ON THE SHORE

Much of the music on this album is uninspired standard folk-rock in the vein of Fairport Convention. I unfailingly get bored each time I listen to this album. Gone are the psychedelic touches, beautiful singing, inspired instrumental sections, great guitar parts and great songs of 'The Garden of Jane Delawney'. It is also less progressive. The album begins with "Soldiers Three" which is under 2 minutes and a standard but done well. "Murdoch" is by far the best song on here, and it is an original! It has a memorable melody, and sounds inspired and energetic. The traditional "Polly on the Shore" is also a good song, albeit a bit languid. "Adam's Toon" is a short acoustic guitar-led instrumental with bass and drums. "Sally Free and Easy" is fairly uneventful and drags on too long, sounding similar to "She Moved Thro' The Fair" on the previous album but less memorable. Next is "Fool" which is a decent song, more energetic but still not sounding inspired and having a chorus that rhymes the same sounds: Oswald the smith has not returned, to see which way the world has turned, and gets a bit repetitive along with the melody. "Geordie" is an unbearably slow song that has little of interest to offer. "While The Iron is Hot" is a nice folk ballad with a curious fast electric guitar solo in the middle that seems very out of place. "Little Sadie" is more very straightforward folk-rock sounding a little insipid. The last song "Streets of Derry" is one of the better songs on the album.

A great disappointment for me after hearing their fantastic debut "The Garden of Jane Delawney", and not one I really enjoy much, though there are some moderately enjoyable spots.