SONGS FROM THE WOOD

1. Songs from the Wood (4:55) Half a minute of rather inspired a cappella singing, then comes the flute and a pastoral folk melody, all very English. Then stop-and-go, variations, changes of rhythm, arrangement with organ and piano (Evan and Palmer) and choirs that give a church air. Very prog-rock interludes. Good piece. Rating 8.

2. Jack-In-The-Green (2:32) Short and catchy song, mainly acoustic, almost a nursery rhyme led by the flute. Rating 6.75.

3. Cup of Wonder (4:34) Song with a Renaissance phrase of the flute. Very traditional folk structure. Repeating choirs. Very conventional. Interlude prog without great imagination. Rating 7+.

After three songs, the music has not yet reached a true climax, a peak of quality.

4. Hunting Girl (5:13) Very nice start with organ, flute and electric guitars, then the song continues after the bass line (Glascock). The rhythm is often broken. Barre tries an electric guitar solo but is immediately aborted (composition error). The song does not find the culmination of the good instrumental piece that started, it and ends by repeating the same vocal and instrumental phrases. Lost opportunity. Rating 7.75

5. Ring Out, Solstice Bells (3:47) Very simple song, unpretentious, with clapping and choirs in crescendo. Rating 7+.

We are listening to a collection of rather catchy, easy-to-listen folk-pop songs that have only a touch of prog in the instrumental interludes and broken rhythms.

Second side. 6. Velvet Green (6:05) Ambitious folk song with a lot of percussion work. Recited voice accompanied on the acoustic guitar with a troubadour effect that raises the quality of the music heard so far. Folklore instrumental interlude a la Donovan. It seems to be at a festival in the countryside and to attend folk dances. The various folk interludes are back, arranged with great variety. The piece raises the quality of the album. Rating 8+.

7. The Whistler (3:31) Very traditional nursery rhyme song with a folkloric flute phrase. As for folk, it abounds. Melodies and arrangements are homogeneous and well studied. It lacks the touches of genius, and the inspired melodies. Very dynamic song. Rating 7.5.

8. Pibroch (Cap in Hand) (8:38) Hard-rock beginning with hints of acid psychedelia: great work by Barre on the electric guitar. The song, the longest on the album, does not hide his ambitions. It's an almost religious epic ballad that echoes the Strawbs. Instrumental interlude in crescendo with Barlow, Evan and Palmer in prominence, very beautiful but unfortunately ends up immediately returning to the initial hard-rock piece, too forced. Then an inspired piece returns, very good, with a short clapping and a synth solo. Ending with the hard-rock piece again. It competes with Velvet Green as the best piece on the album. Rating 8+.

9. Fire at Midnight (2:27) Short song, ending rather quickly, but overall inspired. Rating 7+.

Total Time 41:42

Well played and well arranged album, with a very accentuated and homogeneous folk sound. It hasn't falls but, unfortunately, it has few memorable moments. It is mainly based on the title track and on the two long songs of the second side, the other six tracks are (I'm not saying fillers but ...) gregarious songs. The overall judgment is on the border between the three stars and the four stars but since it is necessary to consider not so much the average of the individual songs but the album as a whole, a single flow that flows, I give it 4 stars, thanks also to the second side, better than the first.

Medium quality of the songs around 7.5. Album rating 8+. Four Stars.

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