Ian & Sylvia - Nashville (1968)

Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian husband-and-wife folk duo.

In 1968 Ian & Sylvia released Nashville, their final album on the Vanguard label. Technically they had already begun recording for MGM (the label on which the previous year's Lovin' Sound had been released), but some confusing technicalities meant they still owed one more for Vanguard to fulfil their contract. 
Like the name suggested, the new album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, with help from a number of seasoned session musicians including Pete Drake, Fred Carter, Jr., Buddy Spicher, Norbert Putman and Kenny Buttrey. Over their last few albums Ian & Sylvia had expanded their acoustic folk sound to incorporate elements of both electric folk-rock and country music - Nashville unsurprisingly had a notable increase in country elements, and retrospectively can be seen to fit in with the country-rock movement which was then starting to take off. Most of the songs were originals, though it did also feature two of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes compositions - "The Mighty Quinn" and "This Wheel's On Fire".

Lovin' Sound (1967) <|> Full Circle (1968)
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Ian & Sylvia - Lovin' Sound (1967)

Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian husband-and-wife folk duo.

In 1967 Ian & Sylvia moved from Vanguard Records to MGM, and their new label tried to steer them in more of a rock/pop direction, with hopes for some sort of commercial breakthrough. The resultant album, Lovin' Sound, featured a somewhat uneven folk-country-rock-pop mix, with assistance from guitarist David Rea, bassist Harvey Brooks, drummer Bill LaVorna and keyboardist Paul Harris (who also handled the orchestral arrangements). It featured both originals and covers, including songs by Bob Dylan, Tim Hardin and Johnny Cash, as well as one from guitarist David Rea.

It was a nice album, but not the commercial breakthrough MGM had hoped for.

So Much For Dreaming (1967) <|> Nashville (1968)
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Ian & Sylvia - So Much For Dreaming (1967)

Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian husband-and-wife folk duo.

1967's So Much For Dreaming was the album with which Ian & Sylvia finally embraced the folk-rock movement, as perhaps their original audience was dwindling. Though of course it's far from rock music, almost all the songs on this album do feature drums, two years after Dylan went electric and The Byrds hit the charts with "Mr Tambourine Man". Ian & Sylvia's style of folk music had always been on the conservative side, but the backing of drums and other instruments (including occasional electric guitar, and some sparse orchestration) on this album worked very well and suited their style fine.
The opening song was a great cover of "The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell - one of the earliest versions, as this was the year that all sorts of singers and bands started recording Mitchell's material (a year before she'd release her debut album).

Play One More (1966) <|> Lovin' Sound (1967)
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Ian & Sylvia - Play One More (1966)

Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian husband-and-wife folk duo.

Ian & Sylvia's fifth album saw them began to experiment more through their use of instrumentation, and so could tentatively be called their folk-rock debut. For the most part the changes were subtle, and didn't change their sound, though a close listen will reveal electric bass guitar replacing the acoustic standup bass. Two songs also featured electric organ, leading to quite an unusual instrumental combination, and "The French Girl" was embellished with some tasteful strings. Two songs stood out as being very different. The first was the title track, which was given a full band arrangement featuring electric guitar, bass, drums, strings and mariachi horns. The second was a surprising cover of the Gene Pitney hit "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa", complete with an electric band arrangement fairly faithful to the original. Whether these songs were the ideas of Ian & Sylvia themselves or Vanguard Records in the hope of crossing over into the pop world is uncertain, but the results certainly came together very nicely.
Elsewhere on the album were covers of Leadbelly's "When I Was A Cowboy" and the country classic "A Satisfied Mind".

Early Morning Rain (1965) <|> So Much For Dreaming (1967)
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Ian & Sylvia - Early Morning Rain (1965)

Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian husband-and-wife folk duo.

Early Morning Rain was the fourth folk album from Ian & Sylvia, following much the same formula as its predecessors. It is notable for including versions of several songs from contemporary singer-songwriters. The most important of these was the title track by fellow Canadian Gordon Lightfoot. Ian & Sylvia were the first to record this classic song, and they helped introduce Lightfoot's work to a larger audience. The album also includes Lightfoot's "For Loving Me".

Northern Journey (1964) <|> Play One More (1966)

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Ian & Sylvia - Northern Journey (1964)

Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian husband-and-wife folk duo.

Ian and Sylvia married in 1964. Their third album was much the same stylistically as its two predecessors - a mix of covers, old folk songs and originals, with a distinctive Canadian flavour in its lyrics and storytelling. Of the originals, it includes two of their most well-known and important songs - Ian's "Someday Soon" and Sylvia's "You Were On My Mind". Both songs would be covered by all sorts of other artists over the years - most notably the latter would be taken into the Top 10 the next year by We Five.

Four Strong Winds (1964) <|> Early Morning Rain (1965)
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Ian & Sylvia - Four Strong Winds (1964)

Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian husband-and-wife folk duo.
 

Ian & Sylvia's second album followed much the same formula as their first - traditional folk material sung in harmony with minimal acoustic accompaniment. However it was notable for the inclusion of two specific songs. The first, "Tomorrow Is A Long Time", was an early Bob Dylan composition which he had not released himself (and would not until it was included on 1971's Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume II). Ian & Sylvia's version here was the first released recording of this song. The title track of the album was an Ian Tyson original, and has come to be considered his signature song and a classic in its own right. Bobby Bare had a #3 country hit with it in the same year.

Ian & Sylvia (1962) <|> Northern Journey (1964)
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Ian & Sylvia - Ian & Sylvia (1962)

Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian husband-and-wife folk duo. 

Ian Tyson was in Victoria, British Columbia in 1933. In the late 50s he made the move to Toronto to work as a musician, and started playing folk clubs and coffee houses. It was here that he met Sylvia Fricker, and the two of them began performing together. By 1962 they were living in New York City, where they came to the attention of Albert Grossman. He became their manager, and secured them a recording contract with Vanguard Records.

Their 1962 debut album was a blend of folk traditionals, spirituals and blues. The vocals were shared between the two of them, often joining together in harmony, with a single acoustic guitar and upright bass providing the accompaniment. It was moderately successful, and the next year saw them perform at the Newport Folk Festival.

|> Four Strong Winds (1964)
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