Description
First inspired by ancient folk blues records, Ian A Anderson (no, he is NOT that Ian Anderson) was caught up in the late 1960s blues boom, mentored by Alexis Korner and supported by radio DJs like John Peel. Following a series of indie-label EPs his first proper album Stereo Death Breakdown came out on Liberty/UA in 1969. But, performing regularly in key venues like London’s celebrated Les Cousins and the Bristol Troubadour, he took a sideways swerve into what now gets called ‘psych folk’. He released 4 solo albums of original songs and tunes, 3 of them on Bristol’s legendary Village Thing label and appeared at the very first Glastonbury festival.
So let’s look at the discs in this set:
First issued in 1969, ‘Stereo Death Breakdown’ was credited to Ian Anderson’s Country Blues Band, a moniker which hinted at the music therein.
The self-produced ‘Royal York Crescent’ (1970) album was Ian’s first on his new Village Thing label.
Recorded at Rockfield Studios, ‘A Vulture Is Not A Bird You Can Trust’ (1971) is now swelled with a quartet of additional sides, again from a studio tenure in Chapel Studios back in 1969. Further developments in this album, with more vibrant, fluid arrangements and varied, still with the essence of blues roots at their roots. The fourth and final disc is devoted to Ian’s final Village Thing album, ‘Singer Sleeps On As Blaze Rages’ (1972) plus four extra songs,
