"The Young Tradition/So Cheerfully Round/Galleries/Chicken On A Raft EP" by THE YOUNG TRADITION – Albums from 1966, 1967 and 1968 on Transatlantic Records in Stereo and a Bonus 1967 EP - featuring Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood with guests Dave Swarbrick, Sandy Denny and Dolly Collins (only on the "Galleries" LP) (22 July 2013 UK Beat Goes On Reissue – 3LPs onto 2CDs with a Bonus 3-Track EP – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Mediaeval Mystery Tour..."

Making available once again to a 2013 digital audience - this fantastically good twofer compilation gives us three ludicrously hard-to-find 60ts Acapella Folk Albums (originally on Transatlantic Records in the UK) and even throws in an EP from 1967 that I've never seen across any counter in any collector's shops anywhere.

Musically were in ye olde Englande territory where men are men and sheep worry and they do it looking cool and with a young buck attitude. There's many minstrels, serving maids, pretty ploughboys, poaching henrys, old misers (are there any other kinds), pigs who do a dance when you hit them with a shovel and fisherman dirges and sea shanties to wade through. So let's don our Carnaby Street garb and have at the watercress...

UK released 22 July 2013 - "The Young Tradition/So Cheerfully Round/Galleries/Chicken On A Raft EP" by THE YOUNG TRADITION on Beat Goes On Records BGOCD 1103 (Barcode 5017261211033) offers 3LPs remastered onto 2CDs with a Bonus 3-Track EP and plays out as follows:

CD1 (72:05 minutes):

1.  Byker Hill [Side 1]

2. The Bold Fisherman

3. Betsy The Serving Maid

4. Henry The Poacher

5. The Lyke Wake Dirge

6. The Banks Of Claudy [Side 2]

7. The Innocent Hare

8. Dives And Lazarus

9. Derry Down Fair

10. The Truth Sent From Above

11. Pretty Nancy Of Yarmouth

Tracks 1 to 11 are their debut album "The Young Tradition" – 1966 UK LP on Transatlantic TRA 142.

NOTE: Although the American album had the same title and artwork, the September 1967 US LP of "The Young Tradition" on Vanguard VRS-9246 (Mono) and Vanguard VRS-79246 (Stereo) was in fact a composite compilation of tracks from the first and second LPs. 

If you want to sequence the 14-track US LP "The Young Tradition" from these CDs, use the following songs...

Side 1: The Innocent Hare, Lake Wyke Dirge, Byker Hill, Knight William And The Shepherd's Daughter, The Truth Sent From Above, The Single Man's Warning, The Banks of Claudy

Side 2: Derry Down Fair, The Foxhunt, The Hungry Child, Pretty Nancy Of Yarmouth, Watercress-O, The Old Miser, The Whitsuntide Carol

12. Daddy Fox [Side 1]

13. The Season Round

14. The Bold Dragon

15. Watercress-O

16. The Old Miser

17. The Foxhunt

18. Knight William [Side 2]

19. The Single Man's Warning

20. The Pretty Ploughboy

21. The Hungry Child

22. The Whitsuntide Carol

Tracks 12 to 22 are their second studio album "So Cheerfully Round" - 1969 UK LP on Transatlantic TRA 155 (no US issue)

CD2 (50:15 minutes):

1. Intro: Ductia [Side 1]

2. The Barley Straw

3. What If A Day

4. The Loyal Lover

5. Entracte: Stones In My Passway

6. Idumea

7. The Husbandman And The Servingman

8. The Rolling Of The Stones

9. The Bitter Withy

10. The Banks Of The Nile

11. Wondrous Love [Side 2]

12. Mediaeval Mystery Tour

13. Divertissement: Upon The Bough

14. Ratcliff Highway

15. The Brisk Young Widow

16. Interlude: The Pembroke Unique Ensemble

17. John Barleycorn

18. The Agincourt

Tracks 1 to 18 are their third and final studio album "Galleries" - 1968 UK LP on Transatlantic TRA 172 and in the USA on Vanguard VSD-79295 in Stereo. It was reissued in June 1973 in the UK as "Galleries Revisited" (same tracks) on Transatlantic TRA SAM 30. The reissue highlighted that Dolly Collins arranged "What If A Day" and that both Dave Swarbrick and Sandy Denny were on the track "Interlude: The Pembroke Unique Ensemble".

19. Chicken On A Raft [Side 1]

20. Randy Dandy-O

21. Shanties (4 Tracks): Fire Maringo/Hanging Johnny/Bring 'Em Down/Haul On The Bowline

Tracks 19 to 21 are the 6-track 1967 UK "Chicken On A Raft" EP on Transatlantic Records TRA EP 164

THE YOUNG TRADITION was:
PETER BELLAMY with HEATHER and ROYNSTON WOOD - All Three Acapella Vocals for the first two LPs, played instruments for some of album number three - "Galleries"
Guests on the "Galleries" album - Sandy Denny, Dave Swarbrick, Dolly Collins, Chris Hogwood, Arrangements by Bert Jansch and John Renbourn on "Mediaeval Mystery Tour"

The outer card slipcase adds these BGO releases a touch of the special while the 20-page booklet is impressively chunky with fantastically detailed new liner notes from JOHN O’REGAN. The first half of the booklet repro’s the liner notes of each original album that explained in knowledgeable and witty tongue the history of the largely Acapella songs – so you get a huge swath of info as well as visuals. There is little hiss apparent as the three voices harmonize in that ‘nowt lad’ old England way and when the songs come accompanied by a lone acoustic guitar – the audio is gorgeous. These are beautiful transfers and for those used to the crackly original LPs – the clarity will come as a shock.

The debut album is stark reminder of the power of English Male and Female voices – three harmonizing as they sing lyrics about fire and fleet and candle neat in "The Lyre Wake Dirge". We hear of Royston sing about the poor in "Dives And Lazarus" and a marriage to a sailor for "Pretty Nancy Of Yarmouth" who couldn’t be true to her man away on the wide ocean blue. In truth, you either love this finger-in-the-ear kind of stark Folk or you don’t – but if you do – what a treat.

Album number two opens with more ordinary folk filling soft pillows with thoughts of true love in "The Season Round" and spending tuppence-a-basket on "Watercress-O". A wee squawler is born to a hassled young lad in "The Single Man's Warning" - but his wife is gossiping instead of making him dinner when he staggers home from a hard day's graft.

The third album finally introduced a Guitar, Whistle, concertina, tambour - and part of accompanying group The Early Music Consort turned out to have future Fairport Convention and Fotheringay leading lights Dave Swarbrick (Fiddle and Mandolin) and Sandy Denny (Piano) amidst their ranks (they are on "Interlude: The Pembroke Unique Ensemble"). Future Harvest Records recording star Dolly Collins is in there too playing something called a Portative Organ (I think its on the instrumental "Medieval Mystery Tour"). It makes songs like "The Barley Straw" feel so much fuller. The "Galleries" album also allowed each a solo performance – Heather Wood on "What If A Day" and "The Rolling Of The Stones", Peter Bellamy on "Ratcliff Highway" and Royston Wood on "Brisk Young Widow". They even went in for some faux scratchy 78” Blues with the cleverly disguised "The Loyal Lover". Fotheringay fans will recognize "The Banks Of The Nile" (maybe Sandy heard it here first) and Traffic fans their "John Barleycorn". The "Galleries" is accomplished and feels like the album the first two were trying to be.

For sure three whole albums of ye olde Acapella English Folk by THE YOUNG TRADITION may be too much for even the committed – but its beautifully rendered and if you're a fan – an absolute must own…