Folk
music was booming in various places around the world in the late 1960’s and
early 1970’s, reaching a high peak in its popularity amongst countries such as
America and the United Kingdom. With albums such as Songs of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen, Blue by Joni Mitchell, Pink
Moon by Nick Drake, and Bridge Over
Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel, the genre of folk and folk rock was
gaining the attention of a wide audience of listeners, who reveled in the scene
and made it clear that this time period of music (and its associated artists)
would go down in musical history. One key feature that all artists from this
time period had in common: they were all extremely prolific and (relatively)
consistent in their album releases. This is not the case, however, for one
artist in particular, who only released one album in these glory years of folk
music: that artist is Vashti Bunyan
Vashti is an English artist who,
after the poor sales of her debut album Just
Another Diamond Day, gave up her musical career for a long period of time.
The name Vashti Bunyan is not a name that comes to mind for many when they
typically think of great folk artists, and for a valid reason; with the release
of only one album (that initially was not at all popular), one could hardly be
considered a member of the prominent folk scene. However, it is said that some
artists are remembered more fondly after they have died (or in this case, after
their musical careers have seemingly died), and when Vashti’s debut album was
re-released in 2000, it gained a newfound appreciation and following, with new
listeners starting to catch on to what others had missed in 1970: fantastic
musicianship and composition, and a stunningly heartfelt simplicity and
sincerity meshed together with an overwhelmingly beautiful voice. With this
success of the re-release, Vashti’s musical career was reborn in her newly
found inspiration and confidence, as she went on to release her grossly
underrated folk masterpiece, 2005’s Lookaftering.
Lookaftering is, at face
value, a seemingly simple and traditional female-lead folk album; a strong
effort, yet nothing too special. However, at its heart, the album is filled
with subtle nuances that add layers onto the complexity and beauty of the
album, revealing an album that is able to stand at levels of other folk
classics in musical ability and prominence. Lookaftering
is able to combine elements of traditional guitar- or piano-driven folk with
beautifully arranged baroque-style folk instrumentation and a nostalgic
pastoral feeling. There are distinct similarities between the musical
arrangements of Vashti and folk artist Joanna Newsom, in that both Newsom and
Vashti make use of a multitude of baroque instruments such as oboes, horns, and
clarinets (Newsom even contributed to Lookaftering
via her harp playing). “Turning
Backs” is an excellent example of this “medieval”-like sound that the album
can produce at times, as a gentle oboe whisks the listener away into a pastoral
landscape of a serene valley, or some other natural landscape.
The
entirety of the album also has a very peaceful yet melancholy feel to it,
reminiscent of Nick Drake’s Pink Moon
in its morose tonality and expressiveness. As heard on Pink Moon, Drake’s simple and minimal acoustic-guitar lead approach
can be heard throughout parts of Lookaftering,
such as in “Wayward”,
which has the same gentle yet downhearted sound that Drake is famous for. Nick
Drake and the aforementioned Joanna Newsom are not the only artists that are brought
to mind when listening to Vashti, however; all throughout the album, one cannot
help but notice that Vashti sounds familiarly similar to folk legend Joni
Mitchell in voice alone. Although the voices themselves are similar, the way in
which Vashti expresses her voice is quite unique from that of Mitchell. Vashti’s
voice is much more warbly, airy, and subtle in comparison to Mitchell’s much
stronger and more distinguished vocal qualities. Despite these seeming differences
and seeming downfalls, Vashti’s vocals (paradoxically) contrasts quite nicely
with her pretty and dreamy instrumental arrangements, creating a layer of unique
beauty of their very own.
Despite
becoming a bit of a cult classic in recent times, Vashti’s debut release and its
long-awaited follow-up Lookaftering, still
fail to garnish much attention from the popular media or the public at large. Whether
because folk music hasn’t seen a large booming surge in recent times like it
experienced at the turn of the 1970’s, or for other advertising/commercial
purposes, the delicate genius of Vashti Bunyan remains relatively elusive from
most. Any that appreciate classic (and even contemporary) folk music should,
however, become well-versed in Vashti’s works. Lookaftering is the innocent-sounding, seemingly simple yet exquisitely
arranged album that portrays an idyllic country life while simultaneously making
the listener downtrodden and gloomy in a beautiful, earthly sort of way. Fans
of folk should have this album somewhere in their repertoire, and even the occasional
fan of the genre can get equal amounts of enjoyment out of this underappreciated
album.
-Richard Cory