Trees is another band I came across the other night while listening to some of the folk music I’d written about recently, and I figured I’d give them a listen. Trees began in 1969 and only lasted until 1972, though they received some attention in 2007 when Gnarls Barkley sampled a song of theirs for a song on his platinum selling album. This album, On the Shore (1971), is the group’s last album, and seems to be highly regarded among fans of theirs. The band was somewhat akin to their contemporaries like Fairport Convention, but seem to make use of some American and psychedelic influences in their recordings. I’m pretty excited to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Soldiers Three” starts out with some big kick drums to immediately get this super groovy folk tune grooving. Oh wow, this is interesting. It reminds me a lot of Steeleye Span’s album, Hark! The Village Wait (1970), with a noticeable wet and groovy electric guitar tone reminiscent of psychedelic rock bands of the time period. Super sweet track and I’m excited to hear more.
Oh wow, “Murdoch” starts out with a galloping acoustic guitar chord progression that really sets the tone for the tune, with the female vocalist joining in as the only other sound in the intro to the song aside from the guitar. Holy smokes, the electric guitar comes on with the percussion, almost giving a bit of a marching feeling as though you’re traveling through the hills of England or Ireland. Oh wow, the guitar tone is sweet; it’s almost got a bit of psychedelic cowboy sort of sound, which really adds an interesting layer against that acoustic guitar backdrop to create a sweet psychedelic folk rock sort of sound. Oh wow, the chorus of vocals at the end of the track seemingly offset a bit from one another adds to the psychedelic effect of the track a ton. Super sweet tune.
Oh wow, “Streets of Derry” starts out with some epic folk rock instrumentation between that fat electric guitar, the strong beat, and the smooth bass line. Holy smokes, now it’s just a relatively simple lightly stuttering drum beat, some super smooth folksy vocals, and a really groovy bass line with some bright and fat tone that gently seems to march the tune along to the beat of the drums. Oh wow, the electric guitars come into play and add some tasty lightly distorted accentuations to the track. It almost sounds like they used a clean tone to record, turned up the volume to 11 until there was a bit of distortion, then lowered the volume of said guitar tracks in the mix. Wow, this is sweet. This track feels like it’s taking you somewhere as the smooth rhythm section seemingly guides you along the ebb and flow of the different guitar parts. Oh wow, the guitars seem to have even picked up a bit of a raga sound as well; super tasty. Oh wow, this soundscape is super sweet. It’s almost taken up a nearly Led Zeppelin-like sound with this extended instrumental jam. Holy smokes, this extended jam keeps on giving; I feel like I could listen to this for hours with only a moment of time feeling like it has passed by. The jam seems to fade out at the end, nearly giving the impression that the band did continue jamming for hours. Wow, great tune.
Holy smokes, “Sally Free and Easy” starts with a washing of different notes on a piano that seem to ring out together in a very melodic yet chaotic manner, before resolving to something that contains a bit more structure. Oh wow, you can hear one of the band members take a breath in just before the light acoustic guitar begins rapidly playing a delicate folksy acoustic line, as though signaling you’re well on your way to the crux of your journey. Holy smokes, the female vocalist’s voice nearly picks up a light raspiness as she hits some pretty low notes compared to what I remember her having sung thus far. Oh wow, now the bass and electric guitar are coming, alongside the piano and some rumbling percussion as well, which all combine to form some sort of encouraging folksy sound as though you’re on the ascent of your traversing a mountainside. Holy smokes, this tune is sweet. Oh wow, the instrumentation feels like it’s gradually breaking through as all of the instruments seem to play parts that breathe and ring out a bit more. Oh wow, there’s some super high falsetto chorus vocals that seem to be beckoning you to follow from some otherworldly dimension. Holy smokes, this is an epic tune. It’s almost a bit like progressive folk rock to some extent, as the tune has wholesomely evolved quite a bit from its onset. Oh wow, most of the instruments drop out but the acoustic guitar, which keeps a galloping acoustic folk line continuing as the tune begins to wind to a close. Wow, great tune.
