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Size: 75.2 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Not to be confused with Doug Martsch's amazing nineties outfit, the Treepeople, -these- Tree People are equally amazing, but are a whole different proposition.This disc was originally released as a super limited lp way back in 1979 and managed to quietly disappear. Now, here we are nearly three decades later, and whattaya know? There's a whole movement of modern free folk, 'freak' folk and the like, and if you didn't know better, pretty sure we could pass this off as some strange super limited cd-r by some modern folk revivalists. But keen ears would certainly be able to tell. This is so entirely original (especially for the time) and genuine sounding. Mostly acoustic guitars, flute and vocals, the Tree People had two distinct sounds, the first, a lilting melancholy moonlit folk, like Cat Stevens or Van Morrison, a gorgeous lazy drawl, rich and lustrous, over simple folk and fluttering flutes, dreamy and gorgeous, sounding like some lost folk classic one minute, a strange "Girl From Ipanema" style shuffle the next.

But even at it's sweetest and softest, the record seems to always have a hint of melancholy, sometimes even a trace of ominous foreboding. Which definitely gives the songs a subtly dark undercurrent. The majority of the record however is spent in full on hippy jam mode. Very Comus-like at times (especially on track two, "Sliding"), wild steel string excursions, dense tangles of fingerpicked melodies and aggressive strummed riffs, with a definite raga like vibe, all over a smattering of hand drums and tablas, a glorious drifting buzzing steel string dronefolk, that just sounds so incredibly timeless. Elsewhere, the same jams evolve into more tranquil acoustic dreaminess, with the flutes floating over sweet lilting melodies, but even then, the songs will be peppered with sudden bursts of buzzing slide guitar, or brief squalls of atonal fingerpicking. SO cool.

And considering the current love of all things freaky and folky, it's sort of amazing that stuff like this was already being made 27 years ago!Obviously, fans of the current crop of modern folk troubadours will find this absolutely essential, Devandra, Vetiver, Espers, Newsom, whatever your particular poison, the Tree People will fit in frighteningly well. Hard to say whether it speaks to the prescience of the Tree People, or just to how much these modern bands have actually been 'borrowing'. Either way, this is absolutely essential.Packaged in a super deluxe Japanese miniature gatefold style cd sleeve, with a printed obi, and extensive liner notes in English and Japanese!
Stephen Cohen: guitar, voiceJeff Stier: percussion, recorderRachel Lademan: fluteJames Thornbury: bass

Singer-songwriter Stephen Cohen gathered around him two good musicians to work with : percussionist and recorder player Jeff Stier, and flautist Rachel Laderman, forming a trio under the name Tree People. After a year of performing and practicing the group had the chance to make a recording in a local recording studio in the forest, with additional guest musician James Thornbury, (who was going to be a member of the Canned Heat later, in their second period) on bass, slide-guitar and vocals. The recording session showed all qualities of a one chance in a lifetime where everything seemed to come together, even when they only had just one weekend to record. The album was pressed as a 1000 copies. Due to personal obligations, the group never was launched properly after the recording. Even when in 1984, they still did a second cassette-only release, “Human Voices”, this couldn’t prevent Tree People to slowly submerge. Stephen Cohen however continued with a comparable musical style interest with three more releases during this new century (2 of them I will check out later).

The first quality which I noticed immediately on the opening track, “Stranger” is Stephen Cohen’s beautiful and emotionally rich voice, a song where the lyrics becomes rich with feeling through this performance. Each track lands into an instrumental improvisation of a rare affectionate concentration. “Sliding” with handpercussion and slide-guitar has an acid folkblues feeling. Also the song “Pot of Gold” has a delicate rhythmic evolution carried out by the song with a great emotional strength, and some improvisation on flute, bass, guitar. The calmness and delicacy of the unfolding instrumental “Opus” is from a rare quality, which makes it fit well with the Ptarmigan release I also reviewed on this page. “Morning Song” on side B is based upon a happy, traditional fast Cuban rhythm with a jazzy evolution, finding its own personal way of song into it. “Space heater” once more digs back into the delicacy of the acid folk inspiration, simple and powerful, creating blushes of warmth with a vivid acoustic body. It is this feeling which is held strong during the whole recording, and makes this release so special to be appreciated wholeheartly and easily.

01. Stranger
02. Sliding
03. Pot of gold
04. Opus
05. Morning song
06. Space heater
07. The pineapple song
08. No more school
09. Bring in the water