"The Well Below The Valley" by PLANXTY – December 1973 Ireland and UK Second Studio Album on Polydor Records – featuring Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Andy Irvine and Liam O’Flynn (1988, 1990 and 2001 US Shanachie Records CD Reissue – Bill Giolando Master At CMS Digital in California) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...As I Roved Out..." 

By the time PLANXTY had released their second studio album "The Well Below The Valley" on Polydor Records 2383 232 in December 1973 - both it and the February 1973 self-titled "Planxty" debut on Polydor 2383 186 had made them Traditional Irish Music revivalist legends. Both the public and the press were enthralled – and rightly so (their name is apparently an expression of goodwill in Gaelic – like cheers or thanks).

A 25-date UK tour beginning 14 February 1973 in Brunel University in Uxbridge and ending St. Patrick's Day (17 March 1973) in a Technical College in South East London only cemented for British listeners what many already knew in their native Ireland where they'd released a stand-alone debut 45 in December 1972 (months after they'd formed during sessions for the Christy Moore album "Prosperous") - the fiercely talented foursome of Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny and Liam O'Flynn made a beautiful racket. 

PLANXTY played real Folk - a sound deeply rooted in centuries-old jigs, reels, hornpipes, bothies and heartache ballads from Connemara, Donegal, Roscommon and Kildare - but all of it updated into commoner tales that suddenly felt fresh and new again.

Their third outing "Cold Blow And The Rainy Night" would appear in October 1974 (Polydor 2383 301) with Johnny Moynihan having replaced Donal Lunny who would shortly be forming The Bothy Band with Triona and Michael O'Donnell - their March 1976 debut LP also on Polydor Records. Indeed, the Seventies proved a beautiful and productive time for Trad in Ireland, England and the whole of the Celtic isles. Both Andy Irvine and Johnny Moynihan had been with SWEENEY'S MEN over on Nat Joseph's Transatlantic Records. 

Which brings us to these bare bones American-based Shanachie Records reissues for PLANXTY...

Shanachie released all three albums onto CD in 1990 and have been reissuing them ever since. In August 2020 (the time of this review) – theirs appears to be the only way you can get hard copies of the music on digital. Today we concentrate on platter number two specifically – framed as it was in that gorgeous Jim Fitzpatrick Celtic-folklore artwork. To the humours of mountains, dogs in the bushes and dodgy men named Reilly roving out...

UK released 1988, then reissued 25 October 1990 (and again March 2001) - "The Well Below The Valley" by PLANXTY on Shanachie SH 79010 (Barcode 016351791023) is a straightforward CD transfer of their second studio album from 1973 and plays out as follows (45:59 minutes):

1. Cúnla [Side 1]

2. Pat Reilly

3. Slip Jigs: (a) The Kid On The Mountain (b) An Phis Fhliuch

4. As I Roved Out (Andy)

5. Reels (a) The Dogs Among The Bushes (b) Jenny's Wedding

6. The Well Below The Valley

7. Hewlett [Side 2]

8. Bean Pháidín

9. Hornpipes: (a) Fisherman's Lilt (b) Cronin's Hornpipe

10. As I Roved Out (Christy)

11. Solo Jig: Humours Of Ballyloughlin

12. Time Will Cure Me

Tracks 1 to 12 are their second studio album "The Well Below The Valley" - released December 1973 in Ireland and the UK on Polydor Records 2383 232 - Produced by PHIL COULTER. 

PLANXTY was:

CHRISTY MOORE – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica and Bodhran

ANDY IRVINE – Second Lead Vocals, Mandola, Mandolin, Hurdy-Gurdy and Harmonica

LIAM O'FLYNN – Uilleann Pipes and Tin Whistle

DONAL LUNNY – Third Lead Vocals, Bouzouki, Guitar and Bodhran

The gatefold inlay merely reproduces the liner notes from the 1973 album's rear sleeve, a brief history of each song and recording/reissue credits on the last page. All of these Shanachie Records CD reissues are like this – gatefold slips of paper (at least in this case the beautiful Jim Fitzpatrick Celtic artwork in here - he would famously adorn many of the Thin Lizzy LPs including "Vagabonds Of The Western World", "Jailbreak" and "Johnny The Fox"). Audio-wise, Shanachie 79101 offers one brief transfer credit – BILL GIOLANDO at CMS Digital – and despite the 1988 copyright date credit on the rear inlay (never changed from the 1990 first issue) – the CD itself has a 2001 copyright date. Having said that, the remaster feels big and hearty and full of life – the original recording work of Producer Phil Coulter and Engineer Barry Ainsworth shining through. To the music...