Holy smokes, “Fool” starts out with some super fat bass to introduce the track, which is soon joined by some super tasty swishing electric guitar chords. Wow, this tune is sweet. The band has a super tasty groove going on, which feels very much like a natural progression from the previous tune. Wow, this tune absolutely oozes tasty folk rock flavors and flavorful psychedelic accentuations. Wow, this is sweet. The bass line has such a fat, muddy, and heavy groove going alongside the swishing rhythm guitar chords, which nearly sound garage rock in nature, while some light use of a tambourine and a super steady beat keeps the tune traveling onward, all while the lead electric guitar seems to drip with psychedelic flavors that make the tune sound all the more epic. Wow, great tune.
“Adam’s Toon” starts out with a little countdown before the light folksy percussion comes in alongside the delicate sound of the acoustic guitar to introduce a tune that nearly gives the listener a moment to breathe between these epic jams. The fat tone of the bass gives a bit of warmth to the soundscape while making the tune sound massive. Wow, super sweet track.
Oh wow, “Geordie” starts out with some super flavorful acoustic guitar that seems to have a bit more earthy feel as the notes can get both low in pitch and a bit of twang to them as well. Oh wow, this tune is super sweet and has an incredibly steady folk sound, as though the tune has been passed down from generation to generation and thoroughly practiced throughout the years. This is the tune that Gnarls Barkley sampled for his platinum record. Oh wow, this is sweet. The bass nearly has a muddy country sort of flavor reminiscent of groups like Longbranch/Pennywhistle, with the electric guitar picks up a really tasty country folk distorted twang. It even sounds like there’s potentially a bit of pedal steel slide guitar that breezes through the soundscape at times as well. Great tune.
Oh wow, “While the Iron Is Hot” starts out in a manner that evokes classic British folk sounds between the nearly chant-like chorus vocals, the sweetness of the orchestral strings, and the super delicate sound of what might be a mandolin or harp or similar instrument. Holy smokes, this tune has switched things up and sounds like pure rock and roll at this point with a groovy bass line, strong back beat, and epic electric guitar lines. Oh wow, the tune returns back to that super folksy beginning effortlessly. Great track.
Oh wow, “Little Sadie” picks up a sound that sounds like a bopping version of a tune that seems halfway between a British folk tune and a country folk cowboy-esque tune, though the result in either case is an upbeat groove between the percussive strumming of the acoustic guitar, a super tasty electric guitar that drips some quick and fat lines into the soundscape, and steady back beat that moves the tune forward next to the bopping bass line, which makes it sound like a tune for a lone and optimistic wanderer traveling on his/her own on a timeless journey of sorts. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Polly on the Shore” seems to bring the tune to a more folk oriented tune than necessarily folk rock at its start, with drums that seem to march the tune forward while a bright and fat bass line seems to gradually move the tune forward as the soundscape is coaxed along by the delicate and seemingly intricate playing of the folksy acoustic guitar. Oh wow, there are some really flavorful accentuations made by both the acoustic guitar on one side of the soundscape and the electric guitar on the other side of the soundscape. Oh wow, the electric guitar has seemingly gently swells into the soundscape, nearly making it sound like some sort of orchestral string instrument at times. Oh wow, I really dig the way this tune seems to be coming to a close; there’s a very natural feeling about the direction the song is going and the way things seem to be delicately getting tied up. Wow, great track, and a great way to end this album.
Wow, this album is super sweet. There’s a really interesting juxtaposition between what definitely sounds to be the folk rock akin to their British contemporaries like Fairport Convention, with the psychedelic rock style of American bands (December’s Children comes to mind in terms of tone of the electric guitar). The album seems to have a very natural flow from one tune to the next, and epic extended jams along the way that can satiate palettes of flavors both folk and psychedelic oriented. If you’re into folk rock and psychedelic rock, you might want to consider checking out this album. This is an album I’m already looking into getting on vinyl. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A