Buffy Sainte-Marie - Many A Mile (1965)

Buffy Sainte-Marie has enjoyed a long career that has seen her rise to stardom on the folk circuit and try her hand at country, rock, soundtrack themes, acting, activism, and children's television. For most listeners, she remains identified with the material she wrote and sang for Vanguard in the mid-'60s. Her songs that addressed the plight of the Native American, particularly "Now That the Buffalo's Gone" and "My Country 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying," were the ones that generated the most controversy. Yet she was also skilled at addressing broader themes of war and justice ("Universal Soldier") and romance ("Until It's Time for You to Go"). She was also a capable interpreter of outside material, although her idiosyncratic vibrato made large-scale commercial success out of the question.

Sainte-Marie's second LP was most notable for the original version of her most famous composition, "Until It's Time for You to Go," which is her most melodic and memorable track. The rest of the album is more traditional and rough-hewn than some would expect, including a ballad with a "Greensleeves"-like melody ("Must I Go Round"), the Bukka White blues "Fixin' to Die," the oft-done ballad "Lazarus," an Irish-American murder ballad, and a traditional tune accompanied only by mouthbow ("Groundhog"). Of more interest are Sainte-Marie's own compositions, including "Los Pescadores" (which has some of her most uncompromising vibrato) and "Welcome Welcome Emigrante."

Buffy Sainte-Marie - Many A Mile (1965)
(192 kbps, cover art included)