In the relational hurly-burly that was the sixties folk scene, two married couples stand out: Ian & Sylvia and Mimi & Richard Fariña. Both duos released strong LPs for Vanguard Records in the folk era, the cream of which has recently been gathered on two Vanguard Visionaries sets. As with the other Visionaries budget releases, the 10-track discs provide good intros to these influential folkies.
Of the two, Canadian couple Ian Tyson & Sylvia Fricker were arguably the more folky. Their first 1963 Vanguard release was primarily composed of traditional British and Canadian songs, while their own later compositions frequently looked to cowboy and rodeo themes, something that Tyson would more extensively explore in his solo career. An acoustic duo, they were among the first to include a bass (initially, courtesy of Spike Lee's dad, Bill) in their recordings. Though they later would incorporate electric instruments into their records, it's as earnest unplugged folkies that they are best recalled. The 10 tracks in Vanguard Visionaries (with the exception of a cover of "The Mighty Quinn") wisely stick to acoustic tracks, focusing on the couple's appealing harmonies.
As composers, I&S each have their moments of folk greatness: Sylvia's "You Were on My Mind" was a folk-pop hit in the hands of Californians We Five, while Ian's migrant farm-worker song, "Four Strong Winds," is practically the second Canadian national anthem. The duo also had a knack for spotlighting good early work by their fellow Canadians (Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell), in addition to being among the first to cover a Dylan song ("Tomorrow Is A Long Time"). Though their post-Vanguard recordings frequently favored one voice over the other, the early emphasis is on harmonies – a decision that makes a track like the cowgirl's love song, "Some Day Soon" (nailed by Judy Collins on her Who Knows Where the Time Goes album), sound oddly over-balanced if you think about it too much.
The Tysons' American counterparts, Mimi & Richard, had a shorter, though arguably much more interesting, musical lifespan. Cut short by Fariña's death in a 1966 motorcycle accident, the pair only released two albums in his lifetime, followed by a posthumous collection two years later. Comprised primarily of original material composed by Richard, both albums bristle with confidence and wit. If Ian & Sylvia belonged to the heart-on-their-sleeve singer/songwriter school exemplified by Joan Baez, than Mimi (Joan's sib, interestingly enough) & Richard owed their allegiances to the more sardonic class of Dylanesque wordsmiths.
Article comments
1 - Nik
I've never heard any of the Farinas' music but was quite interested in doing so after reading "Positively 4th Street" (excellent book on the early Dylan/Baez/Farina years). Good review!