Mary Hopkins - Earth Song / Ocean Song (1971)

It was the British supermodel Twiggy who alerted Paul McCartney to the Welsh singer Mary Hopkin when Apple Records was looking for talent in 1968. The waifish soprano scored a huge worldwide smash with her first Apple single, the melancholy but rabble-rousing ballad "Those Were the Days," in late 1968; it actually knocked the Beatles' own "Hey Jude" out of the number one position in the U.K. Paul McCartney lent Hopkin a further hand by producing her first album and writing her second single, "Goodbye," which was also a hit. More comfortable with refined, precious ballads and folky pop than rock, Hopkin scored several more hit singles in the U.K., although she never entered the American Top 40 again. Her commercial success diminished as Apple's fortunes dwindled in the early '70s.    

More folk-oriented than her first effort, Mary Hopkin's lilting voice soothes the listener like hot tea with honey. Included in this set, which was produced by Tony Visconti, are her interpretations of Ralph McTell's "Streets of London," Cat Stevens' "The Wind," and Gallagher & Lyle's "International."    

Tracklist:
01 - International
02 - There's Got To Be More
03 - Silver Birch And Weeping Willow
04 - How Come The Sun
05 - Earth Song
06 - Martha
07 - Streets Of London
08 - The Wind
09 - Water, Paper And Clay
10 - Ocean Song

Mary Hopkins - Earth Song / Ocean Song (1971)         
(320 kbps, cover art included)