Story
In '66 Mel, Mel & Julian were back at Gallo Studios, Johannesburg to record the third and last Mel, Mel & Julian LP.
The folk-rock movement was going strong, and Judy Collins had recorded "In My Life", her wonderful baroque-folk album. The band were definitely interested in the way that "their" music was evolving, and so they recorded "Miscellanea" ,their third LP for Columbia, as a mixed bag of music. It contained the various types of folk music that the group played during their gigs.
The umbrella that was folk music at the time, had in it's circumference, everything from Child Ballads, Bluegrass, Old-Timey and Blues... and now string quartets were popping up. Mel Green took the vocal solo on this version of "The Water Is Wide". Julian added electric guitar to Little Mel's fingerpicked acoustic, and later, Dan Hill... Gallo's resident arranger added the perfect string quartet backing. This is the result.
Is it Baroque, Folk or Folk-Rock? M,M&J really didn't care, this was a ground-breaking song for them.