Sing And They'll Sing Your Song (Various Artists)

The Megaphone record label was founded in 1997 in the wake of concert promoter Stephane Bismuth's matchmaking of Liverpool quartet Shack with west-coast legend Love's Arthur Lee, after a 15 year hiatus in the latter's career. Stephane went on to produce Michael Head & The Strands's classic 1997 album The Magical World of The Strands (MEGAUK 024CD/LP). In the late '90s he discovered, and released material by, the then little known late folk-blues singer Karen Dalton, now acknowledged by Bob Dylan as his favorite singer in the early '60s Greenwich Village scene, quoted by Adele as her favorite singer, and revered by a large following in the new century's sprawling folk scene. Sing And They'll Sing Your Song features the broad spectrum showcased on the label's releases over twenty years, including "Bahamian Calypso" by Blind Blake, the singer who influenced the first million selling album by a single artist, Harry Belafonte's Calypso, Iraqi Oud, Sicilian young art-rockers, and the first recording endeavor by Julien Barbagallo, a multi-instrumentalist discovered a good seven-hour drive into French countryside, soon bound for fame with Australian band Tame Impala. The title of the compilation is a quote from Alan Price's "Poor People" covered here quite possibly the first time ever. It reflects the number of covers that made their way to the compilation and the label's belief that covers have been discarded too hastily since the '60s, as Karen Dalton's oblivion sadly exemplifies. This compilation comes with a 12-page booklet with unpublished photographs of every artist, including rare shots from the personal archives of Karen Dalton. Features Michael Head & The Strands, Karen Dalton, Simon Dalmais, Silvain Vanot, Lecube, Angil, Antarte, Teppaz & Naz, Blind Blake, and Omar Bashir.