Mellow Candle: Swaddling Songs 1972 + The Virgin Prophet 1969 - 1971

 

Mellow Candle were a band that started in 1963 in Dublin, Ireland. Was a progressive folk rock band, active from 1968 to 1973. They released one studio album, Swaddling Songs, in 1972. A collection of demos and sessions for the album, recorded 1969–1971, was released in 1996 as The

Virgin Prophet. MELLOW CANDLE specialised in imaginative psychedelic folk rock and early progressive rock, with the singing talents of two ladies (Alison WILLIAMS and Clodagh SIMONDS), in addition to bassist Frank BOYLAN, drummer William MURRAY and guitarist Dave WILLAIMS. They covered both ballad and rock domains equally well. The music displayed a prodigious degree of natural talent for songwriting, harmonizing, and arrangement. A folk-rock in the vein of Fairport Convention or Fotheringay. 
                                      

At the time of their first single, "Feelin' High", released in 1968 on Simon Napier-Bell's Snb  Records, founding band members Clodagh Simonds, Alison Bools and Maria White were teenagers at high

school. After leaving school Maria drifted away, and after a brief hiatus the band re-formed with an expanded line-up including Dave Williams (guitar), Frank Boylan (bass) and William Murray (drums). In 1972 the band released Swaddling Songs, which was commercially unsuccessful at the time. A collection of demos and sessions for the album, recorded 1969–1971, was released in 1996 as The Virgin Prophet. Boylan was subsequently replaced by Steve Borrill (ex-Spirogyra). The band split up in 1973.
                            

Swaddling Songs has since received critical acclaim and original vinyl copies are highly collectable. It has

been re-released multiple times on various labels since 1989, including a 50th anniversary release by Deram in 2023. "Swaddling Songs" debut album is rich in varied and a true sonic marvel of beauty and simple melodies, and, most of all, a blending of two of the most beautiful voices in all of Folk music. This is a fantastic album that deserves new discovery. This album is somewhat hard to find but worth any search. A second album, "The Virgin Prophet", featuring unreleased and different versions of songs found on "Swaddling Songs", was released in the mid nineties.
                                           

IT'S PSYCHEDELIC BABY MAGAZINE (Interview) HERE

I give you both versions of Mellow Candle albums

MELLOW CANDLE - SWADDLING SONGS 1972 (DELUXE EDITION 2004)
                                   

Prepare to be enchanted by Swaddling Songs (1972), the sole studio album from the Irish quintet Mellow Candle and arguably among the crown jewels of the progressive folk rock era. While it famously

"vanished in a puff of magical smoke" upon its initial release, it has since been resurrected by collectors and critics as an absolute cult masterpiece. The album's most striking quality is the otherworldly vocal pairing of Clodagh Simonds and Alison Williams (now O'Donnell). Their harmonies are not merely sung; they are woven together with a luminous, haunting clarity that feels both angelic and ancient. In tracks like "Reverend Sisters" and "Silversong," their voices braid into complex arrangements that defy the standard "folk" label, creating a mystical, "prog-churchy" atmosphere that few bands have ever replicated.
                                       

Mellow Candle – Swaddling Songs 
Label: Acme – ADCD1040
Series: Acme Deluxe Series
Format: CD, Album, Deluxe Edition, Reissue, Remastered
Country: UK
Released: 2004
Genre: Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk Rock, Art Rock, Folk

ORIGINAL ALBUM DERAM SDL7, 1972    

                           

   
01.Heaven Heath   3:01
Written-By – A. Williams    
02.Sheep Season   5:02
Written-By – A. Williams, Simonds, D. Williams
03.Silversong   4:27
Written-By – Simonds
04.The Poet & The Witch   2:51
Written-By – Simonds    
05.Messenger Birds  3:39 
Written-By – A. Williams    
06.Dan The Wing   2:45
Written-By – Simonds    
07.Reverend Sisters   4:22
Written-By – Simonds    
08.Break Your Token   2:28
Written-By – Simonds    
09.Buy Or Beware   3:04
Written-By – D. Williams    
10.Vile Excesses   3:15
Written-By – D. Williams, Murray    
11.Lonely Man   4:30
Written-By – Simonds
12.Boulders On My Grave   3:41
Written-By – Simonds

    
ADDITIONAL TRACKS 7''SINGLE SNB 36645,1968        

    
13.Feeling High  2:23 
Written-By – Simonds    
14.Tea With The Sun   3:16
Written-By – Simonds

NOTES

Tracks 1 to 12 originally released in 1972, ℗1972 Decca Records Ltd. Recorded at Tollington Studios, December 1971.
Tracks 13 and 14 are bonus tracks for this CD edition. ℗1968 SNB, licensed from Simon Napier-Bell.

Flac Size: 279 MB

MELLOW CANDLE - THE VIRGIN PROPHET (1969 - 1971) 1997

                                 

What makes the album truly unique is the sheer maturity of its composition, especially considering the

band's youth?Simonds and Williams were still in their teens during recording. Simonds, who wrote the majority of the tracks (including the bluesy, heart-wrenching "Lonely Man" at just 12 years old), anchors the music with intricate piano and harpsichord work. The band effortlessly shifts from the delicate, pastoral waltz of "Heaven Heath" to the driving, rhythmic energy of "The Poet and the Witch," blending traditional folk themes with nimble electric guitar and subtle jazz-inflected rhythms.
                                

While often compared to giants like Fairport Convention or Renaissance, Mellow Candle possesses a

sharper, more "acid folk" edge. Their lyrics trade standard ballads for a "stream-of-consciousness mulch" of occult mysticism and romantic legend, all delivered with a tight-knit delivery that Record Collector Magazine describes as "intelligent, spirited, and masterful". This album is more than just a rare collector's item; it is a timeless, flawlessly executed sonic marvel that captures a "visionary state" of fearless creativity. An amazing album indeed! 
                               

Mellow Candle – The Virgin Prophet
Label: Kissing Spell – KSCD9520 - F
Series: Erewhon Underground Folk-Rock Series 1968-1978
Format: CD, Album
Country: UK    
Released: 1997
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock, Acoustic, Art Rock

TRACKS

                             

01. Heaven Heath   2:36
Written-By [Uncredited] – A. Williams
02. Waterman Weatherman    4:00
03. Sheep Season   3:35
Written-By [Uncredited] – A. Williams, Simonds, D. Williams
04. Buy Or Beware   2:50
Written-By – D. Williams
05. Break Your Token   2:30
Written-By [Uncredited] – Simonds
06. Lonely Man   3:32
Written-By [Uncredited] – Simonds
07. Lords Of The Green Grass    2:00
08. Dan The Wing   2:32
Written-By [Uncredited] – Simonds
09. Silver Song   4:08
Written-By [Uncredited] – Simonds
10. Poet & The Witch   2:21
Written-By [Uncredited] – Simonds
11. Boulders On My Grave   2:44
Written-By [Uncredited] – Simonds    
12. Reverend Sisters   3:42
Written-By [Uncredited] – Simonds    
13. Crabtree    3:42
14. Pretty Polly   5:26
Written-By – Traditional    
15. The Virgin Prophet    3:13

NOTES

Previously unreleased sessions recorded 1969-1970.

Flac Size: 201 MB