Artist: Sylvia Tyson Release: The Very Best of Sylvia Tyson Date: 2001 Label: Varese Sarabande Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
1. You Were on My Mind 2. I Walk These Rails 3. River Road 4. Pepere’s Mill – (with Lucille Star) 5. Driftwood 6. Gypsy Cadillac 7. Sound of One Heart Breaking, The 8. Denim Blue Eyes 9. Walking on the Moon 10. Night the Chinese Restaurant Burned Down, The
11. Diamond Love 12. Spring of ’45 – (with Quartette) 13. Bitter Pride 14. So Quiet Now 15. Sleep on My Shoulder 16. Blind Fiddler’s Waltz, The 17. Last Call 18. Sentinel Crow – (with Quartette)
Album notes
Personnel includes: Sylvia Tyson (vocals, autoharp, tambourine); Albert Lee (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin); Andrew Hardin (acoustic & electric guitars, percussion); Rick Whitlaw (acoustic & electric guitars); Danny Greenspan (acoustic guitar, dobro); Nathan Tinkham (acoustic guitar); Fats Kaplan (pedal steel guitar, dobro, fiddle, accordion); Mike Holder (pedal steel guitar); Don Rooke (dobro); Dan Whiteley (mandolin); Oliver Schroer (fiddle); Chris Whiteley (harmonica); Gary Breit (piano, keyboards); John Sheard (piano, synthesizer); Victor Bateman (acoustic & electric basses); Denis Pendrith (bass); Bucky Berger (drums, percussion, tambourine); Randall Coryell (percussion); Colleen Peterson (background vocals).
Producers include: Sylvia Tyson, Tom Russell, Danny Greenspoon.
Compilation producers: Cary E. Marshall, Saul Davis, Sylvia Tyson.
Includes liner notes by Bill DeYoung.
Digitally remastered by Dan Hersch (DigiPrep, Hollywood, California).
Listen or buy here.
Artist: Ian And Sylvia Release: Full Circle Date: 1969 Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
Ian and Sylvia originally traveled to Nashville in 1968 with the intention of recording with some of the best session musicians that could be found in one place. Whether acoustic or electrified, Music City has always been notable for the quantity of talented musicians that make Greater Nashville their home. Not surprisingly considering their own rural roots, Ian and Sylvia quickly became caught up in the new sounds coming out of north-central Tennessee. The “Nashville Sound” itself—characterized by a heavy use of “strings” as backup—permeated commercial country music during the 1960s, one of its chief promoters being RCA-producer Chet Atkins. While finishing up their recording commitment to Vanguard with 1968’s country-jazz fusion entitled Nashville, Ian and Sylvia incorporated some of these country influences into a new stage show, put together a country band dubbed the Great Speckled Bird, and began touring in 1969. The two albums they would later record for Capitol—Full Circle and Ian and Sylvia—each showcased the duo’s avant garde country western repertoire.
Artist: Ian And Sylvia Release: Nashville Date: 1968 Genre: Folk Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
Tracks: 1. Mighty Quinn
2. Wheels On Fire
3. Farewell To The North
4. Taking Care Of Business
5. Southern Comfort
6. Ballad Of The Ugly Man
7. Ninety Degrees X Ninety Degrees
8. She’Ll Be Gone
9. London Life
10. Renegade
11. House Of Cards _ * Watch the album preview below.
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Recorded in Nashville in 1968, and released the same year on Vanguard, this album from the Canadian folk duo Ian & Sylvia Tyson includes a cover of the Danko/Dylan classic “This Wheel’s on Fire”. Their version is also available on CD, e.g. on the 2002 compilation IAn & Sylvia: The Complete Vanguard Recordings (Vanguard 4VCD 196).
Sylvia Fricker was born on September 19, 1940, in Chatham, Ontario. Her mother was a music teacher and the organist and choir leader in their church; her father was employed in the appliance section of a large department shore. after graduating from high school, she worked for a jeweler in her hometown but, unhappy with the direction her life was taking, began venturing up to Toronto on weekends. She had always enjoyed music, particularly the folk idiom, so she decided to pursue a career as a professional singer. After a year of traveling back and forth to Toronto, she quit her job and moved. She first met Ian while both were performing at a local spot called the Village Corner Club. They formed their music partnership early in 1959 and, in 1964, their personal lives were joined by marriage.
