Scandinavia’s archaeologically known prehistory encompasses around twelve thousand years, culminating in the Viking period (c.800–1050AD). The Middle Ages then followed, around six hundred years later than in continental Europe – a late development due to the long period in which ice still covered Europe’s northern parts. Volume 2 in Delphian Records’ groundbreaking collaboration with the European Music Archaeology Project constructs a soundscape of these two periods, featuring both music improvised on Viking instruments, and notated songs and instrumental items from the early centuries of Christianity in Scandinavia.

When the pandemic began, and the world shut down, so did the process of creating for Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam. In its place was a domesticity that the singer hadn’t felt in a long time, and although it was filled with many rewards, making music was not one of them. Reflecting on that time, Beam notes:

Once again, Six Organs of Admittance showcases the intricate tangle of fingers on the fretboard and flash of lens flare slicing the air, as the future arcs 360 degrees around to become a part of the past as well. Oscillations in this glass bowl ripple outward eternally, but are rooted on the ground where all the creatures are moving and communing; humans too. An intimate cosmic expression, file under: rural-industrial psych, ecosystem goth.

The patronage of elite Highland pipers collapsed after the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. Worried that the classical music of the Gaels would fade away, the English-speaking gentry offered prize money for scientific notations. By 1797, Colin Campbell had written 377 pages in a unique notation based on the vocables of Hebridean ‘mouth music’, but – unintelligible to the judges in Edinburgh – Campbell’s extraordinary work of preservation has remained overlooked or misunderstood until now.

Career spanning 3-CD David Crosby box spotlighting the 2x Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's solo stand-outs and classics with legendary groups including the Byrds, CSN, and CSNY! Plus one full disc of previously unreleased material. He's always received second billing to Stephen Stills in Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and once played third fiddle to Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark in the Byrds, but there is no doubt that David Crosby is one of the true originals of a folk-rock style that has paralleled his 40-year career, which is celebrated on this three-disc set of hits and near misses, demos, and outtakes. The first two CDs run chronologically, from the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" (which Crosby co-wrote) through his '70s and '80s solo records to "Through Here Quite Often," from his 2004 album with Graham Nash. Crosby was the draftsman of the transcendental harmonies that defined both of his bands, his plaintive vocals generally serving as a complement to the others'. But he takes the lead on this 52-song collection's greatest moments: his chilling falsetto on "Music Is Love" (from his 1971 debut solo release); a call out to his dying mother on "Carry Me" (1975's Wind on the Water, with Nash), and "Yvette in English," a 1993 collaboration with Joni Mitchell (Thousand Roads). Some selections swing and miss–"Hero," co-written with Phil Collins in 1993, and a few recorded in the late '90s with CPR, featuring his son James Raymond–but Voyage recuperates with disc three's 16 previously unreleased tracks. The jewel? "Cowboy Movie," a 10:57 opus from 1970 featuring both Neil Young and Jerry Garcia on lead guitar. –Scott Holter

2007 two CD set, the soundtrack to one of the year's most highly-anticipated films. Todd Haynes' I'm Not There is a meta-biographical film that re-imagines the life of Bob Dylan, who is portrayed by six different actors including Cate Blanchett! Performers on the album who sink their teeth into Dylan covers include Eddie Vedder, Sonic Youth, Stephen Malkmus, Mason Jennings, Willie Nelson, Mark Lanegan, Antony, Jack Johnson, Cat Power, John Doe, Sufjan Stevens, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Iron & Wine and many others. Features two versions of the title track: the previously officially unreleased Dylan version and a new version from Sonic Youth. Columbia.

2014 release, the first studio album of new material in seven years from the singer/songwriter. Tales From The Realm… features 10 new songs, each telling a story that has to do with the material world and the world of the spirit and how they intersect. Suzanne spent the past few years writing and recording these new gems on the road, recording portions in Chicago, London, Prague, LA and New York City, and Kyserike Station, an old train station in upstate New York. Tracking for the album took place mostly at the Clubhouse Studios in Rhinebeck, and the album was mixed by Kevin Killen, who has worked with Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush.

