Search - Various Artists :: Make It Your Sound, Make It Your Scene: Vanguard Records & The 1960s Musical Revolution

Vanguard was one of the most influential record labels of the 1960s and early 70s, founded in 1950 by Seymour and Maynard Solomon. It established itself releasing some of the very best recordings in the jazz, classical and folk fields. It captured the fledgling folk revival scene as it emerged in the late 1950s, releasing albums by such leading folk figures as Joan Baez, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Richard & Mimi Fariña, Ian & Sylvia, the Weavers, the Rooftop Singers, John Fahey, Odetta, Jerry Jeff Walker, Doc Watson, Hedy West, Patrick Sky and Eric Andersen. It also issued LPs by blues artists Big Mama Thornton, Buddy Guy, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt and Junior Wells among others. As the hippie era and progressive trends developed Country Joe & The Fish, Circus Maximus, Sandy Bull, the Serpent Power and the Frost were signed.From the late 1950s onwards, Vanguard recorded and released music from the annual Newport Folk Festivals. The albums based upon the festivals introduced audiences to a wide selection of musical styles not usually heard in the mainstream, including old timey, Appalachian ballads, electric blues and cajun music. They were some of the first to introduce the concept of the music festival and jazz, blues and folk festivals followed in their wake. Included in this box set are a selection of these ground-breaking Newport Festival performances, sometimes by acts signed to labels other than Vanguard. Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, the Swan Silvertones, Koerner Ray & Glover, Dave Van Ronk, the Stanley Brothers, Tom Paxton, Jesse Fuller are among the artists included who recorded at the Festivals.Make It Your Sound, Make It Your Scene examines how Vanguard mirrored all of these musical styles and social changes during the 1960s musical revolution. It also relates how it felt to be a British fan of the label: the initially hard-to-find imports, the later licensing deals with Top Rank and Fontana, and, finally, domestic releases on a proper Vanguard Records UK imprint.The box comprises 4 CDs with 83 tracks. There is an introduction by acclaimed writer Sam Charters (The Country Blues) and record producer (of Country Joe & The Fish, the Frost, Lightnin' Hopkins and the Chicago/The Blues Today! series).The booklet accompanying the box set contains many outstanding images including not only album artwork but numerous 60s ads, magazines covers, sales flyers and band photos, many previously unseen or not seen for 40+ years. There is a previously unreleased-on-CD Bob Dylan Newport performance of North Country Blues and also a rare instrumental, orchestral version of Janis (Country Joe's song for Janis Joplin), only available previously as the B-side of a very hard-to-find 45rpm Vanguard single.