The distinctively blended voices of Ian & Sylvia Tyson define the essence of the 1960's folk music sound. These Juno Award Hall of Famers became popular in the United States at the start of the 60's folk revival, paving the way for other Canadian performers at a time when there were limited recording opportunities for musicians in Canada. One of the top acts of the folk scene, Ian & Sylvia helped boost the careers of Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell with their recordings of "Early Morning Rain," "For Lovin' Me," and "The Circle Game," and they introduced outstanding songs of their own, including Sylvia's "You Were on My Mind" and Ian's "Someday Soon" and "Four Strong Winds." Photographs of Sylvia playing autoharp while Ian plays guitar are among the most romantic evocations of the coffeehouse era.

"Their early Vanguard albums were an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary folksongs, sung with a purity and clarity that was unusual, even in the stripped-down days of folk music"--Mary Katherine Aldin (liner notes to Long Long Time). Nowhere is this more apparent than on their debut album Ian & Sylvia (1962). It is a confident recording featuring mainly traditional material like "Old Blue," "Mary Anne," "Un Canadien Errant," and "Rambler Gambler." The sound is fresh and the voices are well balanced on this historically important and highly recommended recording. Still a winner after all these years.

Other albums from this era include Four Strong Winds (1963), Northern Journey (1964), and Early Morning Rain (1965). Northern Journey, for which this guide is named, introduced some distinctly Canadian folk music to US folk radio, including "Brave Wolfe," "Nova Scotia Farewell," and "Four Rode By." Play One More (1966), marked a change in direction to new material and electric and orchestral arrangements. Nashville (1968), a countryish album, sounds surprisingly modern. Along the way they formed a backup band called Great Speckled Bird, featuring Amos Garrett and Buddy Cage.

Great Specked Bird (1970), became a collector's item when the company that originally released it pulled out of the record business. Rare vinyl copies of the album have exchanged hands for as much as $150. With no master tapes to work from, Stony Plain rescued this album from oblivion by remastering and re-engineering from high-quality vinyl.

Because of the eclectic nature of Ian & Sylvia's material, their Greatest Hits (1970, 1987) collection makes an outstanding purchase. It shaves off some of their less successful efforts and includes many of their best songs. The collection covers the entire range of their early Vanguard period. Similarly, Long Long Time (1967-70) captures some great tracks from out-of-print albums from their post-Vanguard period, including Lovin' Sound (MGM 1967), Full Circle (MGM 1968), Great Speckled Bird (Ampex 1969), Ian & Sylvia...With David Wilcox (Columbia 1971).

By 1966 Ian & Sylvia were, perhaps, running out of material for new recordings. While Play One More (1966) is a folk album with some unevenness, So Much for Dreaming (1966) is a turn towards the pop mainstream with a few folk tunes thrown in. The good tunes on the album are "Circle Game," Ian's wonderful "Summer Wages," "Cutty Wren," "Catfish Blues," "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies," and "Grey Morning"--less than half the album. The rest of the songs are disappointing.

After Ian & Sylvia broke up as a duo, each has had an outstanding solo career, and in recent years, Sylvia has been a member of Quartette.

Ian & Sylvia
1963, reissued 1995 Vanguard (2113-2)

Rocks and Gravel; Old Blue; C.C. Rider; Un Canadien Errant; Handsome Molly; Mary Anne; Pride of Petrovar; Makes a Long Time Man Feel Bad; Rambler Gambler; Down by the Willow Garden; Got No More Home Than a Dog; When First Unto This Country; Live A-Humble 38:30

Four Strong Winds
1963 Vanguard (VMD 2149)

Jesus Met the Woman at the Well; Tomorrow Is a Long Time; Katy Dear; Poor Lazarus; Four Strong Winds; Ella Speed; Long Lonesome Road; V'La l'Bon Vent; Royal Canal; Lady of Carlisle; Spanish Is a Loving Tongue; The Greenwood Sidie (The Cruel Mother); Every Night When the Sun Goes Down; Every Time I Feel the Spirit 41:55

Northern Journey
1964 Vanguard (VMD 79154)

You Were on My Mind; Moonshine Can; The Jealous Lover; Four Rode By; Brave Wolfe; Nova Scotia Farewell; Some Day Soon; Little Beggarman; Texas Rangers; The Ghost Lover; Captain Woodstock's Courtship; Green Valley; Swing Down, Chariot 39:00

Early Morning Rain
1965 Vanguard (VMD 79175)

Come In, Stranger; Early Morning Rain; Nancy Whiskey; Awake Ye Drowsy Sleepers; Marlborough Street Blues; Darcy Farrow; Travelling Drummer; Maude's Blues; Red Velvet; I'll Bid My Heart Be Still; For Lovin' Me; Song for Canada 35:54

Play One More
1966 Vanguard (79215-2)

Short Grass; The French Girl; When I Was a Cowboy; Changes; Gifts Are for Giving; Molly and Tenbrooks; Hey, What About Me; Lonely Girls; Satisfied Mind; Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa; Friends of Mine; Play One More 38:39

So Much for Dreaming
1966, reissued 1995 Vanguard (79241-2)

Circle Game; So Much for Dreaming; Wild Geese; Child Apart; Summer Wages; Hold Tight; Cutty Wren; Si les Bateaux; Catfish Blues; Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies; January Morning; Grey Morning 40:01

Nashville
1968 Vanguard (79284-2)

The Mighty Quinn; Wheels on Fire; Farewell to the North; Taking Care of Business; Southern Comfort; Ballad of the Ugly Man; 90° X 90°; She'll Be Gone; London Life; The Renegade; House of Cards 37:09

Great Speckled Bird
1969, reissued 1994 Stony Plain (SPCD 1200)

Love What You're Doing Child; Calgary; Trucker's Cafe; Long Long Time to Get Old; Flies in the Bottle; Bloodshot Beholder; Crazy Arms; This Dream; Smiling Wine; Rio Grande; Disappearing Woman; We Sail; New Trucker's Cafe (Live Version) 43:37

Long Long Time
1967-70, reissued 1994 Vanguard (79478-2)

Hang on to a Dream; You Were on My Mind; Summer Wages; Lovin' Sound; Stories He'd Tell; Trucker's Cafe; Here's to You; Reason to Believe; Joshua; Long Long Time to Get Old; Big River; Salmon in the Sea; Last Lonely Eagle; Crazy Arms; Windy Weather; Tears of Rage 50:58

Greatest Hits *
1970, 1987 Vanguard (VCD-5/6)

Early Morning Rain; Tomorrow Is a Long Time; Little Beggarman; The Mighty Quinn; Nancy Whiskey; Catfish Blues; Come in Stranger; The French Girl; The Renegade; Mary Anne; You Were on My Mind; Four Strong Winds; Short Grass; Southern Comfort; Some Day Soon; Ella Speed; The Circle Game; 90° X 90°; Cutty Wren; Un Canadien Errant; Lonely Girls; Spanish Is a Loving Tongue; This Wheel's on Fire 70:21