Singing the travels (Prior & Tabor) (LP 3551 - 3553)

Maddy Prior & June Tabor  Silly Sisters (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1976) *****  

Maddy Prior  Woman in the Wings (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1978) ****  

Maddy Prior  Changing Winds (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1978) *** 

Genre: Folk

Places I remember: Slow Boat Records, Chaldon Books and Records.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: My Husband's Got No Courage In Him (Silly Sisters)

Gear costume: Gutter Geese (Woman in the Wings) 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: I love Maddy's voice, which I first heard as part of her contribution to Steeleye Span. She and June Tabor are a brilliant combination. June has a deeper, rawer vocal style and so the purity of Maddy's voice is a wonderful addition. The couple of a cappella songs really stand out for this reason. 

These two folk stars attract excellent musicians to help them out. Silly Sisters has guitarists Nic Jones and Martin Carthy, bassist Danny Thompson, and mandolinist Andy Irvine, while Woman in the Wings (her debut solo album) has all of Jethro Tull appearing on several tracks (including Gutter Geese above). 

Changing Winds is also from 1978. She tries out some more orchestral folk on this one, with her fantastic voice continuing to be her point of difference. She is a wonder!

Where do they all belong? A lot more Maddy to appreciate when we get to Steeleye Span.