Side 1 opens with a real stomper of a thing, a truly mighty traditional song called “The Hexamshire Lass”. This one captures all that is magical about the electrification of English folk music. It is difficult to envisage a better opener for any LP. Swarbrick takes the commanding lead vocal here.
Track 2 is another traditional song, but of a totally different genre. Oddly, Dave Pegg is credited with the “music”, but the tune is the one used by every other version I’ve ever heard. Trevor Lucas sings the magnificent lead part on this strong, but immensely tender ditty about the tragedy of war, and in particular its effects on romantic relationships.
The third track on Side 1 is one of the two instrumentals on the record titled “The Brilliancy Medley & Cherokee Shuffle. Both of these skillfully showcase the grandmaster expertise of all the musicians in the band, and both are frantically fast staccato type things. This is the “folkier” of the two, and is indeed a medley of tunes. It is agreeable in the extreme to listen to, and is unlike any of the previous “jigs and reels” type of tune previously found on the earlier albums.
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