Rare 70s Psychedelic Folk | The Magician | Courtyard Music Group

"The Magician" is Courtyard Music Group's signature track, from their 1974 private pressing "Just Our Way of Saying Hello."

From the first swirling textures through to a statement of the rhythm with a strong pulse, the tune has a wonderful musical arc that floats into the lyric. The band uses the middle of the tune as an opportunity for free improvisation, never the same on any two performances.

After an entire night in the studio recording the track, the band produce a positive, confident sound that reaches its crescendo in the final chorus, which celebrates the band's efforts getting to the end of the jam, before fading out into a gentle whisper.

The band settled on this late night recording on their final hours in the studio, and the tune clearly celebrates the tight unity the band experience at the end of the two week's together recording the album. The Magician is testament to their daring ability to create something a bit different, whilst staying true to the song's framework.

After the tapes were edited and spliced, Richard Jones, who composed and sang the lyric on The Magician, drove the tapes down on the back of his motor scooter to Deroy, a vinyl cutting studio in Carnforth, Lancashire, where only one hundred copies were pressed. Since then, the record has been in demand from record collectors worldwide, with copies exchanging hands for £1300! To order a copy of the limited reissue (300 numbered copies only,) visit http://bit.ly/CMG-1974