I first heard of Bread, Love and Dreams when I picked up a volume in the excellent "Late Night Tales" series, this one with songs selected by members of the band Midlake. One of the tracks on that compilation was "Time's the Thief" by Bread, Love and Dreams, a gorgeous song that instantly captivated me. Wanting to hear more by this obscure Scottish band, I ordered this CD and another one by them. Both are well worth hearing.This album was originally recorded in 1970, intended to be part of a double-album package with "Captain Shannon and the Strange Tale of the Hunchback from Gigha." The duo's label, Decca, nixed that idea and put out "Captain Shannon" first, waiting until 1971 to release "Amaryllis." David McNiven, the male half of the duo, is quoted as saying: "When it came time to diving up the songs, we decided to put the more mystical ones on Amaryllis." But, as the liner notes tell us, the album "was damned by lackluster publicity and poor distribution, and when it didn't sell, Decca dropped the duo." In addition to that hurdle, the band's records were never released outside the UK, further contributing to their obscurity.Listening to these lovely songs over 40 years later, it's hard to believe that Bread, Love and Dreams didn't garner at least a big more fame or attention. This is folk music of the highest quality. It's been dubbed "acid folk" by some reviewers, and there is a slight psychedelic sheen on some of the songs, but for the most part this music is not radically different from what groups like Fairport Convention were doing around the same the time. In fact, some of these songs sound like some sort of magical merger of Fairport with the Moody Blues. You have the male/female vocal dynamic at work, plus some truly enchanting arrangements, and this album includes "Time's the Thief," one of their very finest songs.This CD comes with a 12-page booklet that includes an essay about the group written by Richard Morton Jack, and recollections of "Amaryllis Live" written by David McNiven in 2006. Although Amaryllis was basically a duo, on this album they had a supporting cast of musicians that included Danny Thompson from Pentangle on bass. Fans of '60s and '70s British Folk should seek this album out. A true gem.