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Dando Shaft - An Evening With Dando Shaft (1970)

Track listing:
  1. Rain 5:04
  2. Cold Wind 4:11
  3. September Wine 3:38
  4. Cat Song 2:30
  5. In The Country 6:48
  6. Drops of Brandy 2:27
  7. End of The Game 3:28
  8. Lazily Slowly 3:21
  9. Spring Clog Dance [Bonus] 2:54
  10. Thruxton Flute [Bonus] 3:28
  11. Digging Up the Roses [Bonus] 3:27
  12. Donīt Forget the Animal [Bonus] 2:31

Notes

Japan 24-Bit Remaster

On their first album, Dando Shaft came off as something like a more folk-oriented, yet also more hippie-oriented Pentangle. The percussive pulse of Roger Bullen's bass in particular gave much of the material a rhythmic swing that helped it stand apart from traditional folk, as did original material based around images of nature: rain, wind, leaves, the dawn, flowers, the country, and so on. The singing and songwriting betrayed a notable debt to Bert Jansch, though with a more whimsical bent that Jansch usually allowed. Their greatest assets, certainly in terms of putting their own stamp on a sound that bore close resemblance to aspects of Pentangle (and, more distantly, the Incredible String Band), were the colors added by multi-instrumentalist Martin Jenkins' mandolin, flute, and violin. As progressive folk that was pastoral in mood and not quite folk-rock, it was pleasant but ultimately not as distinguished or interesting as their unavoidable reference point, Pentangle. The Pentangle comparisons would if anything multiply when they added a female vocalist, Polly Bolton, for their next two albums.

Dando Shaft was one of the most original bands of the early years of England's progressive-rock. Martin Jenkins on violin, Kevin Dempsey on guitar, Ted Kay on percussion, Roger Bullen on bass and Dave Cooper were basically jazz musicians playing English folk music. They dared do what John Martyn and Pentangle had only hinted to. An Evening With (Youngblood, 1970) was a tentative debut, but Dando Shaft (Neon, 1971), with Polly Bolton on vocals, showed the full extent of their innovation, crowned by Lantaloon (RCA, 1971).

Really superb acoustic, mellow early 70s folk with a tinge of rock about it (though no drumkit). The first track on this album is just fabulous! The blend of male and female vocals is great, and a bit different than usual. Perhaps that's just the true uniqueness of the female vocalist at play. Her name is Polly Bolton. She had her own sound.