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On The Shore
 
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On The Shore

Trees | Format: Audio CD
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
Price: £7.47 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this with Swaddling Songs ~ Remastered and repackaged ~ Mellow Candle Audio CD £10.17

On The Shore + Swaddling Songs ~ Remastered and repackaged
Price For Both: £17.64

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Product details

  • Audio CD (7 Aug 2008)
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Label: Sony Music CMG
  • ASIN: B0018CWW8C
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 16,304 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Product Description

BBC Review

Trees released two records in 1970, The Garden Of Jane Delawney and On The Shore and that was about it for them. The effort and exuberance needed to record two LPs (neither bad) in the same year can be felt all through On The Shore: Their record company CBS applied pressure but not much money and so, due to lack of rehearsal and studio time, some of the musicianship suffers, and the original material is patchy. But the overall sound of this album is what is really impressive.

Cilia Humphris (now the voice of the Northern Line, fact fans) sings in an earthy and raw way sailing right down the middle of every note. On songs like "Murdoch" and "Sally Free And Easy" she sends a shiver up this reviewer's withered spine. "Murdoch" also sports a rather natty 'wall of sound' ending which is aided on the remix by a wailing organ.

The musicians behind Humphris are where the real strength is. The twin guitars of Barry Clarke (lead) and David Costa (acoustic) are a muscular equal to the sometimes luminary bass of Bias Boshell and solid drums of Unwin Brown. The sound is bold and more psychedelic than Fairport and you feel a band who are really into their style if not their stride. This is what you might enjoy more about this recording than others of the genre: the energy of the performances. There is a Led Zep feel in there and I'm sure I spotted a future Iron Maiden riff somewhere. Notably there is a timid pedal guitar part on ''Geordie'', another highlight, which was sampled for ''St. Elsewhere'' on the Gnarls Barkley album of the same name.

Cyril Tawney's ''Sally Free And Easy'' pops up here and is one of the album's high points. A beautiful piano intro played by Boswell leads into low and sultry vocals from Humphris. Trees are oft-derided for their overlong arrangements and ''Sally...'' is no exception, except just when you are about to tire of this one Clarke embarks on a surprising guitar wig-out that crashes into another good ending. The whole thing is quite a hit and miss affair: 'Fool' is fantastically irritating and ''While The Iron Is Hot'' lurches from harps and strings to prog-rock guitar and back. However taken as a whole it is enjoyable and it leaves you feeling rather uplifted.

The second disk contains remixes of some album tracks, nothing amazing here, just cymbals fiddled with and guitars jiggered. There is a BBC recording called ''Forest Fire'' which is pleasant enough, but the joys are contained in the original album, now restored to its full glory. Well worth discovering this summer.... --Greg McLaren

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CD Description

180 grams audiophile vinyl
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
As one of the better folk rock live gruops of the early 70s, Trees haunting arrangements and extemporisations brought an originality to the genre that marked them as one of the best in the 'electric folk' boom of the period. This is powerful and original folk-rock, and while Celia Humphris' vocals deserve credit, its the the twin guitars of David Costa and Barry Clarke, on fire throughout,that endeared it to me and make it our recommendation here at GPF. A genuine masterpiece.

Standout tracks
Sally free and easy
While the iron is hot
Little Sadie

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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
I strongly recommend this album to all folk-rock fans.Celia Humphris'[Mrs. Pete Drummond-yes the Radio1 DJ!!!]vocals are exhilarating. The twin guitars of David Costa [son of Sam- yes the old Radio Luxembourg DJ !!!] and Barry Clarke are on fire throughout. Now for the anorak bit: both this title and The Garden of Jane Delawney were remastered and issued by BGO.It was after this that CBS reissued both[?] cds exactly as BGO had already issued them. This is transcendent stuff.Buy it.Listen. Gaze on Celia's lovely photo.Lose yourself in beauty of Sally Free and Easy.
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
A deserved reputation. 27 July 2005
Format:Audio CD
Released in 1970, this record soon disappeared and became a sought-after cult "classic", a status often conferred more by scarcity rather than actual quality. Trees were inspired by, and initially in awe of, Fairport Convention and some of their early recordings audibly lack confidence but, with On The Shore, they took wing and flew. Their version of Sally Free & Easy is a highly original and haunting updating of a trad song that sounds even more impressive today than it did when first released, while Geordie and Streets Of Derry take electricity to folksongs in a very satisfying way. Bias Boshell's fluent bass playing is at the beating heart of everything, embellished by Barry Clarke's deft electric guitar and Celia Humphries hypnotic vocals. Most seventies folk-rock was heavily orientated towards the folk element, this album is one of the few to start from a "rock" viewpoint, and it succeeds brilliantly.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Hidden gem or what? !!!
I started collecting music in 1970, the year before this album was originally released. Literally thousands of LPs/CDs later I finally get to hear it, recently. Wow! Read more
Published 3 months ago by Shemba
Don't hesitate for one second
Just a brilliant, brilliant album that draws you in from the first listen with the dramatic settings of songs like "Murdoch" but withholds its true essence sufficiently to ensure... Read more
Published 7 months ago by A. J. Rixon
all you need to know
I have extraordinary good taste in music . That accepted by all , I won't waste words or your time. "On The Shore" is the best album ever recorded. Fact.
Published 8 months ago by Mr. M. E. Igoe
The Trees
I bought this double length CD covering the bands brief career. I found out about them from the book "Electric Eden", if you love folk rock read it, if you hate it read it, they... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Stephen Alan Brown
Luvly Jubbly
If you are the sort of person who thought that the 70s were great but were spoilt by punk, disco and Slade and you don't think there is anything wrong with a 30 minute guitar solo,... Read more
Published 11 months ago by W. J. Mccormack
Five stars for rightly deserved legendary status
I can never understand how people get so dour, cynical and negative to rate albums from this time as one or two stars and bitch that it is dated. So what! Read more
Published 23 months ago by Edgar of Baddesley
Special times revisited
I first heard Trees on a CBS sampler called Rockbuster (or it could've been Fill Your Head With Rock?) and liked their offering straight away. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2009 by Kilrymont
Poor sound on this CD version
Please note that I'm only reviewing the mid-90s Sony Budget release of this disc, though Amazon may choose to place it along with other versions as well. Read more
Published on 28 April 2009 by Philip S. Walker
Don't Miss This
So much trivia from the sixties and seventies is now accorded overlooked classic status that it's easy to become cynical when someone recommends music from that era. Read more
Published on 15 Nov 2008 by Otiselevator
Is it folk rock or rock folk
As my title suggests, how do you classify the music of Trees?
Instrumentally they appear more rock than folk, but Celia Humphris's vocals are all that you would expect from a... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2008 by Mark Kibble
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