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1. Festival Family Presents FESTIVAL

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$15.00
$15.00
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1. Festival Family Presents FESTIVAL (original release 1975 - re-release 2007)

Festival - Too Much Time - California - Put Out The Roses - Runnin' Blue - Pioneer Square - Sticks & Stones - Christmas Day Is Just Another Day Without You - Winding Down My Life

The Festival Family was a group of people, who reached out to people, who needed people, and loved good music.  They were the people, and they were the music.  This album was recorded in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, after a nightclub tour of 4 weeks in Nova Scotia, performing 7 days a week.  Then, a 12-hour ferry ride to Newfoundland, to perform 7 days a week, over 5 weeks, in 5 cities, in Newfoundland.  Then, an 18-hour ferry ride back to Nova Scotia, to record the album in the daytime, for 2 weeks, while performing nightly in a nightclub.  The Canadian influence would continue to show through all of FESTIVAL's career.  The Canadian influence appeared immediately in this first album, with the use of a baritone saxophone borrowed from Blaine Jollimore, whose brother, Keith, had played it in the Canadian group, LIGHTHOUSE, which was an early favorite of the members of FESTIVAL.  The first album starts with the song, "Festival", by Bob Harris, a college schoolmate, and the song from which the group name was derived.  There are three songs written by Archie Johnson, a California musician that FESTIVAL met in June 1974, in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Archie wrote, "California", "Pioneer Square", and "Put Out The Roses", which became one of FESTIVAL's most popular songs.  "Too Much Time", was written by Britt's younger brother, Dave, and it is about Britt.  Dave also wrote,"Winding Down My Life", which is about Britt and Dave's hometown, Waldron, Indiana.  "Christmas Day Is Just Another Day Without You", was written by Britt and Don, and the title says it all.  The title of the album is "The Festival Family presents FESTIVAL", to recognize the members of the Festival Family, a communal family living on the Festival Farm, in Skidmore, Missouri, the support group, and family members of the band.  This album expresses all of the emotions, and all of the love, that FESTIVAL had waited so many years to record.  The song that probably best expresses the group's emotion at this time in their career is Ray Charles', "Sticks & Stones".  It has the raw energy that only a first album can possess.  This is truly the magic of a first album.