LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Mac Macleod Candy Man 1965 Single Mac Macleod Donna Donna 1966 Ep Track The Other Side Out My Light 1966 Single The Other Side Like A Rolling Stone 1966 Single Exploding Mushroom There Will Come A Day 1966 Single Exploding Mushroom Give Back What You Stole (From Me) 1966 Single Mac Macleod Cod'ine 1967 Recording Mac Macleod Been On The Road So Long 1967 Recording Mac Macleod London Town 1967 Recording Hurdy Gurdy Tick Tock Man 1968* Hurdy Gurdy Neo Camel 1968 * Argent Telescope 1969 * Amber Sea Shell Rock Me 1971 Recording Amber Swan In The Evening 1971 Recording Amber Sing On The Sunlight 1971 Recording Amber White Angel 1971 Recording Mac Macleod Corrina New Recording */ Mac Macleod Season Of The Witch New Recording * Mac Macleod The Cuckoo New Recording * Mac Macleod Hurdy Gurdy Man New Recording * Mac Macleod's incredible musical journey starts in the smokey folk clubs of the early sixties, where he appeared alongside Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Maddy Prior (as Mac & Maddy), Mick Softley (as Soft Cloud) and Donovan. He moved on to garage rock and full blown psychedelia, in groups such as the Other Side and The Exploding Mushroom. Showing his friend Donovan some finger-picking guitar techniques, they busked around the West Country in 1964, before accompanying the tousled troubadour during his Pye years, and playing the NME pollwinner's concert in 1965. In 1968 Donovan repaid his friendship with a song, Hurdy Gurdy Man, written specially for Mac and his group Hurdy Gurdy. They performed their power version for Donovan at his Hertfordshire home, influencing the bard who adopted their electric fuzz for his next single. Mac's journey was to take him around Britain, and across Sweden and Denmark, where he first formed Hurdy Gurdy. The group became an underground favourite and went on to headline at Middle Earth, supporting Pink Floyd at the same venue. The forthcoming anthology contains all of Mac's rare recordings, from the acoustic folky beginnings through a succession of one-off groups, the sitar-drenched Amber, two previously unheard blistering tracks from Hurdy Gurdy themselves, and even a guest appearance with a fledgling post-Zombies: Argent. Bringing the collection completely up-to-date are four tracks by Mac's present band Silverlining. Their brand of swirling folk-blues can be heard on The Cuckoo and Donovan's Season Of The Witch, while Mac's new take of Hurdy Gurdy Man is nothing short of brilliant.In the 60's the press were fond of claiming that Donovan's influences were Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. Whilst an admirer of these performers Donovan actually said in Beat Instrumental: "The man who encouraged and helped me most was a fellow called Keith 'Mac' Macleod, I've known him for about three years, and he's taught me everything from chord progressions on the guitar, to how to appreciate folk and real blues". Now in the Noughties Donovan and Mac have become reacquainted. They are planning to work together again, probably on Donovan's next set of live dates, when promoting the release of the forthcoming EMI box set of his work.