Ian & Sylvia - The Lost Tapes (2019)

Regarded as pioneers of the folk & Americana genre, Ian & Sylvia, The Lost Tapes features over 20 unreleased recordings.
Collectively as individuals & as a duo Ian & Sylvia Tyson have sold over 400K albums in the US alone during the Soundscan era. Regarded as pioneers of the folk & Americana genre, Ian & Sylvia first came to prominence in the early 60's folk scene in Greenwich Village and Yorkville performing alongside Bob Dylan (they were also managed by Albert Grossman), Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot (who they made famous by being the first to record Early Morning Rain) and were a headliner on the now famous 1063 Newport Folk Festival. Ian's composition ''Four Strong Winds'' is now considered a standard and a CBC poll in 2005 named it the ''most essential'' piece of Canadian music. Ian & Sylvia were one of the first artists to explore an electric Country Rock sound recording with both New York and Nashville musicians. In early 2019 Sylvia discovered a box of old 1/4 inch analog tapes in her attic that were professionally recorded in the early 1970s in front of a live studio audience. Over 20 previously unreleased recordings, included many of Ian & Sylvia's classics, but also enough to have a full CD of recordings of songs never before included on any Ian & Sylvia album.,

The Lost Tapes is being released as a 2 CD set on September 6th, prior to Sylvia's induction into the Canadian Songwriter's Hall of Fame. Both Ian & Sylvia have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Review
The legendary Canadians Ian Tyson and Sylvia Fricker met to years ago and thus began a storied career, both as a duo and as individuals. This project, Ian & Sylva The Lost Tapes will be issued on September 6th, the day following their much anticipated induction as individual songwriters into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. These are newly discovered concert tapes from the early '70s, and never-before-heard versions of country and pop classics. Fans may salivate over the news of 26 songs but, in fact, there are only three here penned by Ian Tyson and three traditional tunes adapted and arranged by Ian and Sylvia. The others read like ''Folk Music's Greatest Hits'' but the recording is superb, and Ian and Sylvia were in peak vocal form through these shows. It's rather remarkable how well the music holds up.

Fortunately some key songs like ''Four Strong Winds'' (deemed by the CBC to be the ''most essential'' piece of Canadian music), ''Summer Wages,'' ''Crazy Arms,'' ''Four Rode By,'' ''Little Beggar Man,'' ''When First Unto This Country'' and ''Darcy Farrow'' are here. All appear on Disc One, titled ''Classics.'' It's unfortunate that we don't have a version of Sylvia's biggest song, ''You Were On My Mind,'' which like ''Four Strong Winds'' was inducted into this same prestigious Hall of Fame. The impact of Ian and Sylvia Tyson cannot be overstated. Canadian music history journalist Larry LeBlanc says this in the liners, ''Along with the Byrds, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson they laid the foundation of Americana music that evolved as a recognizes source of popular culture.''

For this retrospective Sylvia and producer Danny Greenspoon picked unreleased performances that Sylvia had discovered while assembling memorabilia for the National Music Centre in Calgary (where the induction will be held.).Disc Two, a nostalgic listen, is comprised entirely of covers and demonstrates their versatility and seamless knack for taking on Delta blues like Robert Johnson's ''Come On In My Kitchen,'' Mel and Tim's 1972 R&B hit, ''Starting All Over Again,'' to classic country like Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty's mega hit ''After the Fire Is Gone,'' Buck Owens' ''Crying Time'' and ''Together Again'' as well as Gram Parsons' ''Silver Threads and Golden Needles.'' Folk artists of the time are represented too with the duo covering Tom Paxton's ''The Last Thing on My Mind'' and Utah Phillips' ''The Goodnight Loving Trail.'' Their straight-ahead approach and keening harmonies on these tunes is refreshing considering how many were overproduced at the time.

Their musical and marital relationship ended in 1975 but both have forged successful solo careers since. Ian is the prototypical cowboy, enjoying life on his ranch in Alberta and continues to perform his own western material. Sylvia continues to have a thriving solo career while performing, writing, and recording with Quartette (Caitlin Hanford, Cindy Church, Gwen Swick).

If your collection of Ian and Sylvia is worn, or if you just want to revisit this classic era of country and folk music, this is a great collection of songs, sung as well as anyone, or duo for that matter, has ever sung them.

Jim Hynes –Glide Magazine September 2019

If you need a reason to hate PC Nazis, how about their efforts at being indignant that folkies Ian & Sylvia had the temerity not to get political in the late 60s causing their career to hit the wall. They responded by inventing country rock and giving us Amos Garrett. Too bad it all unraveled professionally and personally by 1975 although perseverance led to vindication decades later as they are now celebrated as the most important figures in Canadian music. While house cleaning, Sylvia came across these boxes of live tapes from the Great Speckled Bird years which make a great cap off to their induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. While the audio might not be all it can be in places, the heart and soul are there front and center and it's like the years have never gone by. Killer stuff from greats that never failed us no matter where their roads led them. Don't call yourself a folkie if you don't grab a copy of this double album of things you never heard either in these versions or at all.

Chris Spector –Midwest Record review 08/13/19

Tracklist
Keep On The Sunny Side 2:31
Darcy Farrow 2:43
Will The Circle Be Unbroken 3:14
When First Unto This Country 2:23
Come All You Fair And Tender Ladies 2:47
Four Rode By 2:57
Nancy Whiskey 2:12
Four Strong Winds 3:07
Little Beggarman 2:29
The French Song 2:50
Summer Wages 3:09
Crazy Arms 2:47
I'll Fly Away 2:08
After The Fire Is Gone 2:44
Heartaches By The Number 2:28
Sweet Dreams 3:04
Come On In My Kitchen 2:16
Jimmie's Texas Blues 2:30
How Long 3:10
The Last Thing On My Mind 2:35
That's The Way Love Goes 2:13
Crying Time 3:08
Starting All Over Again 3:09
Together Again 3:02
Silver Threads And Golden Needles 1:51
The Goodnight Loving Trail 3:26