Patrick Sky is an American folk musician from the south, born in Georgia and raised in Louisiana. This particular album, Patrick Sky (1965), is his debut album, with Sky on guitar, harmonica, and vocals, and another person, Ralph Rinzler, on mandolin for a couple of tracks. Sky had worked with artists suh as Mississippi John Hurt during his career, but there isn’t much more I can find about him with a quick search. With that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Many a Mile” starts out with some super delicate folksy guitar that sets the sweet mood for the tune, which is soon joined by Sky’s voice. Oh wow, Sky’s vocals in this has a certain quality as though he gargles with warm water and honey before singing on the recording, and there is a little bit of a nasally tinge as the different vocal lines continue and progress the tune forward. Super sweet track to open the album with, and I’m excited to hear more.
Oh wow, “Hangin’ Round” has a bit of the sweetness in the guitar work present in the previous tune, except the guitar in this one sounds as though it was bathed in some southern folksy flavors reminiscent of John Fahey. I really dig the guitar work in this, which seems to exude a certain folksy feel that nearly reminds me of artists like Woody Guthrie. Another super sweet tune.
“Love Will Endure” starts out with a delicate folksy guitar, almost as though it’s music set to some gradually strolling, or even meandering, down a lonesome lane, though remains nearly optimistic. Oh wow, the tune nearly gets gentler as the tune progresses, with the guitar echoing the soft quality in Sky’s vocal performance. Really sweet track.
Oh wow, “Reuben” starts out with some chords that immediately make me think of “Mr. Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan, and is nearly immediately joined some super tasty harmonica that makes me think of Dylan once again with the nearly bluesy tinge to the folksy style. Wow, great track.
Oh wow, “Rattlesnake Mountain” starts again with some Dylan-esque harmonica reminiscent of Dylan’s album, Blonde on Blonde (1966). Oh wow, I really dig this tune. There’s almost a playful child-like quality to the delivery of the vocals, yet retain a super old-fashioned folksy sound when combined with the different flavors of the other instrumentation. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Everytime” I really dig the soft and folksy guitar work at the beginning of this tune, which nearly has a sound that simultaneously puts you on the edge of your seat, while giving you a reassuring feeling when combined with the relaxing quality of the vocal performance from Sky. The soundscape is serenely pleasant, and definitely is one that seems to try to put you at ease. Super sweet track.
Oh wow, “Come With Me Love” starts with an intricate sounding mandolin that seems to provide a ton of forward moving feeling in the song, especially as the mandolin weaves together with the guitar, hitting some super pleasing high notes that resolve tension I didn’t even realize had built up. Oh wow, the vocal performance from Sky nearly has a bit of a southern folksy howling quality at times. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Nectar of God” has a chord progression that nearly has an epic sounding quality, both tinged with some blues, and also as though the tune had been unearthed from some sort of ancient tome filled with wisdom of bygone ages. Oh wow, this tune is super tasty. The tune nearly reminds me of “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” from the Reverend Blind Gary Davis, though with a much more folksy quality, as though it narrates a character’s journey in discovering lost wisdom. Great track.
Oh wow, “Separation Blues” starts out with a guitar part that reminds me a ton of “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” from Arlo Guthrie, which would be released a couple of years after this album’s release. There’s a really interesting bluesy sound in this one again that is more folksy in nature than it is blues; this particular formation of this combination nearly has a bit of a talking blues sort of quality mixed with the playful folksy vocals and guitar work. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Ballad of Ira Hayes” starts out with a super soft and sweet folk guitar at the beginning of the tune, which nearly has a solemn quality as the song continues. Oh wow, the vocals in this one again remind me a bit of “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” by Arlo Guthrie, as the storytelling aspect of the song alternates between a talking narrative storytelling style and one that seems to emphasize the storytelling through a sung, folksy refrain. Super sweet track.
“Words Without Music” starts out with a really pleasant folksy guitar line, which is soon joined by a super tasty harmonica that plays bluesy notes in a folksy style, bringing an almost solemn quality to the soundscape, as though the tune is a soundtrack to a lone and rambling wander’s life as he meanders about the land. Great tune.
“Wreck of The 97” starts out with a quick gallop from the acoustic guitar, which is soon joined by a folksy line with the harmonica and the bright sound of the mandolin, which all seem to continue moving the tune along with an increasing amount of momentum to a point that sounds like a very natural conclusion. Oh wow, the chorus of instruments at the end really wrap up the tune nicely as the acoustic guitar seems to move the tune from the background, while the mandolin weaves together the final moments and the harmonica seems to emphasize the flavors at the end of the song. Great tune, and a great way to end this album.
Wow, I’m really glad to have checked out Patrick Sky tonight. His music both was very reminiscent of different artists like Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Woody Guthrie, and even Phil Ochs at times, while still retaining an original presence in his tunes with the folksy quality that seemed to tease a lot at the blues at different points throughout the album, but never quite became what I’ve come to know as the blues. If you enjoy the folk music of the early to mid 1960s, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A