It's only the rakish "Cúnla" knocking at the window - the opening track featuring a full-on display of playing dexterity - Bouzouki, Uilleann Pipes and a rapid-spoken vocal from Christy Moore combining to open Side 1 with a slice of Irish Folk joy. Even now, it makes me soppy. Sergeant Jenkins dupes "Pat Reilly" on Monday morning payday with gushing compliments and the promise of a dram in John Kelly's pub - the naive youngster inveigled into the Black Horse regiment and thereafter regretting taking the King's schilling. Two jigs follow - "The Kid On The Mountain" learned from the Dublin's Seamus Ennis - often considered the best piper ever - while the other "An Phis Fhliuch" came from the repertoire of flute-player Willie Clancy.

Up pops the first of two songs called "As I Roved Out" - Side 1's sung by Andy Irvine - a ballad of broken vows said to go back to the Great Famine - where the chap marries 'the lassie with the land' instead of starving with his true love. Side one has its greatness sealed with two lively reels - Liam making those notes dance like locals around a beach bonfire on a summer's night - magical stuff. Christy Moore sings that green grows the lily in "The Well Below The Valley" – an acoustic-instruments builder that feels both joyous and ominous whilst being a perfect end to Side 1.

Up comes the pace as "Hewlett" opens Side 2 with a jolly piper – a tune said to be associated with the blind harper Carolan. The liner notes try to translate the Irish in "Bean Pháidín" – a tale of female woe where some local lad is seriously aggrieved to not be The Woman of Pháidín – Liam playing a blinder as the Bodhran builds the pace. Things continue on the road to happiness with two hornpipes from County Kerry – piping awash with shingles, nets and fishermen. After a solo jig, Christy Moore sings of a pretty fair maid in the second song (different to the first) called "As I Roved Out" – too ray ah – plenty of oats for the soldier’s horse and some wine for the soldier boy. It ends on a rare solo song – Andy Irvine's own "Time Will Cure Me" – a deep talking song about love in the night that is gone in the morning – leaving our singer with a powerful longing and much soul-searching. A great album comes to a quality end.

After an October 1975 farewell tour of Ireland and the UK (with Paul Brady filling in for the absent Christy Moore) - Planxty disbanded for some years only to reform for the 1979 album "After The Break" on Tara Records TARA 3001 (they would make more LPs after that on Tara). August 1976 saw Polydor-UK release the mop-up Best Of LP and Cassette "The Planxty Collection" (Polydor 2383 397) that featured four cuts from "The Well Below The Valley" and the rare December 1972 Irish-only non-album Mono 45 "Cliffs Of Dooneen".

Andy Irvine would make a hugely revered solo album on Mulligan Records also in 1976 with Paul Brady of The Johnstons simply titled "Andy Irvine/Paul Brady" (Mulligan LUN 008) with a new seven-minute rendition of "Arthur McBride And The Sergeant" – a song neither of them seems to be able to escape even in August 2020. Donal Lunny would form the fabulous BOTHY BAND (in my opinion better than Planxty) and launch Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin where U2 practically lived. Liam "Og" O'Flynn would become young again in The Chieftains. Christy Moore, Donal Lunny and piper Davey Spillane alongside guitarist Declan Sinnott were just some of the illustrious names to form MOVING HEARTS in 1981 – another Irish Folk-Rock band fondly remembered who managed three albums on WEA Ireland between 1981 and 1983. Christy would of course continue well into the 2020s and was the subject matter of a March 2004 Sony/Columbia 6CD Box set celebrating his career to as far back as 1964. 

But PLANXTY will always have a special corner in any Irish soft machine and Folk lover’s soul - a band that made new what was old and returned it to a platform of respect. Jesus is at the well and they're searching for a lassie in Matthew O'Casey's place in Galway (notorious git mentioned in the West Coast of Ireland lament "Bean Pháidín") - was it ever thus...