Despite their production of five more albums in the next few years, Ian & Sylvia were uncertain in which direction to take their music. After deciding to utilize Nashville’s top-notch musicians by recording in Music City, they realized their commitment to country music — which came as no great surprise, for their musical roots were in country. Although some “people really got uptight,” explains Tyson, “when we made the transition to country music,” they have never regretted their choice. Out of the Nashville venture came another album for Vanguard, a subsequent LP on the MGM label, and the formation of a country band called the Great Speckled Bird.
(musicamericana.com)
Artist: Ian And Sylvia Release: So Much For Dreaming Date:1966 Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
Line Up: Ian Tyson (vocals, guitar, autoharp) Sylvia(vocals) David Rae(guitar) Robert Bushnell (electric bass) Al Rogers(drums).
Songs: 01 – circle game 02 – so much for dreaming 03 – wild geese 04 – child apart 05 – summer wages 06 – hold tight 07 – cutty wren 08 – si les bateaux 09 – catfish blues 10 – come all ye fair and tender ladies 11 – january morning 12 – grey morning
Ian Sylvia’s adjustment to folk-rock was sometimes fine, sometimes awkward, and this was another inconsistent, though generally worthwhile, effort. Highlights include “Circle Game,” one of the very first recorded covers of a Joni Mitchell composition. Tyson’s “Wild Geese” and “Child Apart” count as some of their better unheralded tunes, and the occasional muted orchestration worked well on “Circle Game” and the melancholy title track. On the other hand, the attempts at blues were abominable, the traditional ballads anachronistic, and some of the material (especially Fricker’s) undistinguished. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide.
In the mid-1960s Ian and Sylvia began to move away from traditional folk toward an early synthesis of country music and rock. In place of guitar accompaniment (which had been supplied in turn by Monte Dunn, David Rea, and others) they formed a full band, the Great Speckled Bird, in 1968; the debut LP Great Speckled Bird is considered a classic of the country-rock genre. The change in style initially met with mixed if not hostile reaction but brought Ian and Sylvia before a broader audience – in 1970, for example, they appeared at the Atlanta Pop Festival and as part of the Festival Express, a rock festival that crossed Canada by train, stopping in several cities. They also performed at Expo 70 in Japan. (The Canadian Encyclopedia). _ *Watch the album preview below.
Artist: Ian And Sylvia Release: Play One More Date: 1966 Label: Vanguard Records Genre: Folk/Country Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
“…one of Ian & Sylvia’s best… some great original songs [and] some strong cover versions of equally powerful folk and country tunes…”
Ian Tyson (vocals, guitar); Sylvia Fricker (vocals). Additional personnel: Eric Weissberg (guitar, banjo); Rick Turner (guitar); Paul Griffin (organ); Felix Pappalardi (bass).
Songs: 1. Short Grass 2. French Girl 3. When I Was A Cowboy 4. Changes 5. Gifts Are For Giving 6. Molly And Tenbrooks 7. Hey, What About Me 8. Lonely Girls 9. Satisfied 10. Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa 11. Friends Of Mine 12. Play One More _ *Watch the album preview below.
Artist: Ian And Sylvia Release: Early Mornin’ Rain Date: 1965 Label: Vanguard Records Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
Their fourth album, Early Morning Rain, consisted in large part of contemporary compositions. They introduced the work of fellow Canadian songwriter and performer Gordon Lightfoot through the title song as well a cover version of “For Loving Me”. They also covered “Darcy Farrow” by Steve Gillette and Tom Campbell, being the first artists to cover these three songs. Additionally, they recorded a number of their own compositions.
Tracks:
1. Come In Stranger
2. Early Morning Rain
3. Nancy Whiskey
4. Awake Ye Drousy Sleepers
5. Marlborough Street Blues
6. Darcy Farrow
7. Travelling Drummer
8. Maude’s Bluese
9. Red Velvet
10. I’Ll Bid My Heart Be Stil
11. For Lovin’ Mee
12. Song For Canada
Artist: Ian And Sylvia Release: Four Strong Winds Date: 1964 Genre: Folk Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
Songs: 1. Jesus Met the Woman at the Well 2. Tomorrow Is a Long Time 3.Katy Dear 4.Poor Lazarus 5.Four Strong Winds 6. Ella Speed 7. Long Lonesome Road 8. V’la L’Bon Vent 9. Royal Canal 10. Lady of Carlisle 11.Spanish Is a Loving Tongue 12.Greenwood Sidie, The (The Cruel Mother) 13.Every Night When the Sun Goes Down 14. Every Time I Feel the Spirit
Artist: Ian And Sylvia Release: Ian And Sylvia Date:1962 Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
Tracks: 01. rocks and gravel 02. old blue 03. c.c. rider 04. un canadien errant 05. handsome molly 06. mary anne 07. pride of petrovar 08. makes a long time man feel bad 09. rambler gambler 10. down by the willow garden 11. got no more home than a dog 12. when first unto this country 13. live a-humble _ *Watch/listen to the preview below.
