Mellow Candle

Mellow Candle – Singles (1968-72)
Vinyl | LOG | CUE | FLAC | Tags | Full LP Cover (1:1) | 24bit/96kHz: 291mb
Genre: Progressive-Folk | Label: Rise Above Relics / RARLP007 | Release: 2011

“Arguably the best Acid Folk/Folk Rock’ album ever recorded, 1972’s Swaddling Songs has gone on to be one of the most sought-after records in collecting history.
Presented here as the ULTIMATE band authorised/licensed edition, it includes a fully restored deluxe pressing of the original album, plus two replica’s of the bands ultra rare 7″ singles, including the near mythical Dan The Wing picture sleeve and the 1968 debut Feeling High. Also includes a full sized 12-page booklet featuring many unseen photo’s with new updated sleevenotes by David Wells.
PLUS the bonus 14 track Demos’s & Early Works album!!!”
Rise Above Relics Records

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Mellow Candle – Swaddling Songs (1972)
Vinyl rip @ 24/96 | FLAC | Artwork | 913mb
Folk-Rock | 2004 UK re-issue, white label – test pressing | Acme ADLP1040

Filled with multi-layered harmonies and complex arrangements, this, unfortunately overlooked, album of beautiful, flowing, and wonderfully recorded Irish folk-rock (originally released in 1972) has been a favourite of record collectors for years. Luckily, the strength of the music holds up beyond its scarcity.
Not merely electric updates of lost traditional numbers, the album works because it establishes a voice and a sound that is truly compelling. The arrangements range from the zigzagging light progressive bent of the opener, “Heaven Heath,” to the more storming tempo changes of “Dan the Wing.” Strewn across the record is some truly remarkable guitar work, with the blanks filled in with lush violin and piano fills. The high-toned, occasionally strained interplay of Alison Williams and Clodagh Simonds may not always reach the notes as they ought to be reached (this rings especially true on the bombastic “The Poet and the Witch,” an otherwise fine song), but their voices have their own peaceful rewards. The vocals see most of their limitations during the more up-tempo numbers — which is fine, seeing that this record is able to soar on the quieter moments. On “Silversong” (the one track that was actually released as a single with “Dan the Wing” during Mellow Candle’s short tenure at Decca’s Deram Records offshoot), the band falls into a mid-paced ethereal haze, within which it finds its strongest points. Gliding guitars and equally haunted vocals wrap around each other in a fog of vaguely mystical lyrics. The crystal clear recording and the lack of reliance on overly fantastical lyrics make Swaddling Songs sound remarkably current. Anyone who is able to track down the CD or LP reissue will be more than pleased with this lost treasure. Jon Pruett, allmusic.

Please note: this Acme white-label, test-pressing, came without a cover. I have photographed the cover of a late 80s counterfeit copy also in my collection.

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