Stargazer

Originally released in 1971, produced by the legendary Sandy Roberton and featuring the likes of Richard and Danny Thompson, Keith Christmas and members of Mighty Baby and Fotheringay, the album has been talked about in glowing terms by an ever-increasing fanbase over the years and is highly sought after. It’s a beautiful mixture of folk, psychedelic flourishes, and adventurous production combining majestically with Shelagh McDonald’s exquisite songwriting and purity of voice. It will immediately appeal to fans of Pentangle, Incredible String Band, and Joni Mitchell, as well as the solo records from members of some of the biggest U.S. bands of the 1970s; David Crosby’s ‘If Only I Could Remember My Name’ and Gene Clark’s ‘No Other’, and is presented here for the first time ever on vinyl re-issue. Born in Edinburgh in 1948 before moving to Glasgow and attending the Glasgow School of Art, Shelagh McDonald’s reputation grew rapidly on the London and Bristol folk circuit, gaining a cult following. In her early twenties she cut her first album titled simply ‘Shelagh McDonald’, the following year entering the studio with producer Sandy Roberton (Ian Matthews, John Martyn, Chocolate Watch Band, Steeleye Span) to cut ‘Stargazer’. Unfortunately for Shelagh, following a bad LSD experience, she withdrew from not only the music industry but public life shortly before commencing work on her third album. However, it is ‘Stargazer’ that continues to grow its reputation, with original copies changing hands for hundreds of pounds. Imbued with the finest instrumentation and vocal delicacy in late ’60s folk, the record is heightened by a progressive production approach; the slow organ grooviness in the traditional ‘Dowie Dens of Yarrow’, uplifting gospel overtones of ‘Odyssey’ and the perfect match of melancholic piano and haunting strings by Robert Kirby on the title track. These sublime arrangements all serve Shelagh’s songwriting and soulful voice that invoke the finest folk traditions but at the same time look forward.