Ireland's PLANXTY - Discography 1972 to 1976:

SINGLE: 

"Cliffs Of Dooneen" b/w "Yarmouth Town"

December 1972 Ireland-Only 45-Single on Polydor 2078 023

ALBUMS: 

"Planxty" – February 1973 UK debut vinyl album on Polydor Records 2383 186

CD Reissue on Shanachie 79009, released 25 October 1990 originally with no Barcode, reissued 1 March 2000 with Barcode 016351790927

Master at CMS Digital in California

"The Well Below The Valley" - December 1973 UK second studio album on Polydor Records 2383 232

CD Reissue on Shanachie 79010, 1988 originally and 1 March 2001 with Barcode 016351791023

Bill Giolando Master at CMS Digital in California

"Cold Blow And The Rainy Night" - October 1974 UK third studio album on Polydor Records 2383 301

CD Reissue on Shanachie 79011, 6 November 1989 original release date, then with Barcode 016351791122 and 2002 Copyright date on disc itself

"The Planxty Collection" - August 1976 UK Compilation LP on Polydor Records 2383 397 - features tracks from all three albums above plus the rare Mono "Cliffs Of Dooneen" Irish-only single A-side. Both sides of the single appear on the 1977 Irish LP "A Feast Of Irish Folk" on Polydor 2475 605. CD Reissue on Shanachie SH 79012, 12 December 1989, No barcode originally, then Barcode 016351791221

"Gathered From Coincidence: The British Folk-Pop Sound Of 1965-66" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – featuring Donovan, The Searchers, Marc Bolan, The Hollies, Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy, The Kytes, Tony Jackson, The Chosen Few, Beverley, Folk Blues Incorporated, Barbara Ruskin, The Kinks, Manfred Mann, Davey Graham, Mick Softley, Murray Head, Heinz and more (June 2018 UK Grapefruit Records 3CD 78-Track Mini Clamshell Box Set – Simon Murphy Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Jingle Jangle Morning..."

In the chock-a-block 44-page booklet that accompanies this superb little theme trek through our jingle jangle mornings of old - there's an advert for the Rickenbacker Guitar as endorsed by John Lennon (The Beatle Backer they cleverly tell us) above a photo of The Uglys making grimace-faces and sticking out their tongues at the camera – a shot that mimics their band name and a promo session they undoubtedly had a hoot doing. Only in one of these Grapefruit Records 3CD Box Sets do you get such detail - and bluntly - images we old farts haven't generally seen before.

Three discs with seventy-nine tracks (last song on Disc 3, Track 27, is hidden and not documented on the box or in the booklet) and all of it compiled by good men and true with faded Donovan tattoos on their willies, radioactive hair on their chests and passports to non-extradition countries – JOHN REED and Grapefruit's own DAVID WELLS. Fans of the humble 45 will also notice that almost every entry here is a 7" single from years that are largely underrepresented (many rare B-sides seeing the digital light of day for the first time) - so they too will be looking at "Gathered From Coincidence..." with a lusty eye.

It’s not all plain sailing however. 1965 and 1966 were about innovators – Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Stones, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Love, Buffalo Springfield and especially Bob Dylan. The problem with this set is that so many copyists slipped quickly into their wake and at times, "Gathered From Coincidence: The British Folk-Pop Sound Of 1965-66" feels like a collection of those that followed – those that jumped on a bandwagon – even slagged it off at times because it might get them some chart action. Some of this music is great, but there is fair whack of it that feels derivative and you can so hear why much of it was forgotten and makes for an uncomfortable listen now.

Still, there is a sunset mountain of info to wade through, wind to catch, mornings to call and times that had the sheer audacity to be changin' - so let's have at it...

UK released 29 June 2018 – "Gathered From Coincidence: The British Folk-Pop Sound Of 1965-66" on Grapefruit Records CRSEGBOX043 (Barcode 5013929184305) is a 3CD 79-Track Mini Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out as follows (note: the box has 26 tracks listed on each disc, so a visual total of 78, but Disc 3 has a hidden Track 27, hence 79-tracks in total):

CD1 "In The Jingle Jangle Morning" (66:18 minutes):

1. Take Me For What I'm Worth - THE SEARCHERS (November 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15992, A-side)

2. Morning's Calling - PETER and GORDON (September 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8003, B-side of "Lady Godiva")

3. Come And Stay With Me - MARIANNE FAITHFULL (February 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12075, A-side)

4. Follow Me - THE TONY JACKSON GROUP (September 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202297, A-side)

5. It's Your Turn To Cry - TERRY KENNEDY and JOHN CARTER (June 1966 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35324, B-side of "Doesn't Anybody Make Short Movies Any More)

