Presenting – THE NEW CHRISTY MINSTRELS****

This Land Is Your Land/Deep Blue Sea/Don’t Cry Suzanne/The Cotton Pickers’ Song/The Big Rock Candy Mountain/Oh Shenando/Whistle/Railroad Bill/Californio/I Know Where I’m Goin’/Springfield Fair/In The Pines/ Willinbrook Well/Nine Hundred Miles

The influential folk ensemble The New Christy Minstrels was founded by Randy Sparks and was responsible for kick-starting the career of several well known musicians. Their first album Presenting enjoyed a long chart run. (US:19)

“The New Christy Minstrels consisted of many players, creating something akin to a choral group capable of handling complex arrangements of overlapping male/female harmonies. Presenting captures the group's youthful, happy sound in all its glory, with upbeat versions of This Land Is Your Land and Oh Shenando. Jaunty folk fare like The Big Rock Candy Mountain proved a comfortable fit for the group's cheerful harmonies.”

“If your musical taste includes folk songs telling stories that cover the range of humorous, dramatic, faith affirming, poignant and whimsical, played by extremely talented singers/musicians, then this LP is a must for you. The New Christy Minstrels were a mega-popular 60s folk ensemble formed by Randy Sparks, a musical genius, The group brought together ten musicians, each a major musical talent who could have been a popular headliner as a solo act, and became a success far exceeding his wildest dreams.”

“Their first album, with many of the greatest American folk songs ever composed, lavishly sung by the some of the most talented young singers of the time. If you think you've heard the best version of This Land Is Your Land, wait until you hear it sung by The New Christy Minstrels. You can thrill to the songs of the great America of the 1960s.”

“The New Christy Minstrels didn't sing anti-war songs that many of the folk performers of the 60s did. The music had to be simple and could easily be hummed, as Randy Sparks once said. That's what made this group so unique.”

“Whatever you look for in music, you will find it on this recording. Folk fan or not, the excellent arrangements and the blend of artists’ voices cannot fail to draw appreciation from any listener.”