Various Artists

Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain’s Visionary Music, Universal ****

The 1960s was the golden age of folk music. While Laurel Canyon hippies chased dreams and confronted nightmares via literate songwriting, England's folk tradition was upended by musical experimentation with psychedelia, jazz and ethnic musics. This two-CD package based on Rob Young's masterful and evocative book, Electric Eden, uncovers many gems that went on to influence 1970s/ 1980s/1990s acts. Highlights are abundant, but perhaps the pick of the bunch is Fairport Convention's lengthy A Sailor's Life, which unquestionably influenced Television's Marquee Moon. No Roy Harper or Davey Graham? The inclusion of David Bowie? Inconsistencies for sure, but folking brilliant nonetheless. electriceden.net

Download tracks: Fairport Convention, A Sailor's Life; Tim Hart Maddy Prior, False Knight on the Road; Nick Drake, Voices