6. Rejected - THE FENMEN (August 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202236, A-side)

7. I Love Her Still - THE POETS (July 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12195, B-side of "I Am So Blue")

8. Frosted Panes - THE KYTES (September 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17179, A-side)

9. Golden Lights - TWINKLE (February 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12076, A-side)

10. I Won't Be Round You Anymore - THE CHOSEN FEW (30 July 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15905, A-side)

11. Absolutely Sweet Marie - THE FACTOTUMS (November 1966 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35355, B-side of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love")

12. Hey Woman - KENNY BERNARD (December 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17233, A-side)

13. Hey Mama You've Been On My Mind - THE CARAVELLES (January 1967 UK 7" single on Polydor BM 56137, A-side)

14. Don't Go Away - THE ZOMBIES (November 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12296, B-side of "Is This The Dream")

15. Now The Sun Has Gone - THE BEATMEN (March 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15792, A-side)

16. Think About The Times - THE TIMES (January 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7804, A-side)

17. Penny Arcade - MICHAEL LESLIE (August 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15908, A-side)

18. Beyond The Risin' Sun - MARC BOLAN (November 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12288, B-side of "The Wizard")

19. Till You Say You'll Be Mine - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (May 1966 UK 7" single on Decca F 12396, A-side)

20. Go Away - THE MIRAGE featuring GRAHAM NASH (not originally issued Demo version, recorded circa September 1965)

21. It's All Leading Up To Saturday Night - THE KNACK (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, Recorded July 1966)

22. You've Cooled - FIVE STEPS BEYOND (not originally issued, recorded August 1966)

23. There's Just No Pleasing You - THE EPICS (April 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15829, A-side)

24. Splendor In The Grass - GULLIVER'S PEOPLE (April 1966 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5435, A-side)

25. Mr. Smith - THE FORESTERS (December 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8086, A-side)

26. It's All Over Now Baby Blue - THE COPS 'N ROBBERS (August 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15928, A-side)

Track 21 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED  

CD2 "Too Many Protest Singers, Not Enough Protest Songs" (71:40 minutes):

1. Like A Rolling Stone - THE OTHER SIDE (March 1966 Swedish 7" single on Karussell KFF 664, A-side)

2. Well, How Does It Feel? - BARBARA RUSKIN (October 1965 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35274, A-side)

3. Lovers Of The World Unite - DAVID and JONATHAN (June 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7950, A-side)

4. Catch The Wind - DONOVAN (March 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15801, A-side)

5. Age Of Corruption - ALAN KLEIN (November 1965 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5370, A-side)

6. Blessed - GUY DARRELL (June 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202082, B-side of "I've Been Hurt")

7. That Man's Got No Luck - GARY BENSON (January 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17032, A-side)

8. It's Good News Week - HEDGEHOPPERS ANONYMOUS (September 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12241, A-side)

9. The Bells - DAVE HELLING (December 1965 UK 7" single on Planet PLF 101, B-side of "Christine")

10. Very Last Day - THE HOLLIES (from their September 1965 UK debut LP "The Hollies" on Parlophone PMC 1261 in Mono)

11. Sometime Never Day - BILL FAY (not originally issued, recorded circa mid-1966)

12. Don't You Cry Over Me - THE SLADE BROTHERS (October 1965 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 15966, A-side)

13. When The Ship Comes In - FOLK BLUES INCORPORATED (August 1966 UK 7" single on Eyemark EMS 1006, A-side)

14. Wake Up My Mind - THE UGLY'S (May 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15858, A-side)

15. Please Don't Switch Off The Moon Mr. Spaceman - NICHOLAS HAMMOND (March 1966 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35302, A-side)

16. The Protest Singer - MICHA (October 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15982, A-side)

17. Square Peg - THE FOUR PENNIES (June 1966 UK 7" single on Philips BF 1491, B-side of "Keep The Freeway Open")

18. Gotta Make Their Future Bright - FIRST GEAR (January 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15763, B-side of "The 'In' Crowd")

19. The Bells Of Rhymney - MURRAY HEAD (November 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7771, A-side)

20. Don't Talk To Me Of Protest - JONATHAN KING (November 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12286, B-side of "Where The Sun Has Never Shone")

