Search - Shelagh Mcdonald :: Let No Man Steal Your Thyme: Anthology

Mystery Now Solved

Remaster Bob | Hong Kong, China SAR Hong Kong | 03/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great and comprehensive collection of the folk music of a little-know Scottish singer who released two albums (both covered here - the second quite superb) in the early seventies and then disappeared for the next thirty three years.



Heavily influenced by the great Joni Mitchell with a twist of Joan Baez, but also with an British sensitivity more popularly found in Sandy Denny and Nick Drake, Shelagh was developing so rapidly between her first and second albums that she has to join the great line of "what if?" artists who showed so much promised but were then silenced one way or another.



Shelagh was another drug casualty. However instead of meeting her demise she fled back north to Scotland after a bad acid trip in London left her hallucinating for three weeks and with a voice that sounded "like a cat being strangled". She cut all contacts with her associates. "Suddenly, I had to get out. My disappearance wasn't at all conscious. It was a coping mechanism: self-preservation." Thereafter she led an anonymous urban life from home, followed by years of living rough in a tent with her partner, crossing the highlands and islands of Scotland and staying close to nature. "I love the lifestyle" claimed Shelagh last year.



For the mystery was finally solved in 2005 after a Scottish newspaper, The Scottish Daily Mail, printed an article on the mystery folk singer prompting Shelagh herself to appear out of nowhere "to let everyone know I'm safe and well" and to give us the second half of the story. For full details check out: www.btinternet.com/~blackvelvet/ if the page is still there. Anyway a bucket of royalties awaited her (perhaps of no interest) and she reported that she is writing songs and enjoying music again, voice restored.



Msytery solved. Happy ending? Hopefully the lady herself, now 57, truly has been happy in her wanderings. We will still never know what riches of glorious singing we have missed, whatever may happen now. So get a hold of this excellent and (I understand) complete collection of her recorded work. The second disc has the whole of "Stargazer" which would be the price on it's own. Some great music here. Do what I did - take a chance. No regrets - it has been played frequently for many weeks now.



Good sound quality too, on this 2005 release from Castle Records."

Anne Briggs, Jacqui, Sandy ... and Shelagh McDonald

The Highgate Highwayman | London, England | 04/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I hate to introduce a personal element, but halfway through track three I was fighting back tears, to hear this lovely, lost voice from 35 years ago.

She seemed to have all the gifts: a dark-haired Scottish beauty with the voice of an angel, and real skill on acoustic guitar and piano. Like her contemporaries Duncan Browne and Nick Drake, Shelagh's songs are at once innocent and knowing; they beguile the listener, disarm the cynic.

The story of her brief, sad sojourn in music does not bear repeating here, but with hindsight there is a tremendous poignancy in these tales of young women adrift in London.

True, a debt to Joni Mitchell looms large behind some of the songs, but that's no disgrace; Mitchell influenced numerous artists of the time, including Fairport Convention.

A large contingent of the British folk brigade can be heard herein, but their contributions enhance rather than overwhelm. There are some seriously heavy players, yet McDonald is equal to the challenge. Listen to the way her piano locks in with Richard Thompson's ringing guitar at the end of Odyssey.

Likewise, on The Dowie Dens Of Yarrow, Fotheringay bassist Pat Donaldson, Mighty Baby's Ian Whiteman on organ and Fairport drummer Dave Mattacks lay down a mesmerising groove, but it is Shelagh's voice that tears the heart in two. If nothing else, you should at least hear this awesome piece of music.

Thank God for this collection, because it lifts Shelagh McDonald to the place where she belongs: in the pantheon of great British female folk singers."

Undeserving obscurity for a fantastic singer

J. R. P. Wigman | Netherlands | 09/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For years I've been gathering folk(rock) records, and I just can't believe I missed Shelagh McDonald's work completely. Quite rightly singers like Sandy Denny have worn the folk crown, but Shelagh McDonald surely belongs to that select group of folk royalty.



This anthology consists of the 2 official albums Shelagh McDonald has released plus some demo's, live performances and tracks that were left off the albums.



The 2 songs that start the anthology are early live tracks, and show a clear American folk influence. Then "Mirage", the first track of "The Shelagh McDonald Album" follows and on hearing that I was hooked. In fact, I love the whole of that album and especially Shelagh's own songs, although Robert Kirby's arrangements (famous for working with Nick Drake) are a bit on the sumptuous side. Shelagh knows how to rock as well as is evidenced by "Jesus is just alright" which was left off the album as it was deemed too different from the rest.



The second cd of this collection is even better, as almost all songs are by Shelagh, with the notable exception of the trad song "Dowie Dens of Yarrow", which is truly glorious - I've never heard a better version. "Baby go slow", with backing vocals by Mac and Katie Kissoon might have entered the pop charts without compromise, and all remaining songs are very strong, most particularly "Stargazer" and "Odyssey".



As has been written elsewhere, miss McDonald has been "missing" since the release of her second album, returning to Scotland and never heard of again. Funnily enough, one could almost hear her departure coming in some of her lyrics ("Liz's song", "City's cry"), be they autobiographical or no. She may have led a happy life since, but it is a sad loss for folk music lovers! I certainly have joined that wondering crowd that has been touched by the magic of her voice and music.

"