THE GARDEN OF JANE DELAWNEY

In my review of Tree's other album "On The Shore", I mentioned that I felt that this album was a little better. After another listen, I stand corrected. The same problems plague both albums. There's the one-dimensional female vocalist who has an impressive range, but an impure tone that becomes grating after a couple of songs (partly because she almost always sings in a very high range). Next, a drummer who manages to keep the beat, but can't play an original fill or inject any life into his performance. The guitarists know all the cliches and use them twice. The songwriting is only fair, and the arrangements of traditional songs are pedestrian. Really, the only thing that sets them apart from their more famous contemporaries like Fairport and Pentangle is the fact that the guitarists play in a style that's usually associated with harder-rocking or psychedelic bands. In addition, some of the songs are much longer to allow the guitarists to jam. For me, these attributes are not necessarily good things. I put both CD's (which weren't cheap) in the sell box today.