{"id":2220,"date":"2013-07-17T01:00:13","date_gmt":"2013-07-17T07:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/panmankey\/?p=2220"},"modified":"2013-07-17T09:20:05","modified_gmt":"2013-07-17T15:20:05","slug":"buy-these-now-pagan-music-1969-1975","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/panmankey\/2013\/07\/buy-these-now-pagan-music-1969-1975\/","title":{"rendered":"Buy These Now: Pagan Music 1969-1975"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

For me, \u201cPagan Music\u201d has always been more about a sound or a feeling than explicitly Pagan lyrics. Music becomes Pagan to me when it conjures up Pagan images and emotions inside of me, regardless of the religious leanings of the artists in question. If the music works then it works, I don\u2019t think anyone has to be dripping with pentacles to be appreciated by Modern Pagans. Do I support music created and written for an explicitly Pagan audience? Sure do, but I\u2019d probably go crazy if that\u2019s all I had to listen to.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The late 60\u2019s and early 1970\u2019s saw a drastic increase in occult and Pagan material. Witches like Alex Sanders released recorded rituals<\/a> on major record labels, and the first \u201cWitchcraft How To\u201d books<\/a> began showing up in book stores. The first honest to Goddess Pagan music was released during this period too, along with several albums that had a distinctly Pagan or Witchy vibe. Many of these albums have been lost to the sands of time (and garage sales), but are still worth tracking down. \u201cClassic Rock\u201d is more than just Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd . . . . Before you yell at me this list is not meant to be exhaustive it just highlights things that I enjoy and are familiar with. I\u2019m always up for recommendations. (And I had so much fun writing it and listening to all of these bands that there will be future installments.) <\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be writing more about Fairport Convention<\/strong>\u2018s Leige and Leaf<\/strong><\/em> (1969) in the coming weeks, but I couldn\u2019t leave it off this list. I\u2019m not exaggerating when I say that Leige and Leaf<\/em> is one of the great folk-rock records ever made, and it makes my short list of best albums ever, it\u2019s just that amazing. Everyone involved in this record are among the best ever to play (or sing) their respective instruments. Sandy Denny is the English Janis Joplin (but better-gulp) and Richard Thompson is among the finest English guitar players not named Page, Clapton, or Beck. <\/p>\n

Leige and Leaf<\/em> is essentially an album of traditional folk songs, but given a bit of rock and roll swagger along with some new arrangements. The three original tracks on the album feel timeless by the second listen and fit comfortably next to their well pedigreed siblings. What makes the album feel \u201cPagan\u201d is the timeless nature of the songs. Tunes like Matty Groves<\/em> (which dates back to the 17th Century) tap into that feeling of nostalgia for the long lost English Countryside; where the Christian and Rustic Pagan exist blissfully side by side. <\/p>\n