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Ian Sylvia’s debut album is their most standard affair, and indeed a fairly typical contemporary folk recording, with such traditional warhorses as “Rocks and Gravel” (also recorded, but not released, by Dylan during the same time), “C.C. Rider,” and “Handsome Molly.” What made the pair immediately distinctive was their superb vocal dueting, which was definitely a case of the sum being greater than its parts. Blended together, they canceled each other’s weaknesses and gave the material great freshness and vigor. Ian’s guitar and Sylvia’s autoharp are backed by stellar playing from guitarist John Herald and string bassists Bill Lee (director Spike Lee’s father) and Art Davis. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
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Ian & Sylvia were Canada’s first folk act to command a large international following from their humble beginnings in the 1950’s. After a hospital stay from his career in professional rodeos, Ian had time to learn guitar. He became a regular performer at the Heidelberg Cafe in Vancouver, British Columbia starting in 1956. He would later move on as guitarist for Jerry Fyander And The Seasonal Stripes before relocating to Toronto in 1959 and hooking up with actor/singer Don Francks, and later, future wife Sylvia Fricker.
Sylvia had grown up in Chatham, Ontario and eventually headed to Toronto to pursue her life ambition as a folk singer. By late 1959 Ian & Sylvia had teamed up as musical collaborators/performers and played at the Mariposa Folk Festival for the first time in 1961.
From there they would go on to folk clubs in New York where they met Albert Grossman (Bob Dylan’s manager) who would send them through the Catskills Circuit, Chicago and Detroit. He eventually became their manager and landed them a with US based Vanguard Records. Their debut album from 1962, ‘Ian & Sylvia’, did nothing if not make them a fixture of the early 60’s folk boom.
The duo continued their remarkable rise in popularity and were inspired by the success of Dylan. Ian managed to write what would become one of the most famous of all folk songs, “Four Strong Winds”, after hearing Dylan do “Blowin’ In The Wind” in 1964. The duo were married the same year and continued working the college circuit.
Though not hits for the duo, both “Four Strong Winds” and Sylvia’s first composition ever, “You Were On My Mind”, were successes for Bobby Bare (1964) and the We Five (1965)/Crispen St. Peter (1966) respectively. The duo returned to Canada in 1964 and they had a son, Clay. Later, Sylvia would develop some throat problems leaving Ian to perform solo to make ends meet.
‘Play One More’, from early 1966, seemed like a cookie cutter collection of songs to fill the need for the public to consume more folk. That same year they released a second, ‘So Much For Dreaming’, which was a turn towards the pop mainstream with a few folk tunes thrown in.
Moving to MGM Records in 1967 they put out ‘The Lovin’ Sound’ before being informed by Vanguard that they owed that label one more album. Contractually obligated, Ian & Sylvia delivered 1969’s ‘Full Circle’ to Vanguard before resuming their new relationship with MGM for the ‘Nashville’ album.
By then their folk approach had almost completely been buried and a distinct country style had taken its place. As a means to explore this and other musical genres, the duo formed a free-form country-jazz instrumental experiment called The Great Speckled Bird which featured some of the hottest session players in the business – David Wilcox (guitar); Ben Keith (steel guitar), Jeff Gutcheon (piano), Jim Colegrove (bass) and N.D. Smart (drums).
The public reaction was scornful but high profile live events like the Atlanta Pop Festival and Festival Express 1970 received better response and so they were inspired to release an album. ‘The Great Speckled Bird’ was produced by Todd Rundgren and released on Ampex. Immediately, the public showed their dislike with their pocket books and the band had to come off tour due to lack of album sales and eventually the album’s unavailability due to Ampex folding.
