by Low D Tue Oct 24, 2023 1:45 am
The Woods Band's 1971 self-titled album
2021 remastered edition on Esoteric Recordings / Cherry Red Records.
There was a terrible CD release of this on Edsel some years ago that sounded like it was ripped from a warped master. There have also been a few bootlegs that were vinyl rips, but finally be we have a proper digital release, remastered by Paschal Byrne at The Audio Archiving Company, Heffordshire.
I've never owned a vinyl copy, so I've naught to compare with but the above, but am happy to report that this release sounds amazing. The instrumental seperation - for a 1971 folk rock album on a small label - is great. I really do feel like I'm hearing it for the first time.
More that anything, it sounds like the second Steeleye Span album we never got after Terry & Gay's departure - or maybe the third Sweeney 's Men album we never got at all. Arrangements with a fairly consistent use of a drum kit & electric bass rhythm section with electric guitars throughout give a tighter, more rock 'n roll focus than those earlier efforts, without sacrificing the folk melodies. There are some sparse quiet moments where Gay's voice shines alongside Terry's soulful concertina, and there are times where Ed Deane's slide guitar winds around Terry's electric like the best of psychedelic rock.
This album really is one of the gems of the early progressive folk rock era, and I finally hear why old vinyl copies are so expensive and sought after.
[img]https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b2733ea0aef1eae80c51411df564[/img]
The Woods Band's 1971 self-titled album
2021 remastered edition on Esoteric Recordings / Cherry Red Records.
There was a terrible CD release of this on Edsel some years ago that sounded like it was ripped from a warped master. There have also been a few bootlegs that were vinyl rips, but finally be we have a proper digital release, remastered by Paschal Byrne at The Audio Archiving Company, Heffordshire.
I've never owned a vinyl copy, so I've naught to compare with but the above, but am happy to report that this release sounds amazing. The instrumental seperation - for a 1971 folk rock album on a small label - is great. I really do feel like I'm hearing it for the first time.
More that anything, it sounds like the second Steeleye Span album we never got after Terry & Gay's departure - or maybe the third Sweeney 's Men album we never got at all. Arrangements with a fairly consistent use of a drum kit & electric bass rhythm section with electric guitars throughout give a tighter, more rock 'n roll focus than those earlier efforts, without sacrificing the folk melodies. There are some sparse quiet moments where Gay's voice shines alongside Terry's soulful concertina, and there are times where Ed Deane's slide guitar winds around Terry's electric like the best of psychedelic rock.
This album really is one of the gems of the early progressive folk rock era, and I finally hear why old vinyl copies are so expensive and sought after.
