Fraser & Debolt

Here’s a blast from my past! During college my friends and I discovered an obscure Canadian folk album called Fraser & DeBolt. It was quickly apparent that this music was like nothing we had ever heard before. It was stylisticly original, spontaneous, dissonent, and emotionally appealing on many levels. Released in 1971, it became one of the most important albums no one has ever heard of. These reviews and liner notes are worth a read. [I hadn’t made the connection until now, but it also anticipated another favorite of mine, The Trinity Session by the Cowboy Junkies (also Canadian BTW).]

Update: Unfortunately the mp3 files posted on the F&D site back in 2007 are gone. I found their cover of the Beatles’ Don’t Let Me Down, which gives you some of the flavor. [Song begins at 1:20 into the clip after a long intro.] There is also a reissue on CD (but read the comments for some concerns). Listen to these thirty second clips to get a good overview of the album. Daisy DeBolt continues to perform and record new music. “Eclectic” only begins to describe it! I prefer the earlier titles I Can and Soulstalking.

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