21. Dejection - FIVE'S COMPANY (not originally issued Demo version, recorded December 1965)

22. That's Not My Kind Of Love - MICK SOFTLEY with THE SUMMER SUNS (December 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202469, B-side of "Am I The Red One")

23. Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me – THE SORROWS (from their November 1965 UK LP "Take A Heart" on Piccadilly NPL 38023 in Mono)

24. Rattle Of A Toy - TOMMY YATES (November 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15980, A-side)

25. Talkin' Denmark Street - JOHN CASSIDIE (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded late 1965)

26. The Times They Are A-Changin' - THE IAN CAMPBELL FOLK GROUP (March 1965 UK 7" single on Transatlantic TRA SP 5, A-side)

Track 25 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD3 "Gather Round, All You Clowns" (70:50 minutes):

1. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - THE SILKIE (September 1965 UK 7" single on Fontana TF 603, A-side)

2. Wait Till The Summer Comes Along - THE KINKS (from the September 1965 "Kwyet Kinks" UK 4-Track EP on Pye NEP 24221, Track 1 on Side 1)

3. Don't Make Promises (You Can't Keep) - PETER NELSON (April 1966 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35314, A-side)

4. Cheryl's Going Home - ADAM FAITH (October 1966 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5516, A-side)

5. If You Gotta Go, Go Now - MANFRED MANN (September 1965 UK 7" single on HMV POP 1466, A-side)

6. I'm Looking Through You - DAVEY GRAHAM (from the July 1966 UK LP "Midnight Man" on Decca LK 4780 in Mono)

7. Night Comes Down - JON-MARK (February 1965 UK 7" single on Brunswick 05929, B-side of "Baby I Got A Long Way To Go")

8. Early Morning Rain - THE SETTLERS (May 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17104, A-side)

9. Sadness Hides The Sun - GRETA ANN (June 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15856, A-side)

10. Thank You Boy - DANA GILLESPIE (October 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15962, A-side)

11. Love Minus Zero No Limit - THE COMPROMISE (March 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202050, B-side of "You Will Think Of Me")

12. Day Must Come - JUSTIN HAYWARD of The Moody Blues (December 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17014, B-side of "London Is Behind Me")

13. The Clown In The Alley - MEIC STEVENS (not originally issued, recorded September 1965)

14. I'm On Your Side - THE FRUGAL SOUND (June 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17129, B-side of "Just Outside The Door")

15. London Town - THE PRETTY THINGS (from the August 1965 "Rainin' In My Heart" UK EP Four-Track single on Fontana TE 17442, Track 2 on Side 1)

16. Picking Up The Sunshine (aka "Bert's Blues") - BEVERLEY [later became Beverley Martyn, John Martyn's wife] (not originally issued, recorded March 1966)

17. Corrina Corrina - THE NIGHTSHIFT (May 1965 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35243, A-side)

18. Listen People - SARAH JANE (May 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17114, A-side - written by Graham Gouldman of 10cc)

19. Four Strong Winds - CHAD and JEREMY (from the January 1965 US LP "Sing For You" on World Artists WAM 2005 in Mono)

20. So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) - THE GREENBEATS (April 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15843, A-side)

21. Don't Think Twice It's Alright - HEINZ with THE WILD BOYS (30 April 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7559, A-side)

22. Today Is The Highway - THE RAMBLERS TWO (November 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15989, A-side)

23. Love Is Strange - THE OVERLANDERS (from the December 1966 UK LP "Go With The Overlanders And The Settlers" (shared with The Settlers) on Pye NPL 18163 in Mono)

24. Subterranean Homesick Blues - CHAS McDEVITT and SHIRLEY DOUGLAS (from the August 1965 UK LP "Sixteen Big Folk Hits" on Columbia 33SX 1738 in Mono)

25. Mary Anne - THE SHADOWS (February 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7476, A-side)

26. The Carnival Is Over - THE SEEKERS (October 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7711, A-side)

BONUS TRACK (unannounced, undocumented):

27. Crossroads – TONY HATCH SOUND (September 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17169, A-side, Theme Music to the Famous British TV show)

There are two catalogue number errors in the otherwise exemplary booklet - The Caravelles single on Disc One is listed as Polydor BM 13657 when it's BM 56137 and the Dave Helling B-side on Disc Two is listed as Planet PLF 001 when its PLF 101. Outside of that you page-after-page of fabulous cover art, promo photos, trade adverts, concert posters, flyers and even Beat instrumental magazine covers. Every single song is embellished with the kind of in-depth info that can only come from research that borders on mental instability - or worse - people in the music business who gives a damn. It's a properly informative and entertaining read and fantastic to look at. The individually crafted card sleeves have rear artwork that's made to look like a British flip-back LP sleeve of the mid 60ts and feature The Searchers pictured on Disc 1, Donovan on Disc 2 with Chad & Jeremy on Disc 3 (well done ANDY MORTEN).

