The Internet, the indie movement, major-label greed and Dead- and punk-like do-it-yourselfism have allowed the resurrection of all kinds of recordings, some of them made as recently as a generation ago, that were presumed lost.

Woody Simmons was part of the feminist recording movement of the '70s: people like Holly Near, Cris Williamson, Meg Christian, and lots of musicians and back-up singers who went only by their first (non-patriarchal) name.

A lot of their music and politics sounds kind of earnestly goofy now, but at the time, these women were filling a huge gap. Thoughtful and aware, outside consumer culture, covering a vastly broader range of politics, bodies, sexualities and emotions than any record company would allow, they created a whole community that still thrives. If we'd waited for MCA, RCA and Columbia to do it, we'd still be waiting.

Recorded in San Francisco in 1977, this is the voice of a mature, thoughtful songwriter and singer. "Can't Say Why" is a wonderful love song, a "God knows how that happened, thank God it did" spot-on flight of joy. "Feather in the Wind" and "Oregon Mountains" are two sides of the same coin: the delirious rootlessness of finding new ways to live and the comfort of being attached to a naturally beautiful place. "Goin' Down South" is a fun, flat-out romp. All throughout, Simmons' picking is accomplished and interesting.