Weekend Beatnik

Dembo Konte, Kausu Kuyateh and The Jali Roll Orchestra - Jali Roll +1 - $16.99
(cdRoots# wb-jaliroll)
Gambia's Dembo Konte and Senegal's Kausu Kuyateh are joined by various Mustaphas and friends for a roaring experiment in Brit roots and west African soul. Completely unique stuff!

Maggie Holland - Bones - $15.99
(cdRoots# wb-bones)
Beyond the bands from which she emerged, singer, guitarist, banjo and bass player Maggie Holland's solo career has spanned from the National Theatre's Mysteries in the '80s to BBC4TV/The Barbican's Folk Britannia in 2006. Some of her supremely crafted original songs like A Place Called England, Perfumes Of Arabia and A Proper Sort Of Gardener have been recorded by folk luminaries like June Tabor and Martin Carthy but she's equally adept at hand-picking and re-interpreting works by others, from the well-known to the obscure. Bones – attractively Digi-packed with extensive notes by journalist/author Colin Irwin and Maggie herself – includes eight of her best-known original songs and two traditionals plus others by Billy Bragg, Bruce Cockburn, Tymon Dogg, Bob Dylan, Dave Evans, Robb Johnson, Peter Rowan, Chris Smither, John Tams, Richard Thompson and many more. It's a maxi-length 'best of' selection from her albums made between 1983 and 1991, plus a few previously unreleased tracks and a new recording of her BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winning song "A Place Called England." The majority are on CD for the first time.

Various Artists - Ghosts from the Basement - $15.99
(cdRoots# wb-ghosts)
lost songs, dreams and folkedelica from the vaults of Village Thing, 1970-74 - Subtitled 'the alternative folk label', Village Thing Records released two dozen albums and a few singles between 1970 and 1974. With strong national press and radio support, the label prospered with a unique and hard-to-pin-down mix of established names and newcomers, original singer/ songwriter/ guitarists, a few visiting Americans, and folk entertainers. Over the years, many of Village Thing's releases have gained cult status amongst collectors of '70s 'psych folk', often changing hands for high prices and now enjoying a big revival of interest. This 20-track compilation to mark the label's 40th anniversary is superbly remastered and comes in an environmentally friendly pack full of lots of old photos and detailed notes. It concentrates on the 'contemporary folk' core of Village Thing's output and includes many items on CD in the UK for the first time or never previously released. Featured are Wizz Jones, Derroll Adams, A

Dembo Konte and Kausu Kuyateh - Kairaba Jabi - $15.99
(cdRoots# wb-jabi)
Gambia's Dembo Konte and Senegal's Kausu Kuyateh have been acclaimed throughout the world for their approach to the traditional kora music of west Africa. 76+ minutes of the best, some on CD for the first time.

Ian A. Anderson - The Time is Ripe - $15.99
(cdRoots# wb-ripe)
rare psych folk from the Village Thing years 1970-73 - Following the release of his debut LP in 1969, country blues singer/guitarist Ian A. Anderson took a sudden left swerve into what now gets called psych folk or acid folk. Between 1970 and 1972 he released three albums on the now cult 'alternative folk' label Village Thing – the acoustic Royal York Crescent which showcased his interplay with guitarist Ian Hunt with whom he appeared at the first Glastonbury Festival; the folk/rock oriented A Vulture Is Not A Bird You Can Trust, recorded with a band including drummer Pick Withers, soon to be in at the start of Dire Straits; and Singer Sleeps On As Blaze Rages with steel guitarist Mike Cooper's Machine Gun Company and some meaty forays onto 12-string guitar. With 2010 marking the 40th anniversary of Village Thing, a new generation seeking out the alt.folk music of the '60s and '70s, a spate of books on the music and the era, and old vinyl copies of Village Thing albums being highly valued by collector

Abdul Tee-Jay - Rokoto Make Me Dance-Dance - $17.99
(cdRoots# wb-tj)
A dozen tracks from the three albums, a selection of upbeat Sierra-Leonian dance music, led by the long-reigning king of modern African guitar in the UK.

The English Country Blues Band - Unruly - $17.99
(cdRoots# wb-unruly)
These tracks from their two albums and one single feature the core trio of Maggie Holland, Rod Stradling and Ian Anderson, regular members Chris Coe, Sue Harris and John Maxwell, and guests including Nic Jones, John Kirkpatrick, Dave Peabody and Danny Stradling. Special additonal song by Bob Copper.

Hot Vultures - Vulturama - $17.99
(cdRoots# wb-vultures)
Ian Anderson and Maggie Holland offer a uniquely English approach to blues, old-time country and a few choice modern songs assisted by Martin Simpson, Dave Peabody, Simon Mayor, Hilary James, Mike Cooper, Pete Coe, Chris Coe, Al Jones and more.