Julie Felix - Changes (1966)

Although she enjoyed stardom and an enduring multi-decade career in the U.K., folk singer Julie Felix never achieved widespread recognition in her native United States. After immigrating to England in the mid-'60s, the Californian was able to capitalize on the country's sudden post-Dylan appetite for American folk music and subsequently became the first solo folk artist to sign a major-label deal there. During her late-'60s peak, Felix's career in England was booming; she had scored a number of hits, sold out Royal Albert Hall, and hosted a popular variety television show. Her popularity continued into the early '70s, after which she spent a period living and recording in Norway -- where she also had several hits -- before returning to California and focusing on humanitarian issues. Moving back to England in the '90s, she revived her career and released a string of original albums on her own label, becoming a much-loved veteran of the U.K. touring circuit throughout the next two decades. Prior to her death in early 2020, Felix had celebrated her 80th birthday with a new album, "Rock Me Goddess", in 2018.

Felix debuted with a self-titled album and a single of Ian Tyson's "Someday Soon," and she also scored a hit on television, on The Eammon Andrews Show. By 1965, she was a headlining performer, referred to in The London Times as Britain's First Lady of Folk. She cut two more LPs for Decca over the next two years, including an album of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie songs, and was also one of the biggest exponents of the work of Leonard Cohen before he'd established himself beyond a small cult of listeners in England. She also began getting recognized for her commitment to charitable causes, and not only raised money for hunger relief but visited several of the more troubled countries in the Third World. By the end of 1965, Felix had filled Royal Albert Hall for one of her concerts, reportedly the first folksinger based in England to accomplish that feat. In 1966, she moved to the Fontana label, for which she cut three albums -- her 1966 album, "Changes", is regarded as one of her best, mixing traditional and contemporary material and utilizing the support of Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick. Meanwhile, on-stage she came under the wing of Brian Epstein, who booked her and Georgie Fame together at the Saville Theatre, with a then-unknown Cat Stevens appearing as the opening act.

While this is by no means an outstanding record, it might be the most appealing offering in the Felix catalog for folk and folk-rock collectors. That's due not to Felix herself, but the presence of a pre-Pentangle John Renbourn as guitar accompanist. British folk giant Martin Carthy, as well as a pre-Fairport Convention Dave Swarbrick (on guitar and violin, respectively), also show up on "Geordie." The guitar playing is good, but as for the actual product, it's competent but rather colorless mid-'60s folk. It also seems as though Felix and Fontana were not quite sure in which direction to tug: The mood is predominantly acoustic folk, but there's also some tentative, awkward folk-rock with rudimentary drums (particularly on the cover of Sylvia Fricker's "Gifts Are for Giving"), strained experimental-surreal comedy ("Brain Blood Volume"), and orchestration (on "Rainy Day" and "I Can't Touch the Sun") that indicates a fruitless stab at the pop market. The songs are a mixture of covers of songs by the likes of Bob Dylan, Donovan, and Gordon Lightfoot -- none of them too obscure -- with pleasant, unmemorable Felix originals. Her takes on Dino Valenti's classic "Get Together" and Lightfoot's "The Way I Feel" are, lamentably, embarrassingly stiff. The LP's one for curiosity seekers, both for the session musicians and for an illustration of a '60s folky unable to make a smooth transition into more progressive sounds and arrangements.


Tracklist:

A1 The Lost Children
A2 One Too Many Mornings
A3 Gifts Are For Giving
A4 Geordie
A5 To Try For The Sun
A6 Brain Blood Volume
A7 Rainy Day
B1 Changes
B2 Love Minus Zero - No Limit
B3 Ballad Of A Crystal Man
B4 Get Together
B5 The Ones I Love The Most
B6 The Way I Feel
B7 I Can't Touch The Sun

Julie Felix - Changes (1966)

(320 kbps, cover art included)