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Peter Bellamy "Wake the Vaulted Echoes" [3CD]

A remarkable three-disc set Wake the Vaulted Echoes encompasses the entire career of British folk legend Peter Bellamy. From his days with Heather Wood and Royston Wood in the seminal late-'60s British folk vocal trio the Young Tradition, Bellamy was both a passionate historian and collector of folk music and an iconoclastic individualist interested in more than simply embalming dead traditions. Although he performed in a strictly traditional acoustic folk style, and most often sang unaccompanied, Bellamy's passion for finding new contexts for old songs in modern life undoubtedly inspired such electrified followers as Steeleye Span and Cordelia's Dad. Wake the Vaulted Echoes contains a treasure trove of previously unreleased material, including a transcription of a disc Bellamy made at one of those "Make Your Own Recording" booths in 1964, at the age of 20. However, this is not one of those sets that's impossible for anyone but devoted fans to get into. The previously unreleased material is mixed with a definitive selection of Bellamy highlights covering the Young Tradition, his other collaborations, and solo material, including several of his famous musical settings of poems by Rudyard Kipling, making this an excellent introduction to one of the most important figures in British folk music for even the newest of newbies. The absorbing 72-page booklet puts each recording and Bellamy's short life into historical context, as well as providing many revealing glimpses into the man himself. Truly, this is an essential listen for anyone with the slightest interest in British folk music. And yes, "A Chat With Your Mother," a novelty song that grew so associated with Bellamy he eventually refused to perform it anymore, is included, in a previously unreleased tape that appears to be the very first time Bellamy ever performed the song in public. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide