Various ArtistsAll New Electric Muse: Story Of Folk Into RockReview

In recent times boutique labels such as Harvest, Deram, Vertigo, and the more esoteric offerings from Island and Polydor have all enjoyed a revival of interest thanks to a series of well-produced 3 CD sets. Ideal for the newcomer, they all offer a cross-section of hits, misses, curiosities and forgotten treasure from a time when labels were as open-minded and adventurous as the music that was hitting the desk of the A&R department.

Such collections have focussed mainly upon the morphing of pop and psychedelia into underground and heavy rock, touching upon folk music only in passing. We now have an appreciation of a (roughly) similar period when folk and acoustic-based artists danced, dallied and quite possibly tarried a while with its electric cousins.

Along with the imprints previously mentioned, Transatlantic Records were just as eclectic in what they signed. Alongside comedy, jazz and rock they held a large portion of the folk boom of the early 60s on their books. By combining Transatlantic's roster with that of Island and Decca, many of the key names pushing boundaries and setting standards of exploration and discovery that makes Doctor Livingstone seem like an armchair traveller are ably represented.

Yet this is not only a collection of hot-shot guitarists (step forward Davy Graham, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and John Martyn – all present and correct), the usual suspects when it comes to the folk-rock frame-up (Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and Traffic), or tragic troubadours such as Sandy Denny or Nick Drake.

There's a welcome straying off the well-worn paths to take in a range of acts whose diversity challenges any notion that folk or even folk-rock is just one standardized brand. Thus we get the unruffled purity of Shirley Collins' vocal coupled to the Albion Country Band's tricksy, uneven meters, Bryn Haworth's dazzling Grappenhall Rag (with King Crimson's Gordon Haskell on bass) and shining harmonies rising triumphantly from It's Dark In Here by Dransfield.

Also worthy of closer investigation is Shelagh McDonald whose Dowie Dens Of Yarrow is graced with undulating drums and radiant Hammond organ. McDonald's own story is worthy of a song itself. Recording only two albums in the 1970s, she walked out on a promising career after one bad acid trip too many. Unlike other more famous acid casualties of her generation, hers is a happy ending, turning up recently and writing material again.

If your interest has been piqued by previous box sets such as Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal and A Breath Of Fresh Air, this will reward your attention. On a cautionary note though, contractual difficulties prevent the inclusion of Roy Harper's early 70s visionary synthesis of the genre (a vital part of the folk-rock journey) or the groundbreaking work of Lal and Mike Waterson, June Tabor et al. Nor can it be as comprehensive as Castle Communication's 6 CD New Electric Muse (issued in 1996 and itself based upon 1976’s four-album Electric Muse). Such unavoidable omissions aside though, this is still a must-have collection.