As you can imagine, the largely Mono Audio is a wildly varied affair - swaying between glorious and just ok - but always better than expected - with the SIMON MURPHY Remasters impressing more times than not. To the pop folks...

With "Bringing It All Back Home" and "Highway 61 Revisited" in 1965 and the mighty double-album "Blonde On Blonde" in the spring of 1966 - the long shadow of Bob Dylan's titanic influence is everywhere. Cops 'N Robbers did "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" - The Other Side interpreted "Like A Rolling Stones" - Folk Blues Incorporated attacked "When The Ship Comes In" and Manfred Mann had a lash at "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" to name but a few. And even if it wasn't a Zim-cover (The Nightshift dug deep and covered Dylan's "Corrina Corrina") - Bob's style and political leanings are so inherent in the catch-that-trend musings of Barbara Ruskin, Guy Darrell, Heinz and so many others. The Sorrows went one further and slyly slagged him off in their "Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me" - not that I think the Bobster was listening somehow.

That other huge sound (always unfairly overlooked too) is the chiming guitar-jangle of America's The Byrds and the melodious beauty so often found in England's own Donovan and his best work (his own "Catch The Wind" s on Disc 2 while John Martyn's future wife Beverley has a go at "Picking Up The Sunshine" on Disc 3). Even the Beatles, who's more easy-to-interpret tunes like "I'm Looking Through You" and "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" got a swinging Acoustic makeover by the likes of Davey Graham and The Silkie. Covers of American Folkies too include Gordon Lightfoot (The Settlers on Disc 3), Tim Hardin (Peter Nelson on Disc 3), Pete Seeger (Murray Head on Disc 2), Peter, Paul & Mary (The Hollies on Disc 2), Jackie DeShannon (Gulliver's People on Disc 2), Ian Tyson (Chad & Jeremy on Disc 3) and even Mickey & Sylvia (The Overlanders on Disc 3) - all get a feature here.

Highlights and discoveries for me include ex Searchers Lead Singer and Bassist Tony Jackson and his excellent "Follow Me", the unbelievably pretty John Carter B-side "It's Your Turn To Cry" while pastoral-string lovers will dig The Kytes doing "Frosted Panes". The Kenny Bernard song "Hey Woman" will be instantly recognised as he claimed Chas Chandler nicked it for Hendrix who would of course change the word woman to Joe and do a note-for-note copy. The Times and Michael Leslie channel their inner Monkees and Herman’s Hermits for "Think About The Times" and "Penny Arcade". I wasn’t expecting much from The Mirage demo with Graham Nash clearly singing and strumming but it’s a pleasant discovery and I dig the Eric Burdon and The Animals raw vibe to "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" by The Cops ‘N Robbers (lyrics from the song give this box set its name).

Cook and Greenway supplied the irrepressibly chirp "Lovers Of The World Unite" for David & Jonathan (great audio) but it's trounced by a song of genuine beauty – Donovan doing his (try and) "Catch The Wind". Alan Klein speaks some staggeringly uncomfortable truths about deliberately recorded records you hope will be banned from the airwaves, infamy gained through obscure lyrics and politico-themes directed at the youth in his brilliant and Alien-acidic "Age Of Corruption" – as vicious a song as you've ever heard about singers and the music business. Countering that is "It's Good News Week", a genuinely heartfelt and sincere appraisal of a screwed-up world - while future Judas Iscariot vocalist ("Jesus Christ Superstar") Murray Head worries about vandals and social dropouts in Cardiff. Unable to resist parodying the real deal - John Cassidie is practically aping every Dylan nuance is his fab guitar/harmonica commentary on all things Bob - "Talkin' Denmark Street" And on it goes...to a hidden track on Disc 3, Tony Hatch and His Orchestra doing the theme music to the famous British TV show "Crossroads" (UK hotels do Folk and Protest as well you know).

