Wow! I have just had the privilege of listening to advance copies of the upcoming Mudcat 6-CD set "This is Us"/"Until the Dark Time Ends", and I must say I'm blown away - mightily impressed - absolutely thrilled by the quality and variety of the music presented therein by scores of Mudcat members.

This collection tops the previous "Blue Plate Special" set and is destined to become a treasured collector's item among folk and blues aficionados. There are over 130 songs and tunes from the whole spectrum, performed by inspired amateurs as well as seasoned professionals. Quite a lot of them feature unaccompanied singing; others are full-band arrangements or voice-and-guitar offerings.

A teaser poster can be downloaded here (requires a pdf reader such as Adobe Reader). Contents, complete lyrics and song notes are here.

When will the set be available? We're up against a tight deadline, but if all goes well, Dick Greenhaus will have the World Premiere copies on the CAMSCO table at next month's Getaway. The UK launch will be November 14 at Herga Folk Club.

This has been a labor of love by bradfordian, SussexCarole, Mysha, Dick and myself. Many thanks to them, and to all who contributed content.

Are you excited yet?