Oliver Knight: The Days That Shaped Me With a fitting dramatic flourish, the album ends, as it began, with yet another ‘Wassail Song’. Indeed, everything—especially melodic magic—is always in search of the very circulus nature of the fallen Maypole Eden.Mike Waterson on The Watersons: Mighty River of Song Three Maids A-Milking Norma Waterson: Bright Shiny Morning Three Pretty Maidens The Watersons: Green Fields; The Watersons on Peter Bellamy: Wake the Vaulted Echoes Long Vacation Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight: A Bed of Roses; What’s New for the 26th of November: Music we’re thankful for; fairy tales and myths; a graphic novel about a pandemic; an Old Hag, a Piglet, Canadian television, and hot chocolate! Briefly reissued on CD in 2000. Remastered & reissued with a bonus disc of demos in 2017 by Domino Recording Company Ltd.

Seasons of anxiety, seasons of joy. The common people had their rites of propitiation and triumph, older than the rituals of the Church and closer bound to their daily lives. This record takes us through a year's calendar, displaying songs that accompanied these ceremonies, season by season.

Hear the latest Zchivago' Disco Dystopia HERE!

What’s New for the 1st of the October: Horror, time travel, murder and fantasy, and comics journalism; personal Scandinavian jazz, ancient Persian songs, bluegrass, Americana, and a podcast; Johnny Cash on TV; chocolate and empanadas And speaking of resurrection, rebirthed record collectors take note: This Frost And Fire gets a timely revisit with Topic Records issuing the vinyl pressing at 45rpm “ for optimum sound quality”.