Anne Briggs - The Time Has Come (1971)

This 1971 album is a genuine piece of British folk history. Anne Briggs' first album collected largely unaccompanied traditional songs, but this, her second LP, features her debut ventures into the realm of songwriting, the title track being her first ever composition.

An astoundingly accomplished piece of music, 'The Time Has Come' (later covered by Pentangle) gives a taster not only of Briggs' writing skills but also manages to place that effortless, timeless vocal of hers within a very personal framework. Singing self-penned material was a fairly unusual practice (in the folk community at least) back when Briggs first started writing alongside her then-partner Bert Jansch, in the '60s, so to hear such a remarkable folk voice bringing new music to life must have had quite some impact.

Then there's the guitar playing: Briggs has said herself that Bert Jansch's fingerpicking was a revelation to her, a liberation from the Woody Guthrie-style chord strumming the folk scene was so used to. This album features Briggs' own considerable picking skills, with the complexity of the guitar arrangements making for a perfect counterbalance to her uncommonly even voice. Utterly beautiful, breathtakingly pure British folk. A classic.

Tracks:
1. Sandman's Song
2. Highlodge Hare
3. Fire and Wine
4. Step Right Up
5. Ride, Ride
6. The Time Has Come
7. Clea Caught a Rabbit
8. Tangled Man
9. Wishing Well
10. Standing on the Shore
11. Tidewave
12. Everytime
13. Fine Horseman

Anne Briggs - The Time Has Come (1971)
(192 kbps, front cover included)