Ian would soon be asked to host CTV-TV’s ‘Nashville North’ television show which would frequently feature appearances by Sylvia over the course of five years. Sylvia took on the position of hosting CBC Radio’s ‘Touch The Earth’ and in 1973 was signed to a solo record deal with Capitol.
Ian would be signed to A & M and eventually Stony Plain and pursued the on-again off-again Great Speckled Bird project. The duo played their final public performance in 1975 and The Great Speckled Bird disbanded a year later.
The duo eventually were divorced and have maintained a friendship ever since. They reunited for a CBC-TV special and live performance at Kingswood Music Theatre in 1986.
Artist: Ian And Sylvia Release: Long, Long Time Date: 1994 Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
This is a compilation of songs from the five albums Ian & Sylvia recorded after they left Vanguard.
1. Hang on to a Dream
2. You Were on My Mind
3. Summer Wages
4. Lovin’ Sound
5. Stories He’d Tell
6. Trucker’s Cafe
7. Here’s to You
8. Reason to Believe
9. Joshua
10. Long Long Time to Get Old
11. Big River
12. Salmon in the Sea
13. Last Lonely Eagle
14. Crazy Arms
15. Windy Weather
16. Tears of Rage
Artist: Ian And Sylvia Release: The Beginning of the End Date: 1996 Bear Family Records (BCD 15940-AH)
Made in Germany Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
This is where is starts to get confusing! This is a re-issue of the album Ian and Sylvia issued on Columbia (30736) in 1971. The notes by Richard Flohil imply that this CD contains their final two albums, and it even mentions songs from the second (last) Columbia album, but actually only the first Columbia album is included.
If that weren’t confusing enough, the title of the CD is taken from one of the songs on the second Columbia album!! All this suggests to me that they must have planned to release both albums on one CD, and that their plans changed, but somehow they never got around to changing the notes. On the plus side, this has four bonus tracks (12-15) that never appeared anywhere before (perhaps they decided to include the extra tracks rather than squeeze the two albums onto one CD?). Another problem is with this CD is that it gives no writing credits. I’ve supplied some of them below.
Credits:
David Wilcox: guitar, mandolin
Joe Renzetti, Stu Scharf: guitar
Lloyd Green, Weldon Myrick: steel guitar
Kirk Hamilton, Norbert Putman: bass
Ken Asher, David Briggs, Ernie Hayes: keyboards
Kenny Buttrey, Herb Lovelle: drums
Charlie McCoy: harmonica
John Hill: string arrangements Produced by John Hill.
Tracks 1 More Often Than Not (David Wiffen) 2 Creators of Rain 3 Summer Wages (Tyson) 4 Midnight 5 Barney (Tyson – words, Fricker – music) 6 Some Kind of Fool 7 Shark and the Cockroach 8 Last Lonely Eagle (John Dawson) 9 Lincoln Freed Me 10 Needle of Death (Bert Jansch) 11 Everybody Has to Say Goodbye 12 Give It to the World 13 Jordan Station 14 Long Beach 15 Love Is Strange
Artist: Ian And Sylvia Release:Great Speckled Bird Date:1970 Genre: Country/Folk Sylvia is from Chatham. Born Sylvia Fricker.
Ian & Sylvia join a country-rock band! The new name may suggest a more dramatic change than what we actually hear, for the album flows quite naturally from their previous forays into country. Another fine album. (One problem with the CD is that the writing credits don’t distinguish between Ian & Sylvia Tyson, crediting them simply to “Tyson”, so you don’t know for sure who wrote what.)Source
Credits: Amos Garrett: lead guitar Buddy Cage: steel guitar N.D. Smart II: drums Ken Kalmusky: bass David Briggs: piano Produced by Todd Rundgren.
1. Love What You’re Doing Child 3:39 2. Calgary 3:03 3. Truckers Cafe 3:22 4. Long Long Time To Get Old 3:07 5. Flies In The Bottle 3:47 6. Bloodshot Beholder 2:58 7. Crazy Arms (Mooney, Seals) 2:54 8. This Dream 3:40 9. Smiling Wine 3:11 10. Rio Grande 3:51 11. Disappearing Woman 2:10 12. We Sail (Fricker) 4:42 13. New Truckers Café (Bonus Track, live) 3:08 _
Chatham Music Archive 