Fire & Fleet & Candlelight
On the last of her fully satisfying '60s releases, Buffy Sainte-Marie combined a strong assortment of original songs with a judicious selection of traditional folksongs and twoJoni Mitchellcovers (including "The Circle Game"). The variety of arrangements and musical settings alone keep this intriguing record from ever sounding stale. Simple acoustic numbers ("The Wedding Song" and "The Seeds of Brotherhood"--add the word "sow" to the beginning and that's pretty much the sum total of Sainte-Marie's heartfelt message) contrast nicely with the lush orchestrations of "The Carousel" and "T'es Pas un Autre" and the good-time, hoedown feel of "Doggett's Gap" and the glorious "97 Men in This Here Town Would Give a Half a Grand in Silver Just to Follow Me Down." A unique songwriter with an equally unique voice captured on tape at the height of her powers.--Percy Keegan