For sure not everything here is going to make folks dance for joy and the argument that lots of it is derivative and hence not of value is a valid one (hence the three stars).

But you have to hand it to Grapefruit Records – they know how to dig deep and show us a corner of music and its staggering canopy we’d forgotten about and should shelter under again. And ain't that best, baby blue... 

"Mr. Fox/The Gipsy" by MR. FOX – November 1970 and January 1971 UK Debut and Second LPs on Transatlantic Records – featuring Carole (Anne) and Bob Pegg, Barry Lyons of Trees and Five Hand Reel with some Lyrics by Ashley Hutchings (May 2020 UK Beat Goes On Reissue - 2Ps onto 1CD – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review And 225 Others Is Available In My AMAZON E-Book 

BOTH SIDES NOW - FOLK & COUNTRY 

And Genres Thereabouts

Your Guide To Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters

For the 1960s and 1970s

All Reviews In-Depth and from the Discs Themselves

(No Cut And Paste Crap)

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"...Join Us In Our Game..."

I recently reviewed a slew of Bob/Anne Pegg and Nick Strutt solo albums from 1973, 1974 and 1975 for an e-book I've done called "Pick Up The Pieces" (on 1974) and a Folk/Country book called "Both Sides Now" (see my Author Page under my highlighted name). That reissue was May 2020's "Bob Pegg and Nick Strutt/Carolanne Pegg/The Shipbuilder/Ancient Maps" on Beat Goes On BGOCD1413 (Barcode 5017261214133) which offers two albums from 1973, one from 1974 and one from 1975 originally on Transatlantic Records UK newly Remastered onto 2CDs.

Having thoroughly enjoyed their quirky Ye Olde Dales Tales and their Acid-Folk Folk-Rock vibes accompanied by their mandolin/guitar sparring buddy Nick Strutt - I thought I'd reach back to the source. This single CD beauty (also from May 2020) is a companion volume to that Pegg/Strutt double.

Here you get their previous band's two equally startling LPs from November 1970 and January 1971 as MR. FOX - the self-titled debut and the follow-up called "The Gipsy" (also on Transatlantic Records like the solo stuff). You get new Remasters, new liner notes, the missing "Mendle" track from "The Gipsy" album that was sloppily left off a previous CD release now reinstated - and all of it re-presented in a natty lickety-split card slip-case. The only thing missing is the 45 Transatlantic single from November 1971 of "Little Woman" (a Dave Mason cover) that is a different band/version to the one on the second LP. But as you can see from a chockers playing time of nearly 79 minutes – time constraints was probably an issue.

Still, this is a tasty release of really interesting and rare material in any music lover’s books. So let's get to the hanged men, the house carpenters and of course, Elvira Madigan and her Aunt Lucy Broadwood (you know you want to)...

UK released 22 May 2020 - "Mr. Fox/The Gipsy" by MR. FOX on Beat Goes On BGOCD1412 (Barcode 5017261214126) offers their only 2LPs from 1970 and 1971 Remastered onto 1CD and plays out as follows (78:41 minutes):

1. Join Us In Our Game [Side 1]

2. The Hanged Man

3. The Gay Goshawk

4. Rip Van Winkle

5. Mr Trill's Song

6. Little Woman [Side 2]

7. Salisbury Plain

8. The Ballad Of Neddy Dick

9. Leaving The Dales

10. Mr. Fox

Tracks 1 to 10 are their debut album "Mr. Fox" - released November 1970 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 226. Produced by BILL LEADER (no US issue).

For the debut MR. FOX was:

BOB PEGG - Vocals, Organ, Melodeon, Tin Whistle and Terrapin

CAROLE (ANNE) PEGG - Vocals and Fiddle

JOHN MYATT - Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet and Bassoon

ANDREW MASSEY - Cello

BARRY LYONS - Electric Bass

ALAN (Alun) EDEN - Drums

Lyrics by ASHLEY HUTCHINGS on "Mr. Trill's Song"

11. Mendle [Side 1]

12. The Gipsy

13. Aunt Lucy Broadwood [Side 2]

14. House Carpenter

15. Elvira Madrigan

16. Dancing Song

17. All The Good Times

Tracks 11 to 17 are their second and last studio album "The Gipsy" - released January 1971 in the UK on Transatlantic TRA 236. Produced by BIL LEADER (no US issue).

