Diamond Day - Vashti Bunyan (1970)
When you record an album featuring members of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span with Joe Boyd helming the production chair in 1970, you know before hearing it that you are dealing with a classic. Oddly enough, it took until the turn of the millennium and a cd re-release before the world- at- large knew anything about this marvelous work. Vashti Bunyan was less than a footnote in music history, having popped up on Andrew Loog Oldham's radar as well as Mr. Boyd's for the briefest of seconds. The album was forgotten, but it had staying power. It became a sought after collector's item, regarded as one of the archetypes of the psych folk movement that began to flourish with Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom and Vetiver. It is clear to see why. Every song on this disc sweeps you away to the countryside of the UK, with rivers, grub worms and various sundry characters that calm, inspire and confound. This is thought provoking music of the airiest variety. Vashti has since come out of hiding in the wake of the reissue's success, releasing her first new album in over 30 years, as well as an acclaimed EP with Animal Collective. Let us hope she never disappears again. Sometimes soothing music is all you need, and you will find none more worthy of that description than Ms. Bunyan's.
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