With hits such as "Luka" and "Marlene on the Wall," folksy singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega helped pave the way for future artists the likes of Tracy Chapman, The Indigo Girls and Sinead O'Connor. This retrospective features all 16 of Vega's videos, including "Tom's Diner," "In Liverpool" and "99.9Fº." Extras include an alternate video of "Caramel," promotional videos for three of Vega's albums, a discography and a rarities archive.

This album, cut live at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall in July of 1970, was the first Strawbs album to be released in the United States. It didn't do much in the U.S., but it did chart in England, and the original concert also got Rick Wakeman his first front-page coverage in the British music press, owing to his bravura performance on the solo piano spot, "Temperament for a Mind." The group is trying really hard here to make the jump from folk to folk-rock. They still play a lot of acoustic music, and some of it is surprisingly diverse, but this is a fairly successful album bridging the gap between the acoustic Strawbs combo of their first incarnation and the harder, more strident folk-rock stylings that followed on From the Witchwood, with hints of progressive leanings.

To coincide with the 50th anniversary of Island Records, UMTV releases a 3CD set of classic Island hits plus a number of unique cover versions from current Island Artists. Founded by the legendary Chris Blackwell, Island has been long renowned as the most musically influential record label and has been consistently successful over the years. One of their earliest hits "My Boy Lollipop" by Millie is included, as well as a host more hits and cover versions, including an exclusive version of "Monkey Man" by Amy Winehouse. The album is sure to appeal to Island Records aficionados as well as all music fans.

Singer/songwriter Tanita Tikaram's debut album, Ancient Heart, stands as one of the most underappreciated albums of the 1980s, and she, along with Tracy Chapman, preceded the 1990s' onslaught of female singer/songwriters by almost a decade. Tikaram, who was only 19 when this album was released, created a melancholy and wistful work, mature beyond her years, of startling originality and honesty. While this album may be considered folkish and artsy, it never stoops to the clichés that dominated those styles of music in the later Lilith Fair years. Her near perfect signature song "Twist in My Sobriety" is a stark, sinuous, desperate torch song that managed to garner a bit of radio and video airplay in its day and sounded like nothing else then or since…

The Mamas and the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group was composed of John Phillips, Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips (born Holly Gilliam). Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips, the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s. The Mamas and the Papas released five studio albums and 17 singles over four years, six of which made the Billboard top 10 and have sold close to 40 million records worldwide. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for its contributions to the music industry.

3 CD deluxe editon set of 2008 release of Bob Dylan Vol. 8 Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg series with rare and unleashed material from 1989 - 2006. A treasure-trove of 39 songs spanning 3 discs, Tell Tale Signs features previously unreleased recordings and alternate versions of tracks from sessions which generated some of Bob Dylan's most acclaimed and commercially successful albums from the last two decades, including Time Out Of Mind, 'Love And Theft', Modern Times and Oh Mercy.

There are 21 cuts on this Hip-O collection of Van Morrison's Greatest Hits. The interesting thing is that of these 21 cuts, only about half of them will be recognizable to the casual Van Morrison fan, as they come from his Bang sides and the far more popular Warner Brothers singles of the early '70s. As it should be, although there is one glaring omission: "Tupelo Honey" is absent from the song list. The rest may not have been greatest hits in America, but they do represent a fine – if arguable – selection of the material from the late '70s, '80s, and '90s. "Dweller on the Threshold" is here (though it sounds like an alternate take!) There is a bona fide alternate take of "The Healing Game" that sounds more like a well-executed demo and has plenty of Celtic soul.

Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician, and activist whose contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest or social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 55 years, releasing over 30 albums. Fluent in Spanish and English, she has recorded songs in at least six other languages. She is regarded as a folk singer, although her music has diversified since the counterculture days of the 1960s and now encompasses everything from folk rock and pop to country and gospel music. Although a songwriter herself, Baez generally interprets other composers' work, having recorded songs by the Allman Brothers Band, the Beatles, Jackson Browne, Leonard Cohen, Woody Guthrie, Violeta Parra, The Rolling Stones, Pete Seeger, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and many others.