For their second album MR. FOX was:

BOB PEGG - Vocals, Organ, Melodeon, Tin Whistle, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Electric Bass (on "House Carpenter") and Bass Drum

CAROLE (ANNE) PEGG - Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Fiddles and Tom-Tom

BARRY LYONS - Vocals, Electric Bass, American Dulcimer, Sopranimo Recorder and Tambourine

ALAN EDEN - Vocals and Percussion

Chorus on "All The Good Times" by The Grindley Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra

The outer card slipcase always lends these BGO reissues a classy look and the 16-page booklet reproduces the rear sleeve liner notes of the debut album and the cartoons Caroleanne did for the inner gatefold of the second. Long-standing musicologist for Beat Goes On JOHN O'REGAN gives us new March 2020 liner notes that reference many sources (online and printed) filling us in on the hybrid music of Fairport Convention, Amazing Blondel, Steeleye Span and Pentangle - all of which are contained with the Yorkshire Folk lore traditions, gothic horror and Velvet Underground ramshackle uninhibited recordings of MR. FOX (the debut was done live to tape and feels fresh and dangerous for it). The Audio care of ANDREW THOMPSON is fantastic - their variant of Folk Rock pinging out of your speakers with shimmering Morris Dance intent. To the records...

A lone tin whistle wails as the three-minutes of "Join Us In Our Game" begins - soon to be a flute-driven Steeleye Span-like tale of singing in the trenches as Bob and Anne trade vocals. Dressed neatly as a young man - our hero tickles the eyes of the local fancies as he walks towards the village pathway where many "The Hanged Man" met their swinging end. A threatening doom-laden guitar notes opens "The Gay Goshawk" - the nearest the album gets to English 13th century Psych. Coal fields, unforgiving mountains and withered flowers trouble "Rip Van Winkle" - another harmonium fable of olde. Side 1 doesn't end well with "Mr. Trill's Song" - a jolly fellow 1895 romp that will likely make many cringe.

Side 2 of the "Mr. Fox" debut opens with a Folk cover of Dave Mason's "Little Woman". Transatlantic obviously thought the tune had legs so released a UK 45 of it with the album in November 1970 with the album opener "Join Us In Our Game" as its B-side (Big T Records BIG 135) - but as explained earlier that 7" version was done by a different band and is not the same as the album cut. "Salisbury Plain" and the accordion romp of "The Ballad Of Neddy Dick" continue the olde thyme tunes, the album ending in what I think is the best track - the smartest fellow "Mr. Fox" whose come-a-courting with his silver tongue and sly smile. As Caroleanne sings of caves in a clearing where Foxy hits one woman and pulls the hair of another - it's clear that her character assessment of this bloody monster was a smart one.

If the debut was an 'acquired taste' - they seemed to have improved their musical pallet by leaps and bounds for the far better second album "The Gipsy" from 1971. "Mendle" is seven minutes and thirteen seconds of creepy lyrics accompanied by moaning melodeon and harmonium drones - itself surpassed by the near thirteen-minutes of "The Gipsy" that ends Side 1. A tale of Mary Lee with the roving eye - our hapless lovestruck fool traipsing around the Dale during the day whilst supping ale and wine in the evenings. It's a long narrative - very Fairport Convention meets Steeleye Span. Side 2 opens with drums and multiple vocals where we're told that birds have dropped logs on Aunt Lucy leaving the poor biddy to die by the wood. Prettiest by far is "The House Carpenter" - an Appalachian Mountains song done on a Dulcimer with Alan Eden whacking Tom Toms - I've put this peach on Folk-Rock CD-Rs as an example of 'cool' Folk. "Elvira Madigan" is a tunic and regiment tale of deserters and lovers looking for shelter while the finishers "Dancing Song" and "All The Good Times" are straight up Morris Dance romps.

Originally with Trees, Barry Lyons would later join the ranks of Celtic purveyors Five Hand Reel and the fiddle and stone Pegg duo would go on to many solo albums that at times even stretched into Prog Folk by 1975.

For sure this is the kind of Olde English Folk that does folks heads in (I know many who can’t stand it). But I like the points in-between where Mr. FOX made a sound uniquely their own. A clever reissue that won't be for everyone, but those willing to explore may find the music of the stars ringing in their head while the rivers gurgle below in the mysterious shimmering bed...