Stone Angel - East of the Sun (2000)

The group STONE ANGEL were formed by the key members of another Norfolk (UK) area band (MIDWINTER), and like that group much of their early recorded music went either unnoticed, unreleased or both until its release by Kissing Spell in the mid-nineties. Unlike MIDWINTER, STONE ANGEL did manage to release a couple of studio albums during their heyday, and also reformed after the reissue of their early work.

The reformed band still exists today and released the delightful if somewhat difficult-to-locate album 'Circle of Leaves' in late 2007. Multi-instrumentalists Paul Corrick and Ken Saul, along with MIDWINTER acquaintance Mick Burroughs put together the first STONE ANGEL lineup in 1974, replacing former MIDWINTER vocalist Jill Child with the just-as-angelic singer Joan Bartle, who would eventually become Joan Saul. The group rounded out their lineup with violinist/mandoliner Dave Lambert.

STONE ANGEL's music recalls the finest traits of seventies British-tinged acid folk, much in the same vein as their predecessor MIDWINTER although leaning toward a more pastoral tone for the most part. The group recorded and released a self-titled album on the minor Seashell label, along with the immediately forgotten follow-up 'The Holy Rood of Bromholm' before Burroughs and Corrick departed for university studies. The remaining members, along with a rotating lineup of local talent, continued on in the STONE ANGEL name before fading from the scene toward the latter part of that decade. Saul and Bartle would revive the group's name in the mid eighties after brief stints as the VILLAGE BAND and ARKENSTONE, although no new studio work was released.

In the shadow of Kissing Spell's discovery and release of MIDWINTER's 1974 release 'The Waters of Sweet Sorrow' as well as STONE ANGEL's first two albums, the band reformed with Andrew Smith and keyboardist Dave Felmingham, releasing four new studio albums and appearing live sporadically. Dave Felmingham and Richard Danby would be added later, and the band continues to exist today although no known new material is planned at present. Lambert would go on to a variety of appearances including a stint in the Australian band the LEGENDS.

STONE ANGEL provide progressive folk fans with a decent-sized discography of a half-dozen albums spanning more than thirty years of recorded history, and are another example of the delightful blend of classic British folk and the more modern sounds that were instrumental in forming the basis of folk music more than thirty five years ago.