A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT DREAM

The only release from these ex Radley College,Oxford students starts with a Pentangle- esque version of the traditional,'Nottanum Town'. Slow in pace with male/female vocals interweaving around each other, the song takes on a lilting,drifting journey accompanied by flute and violin.

The next track, 'Peggy', is a Jansch/Renbourn-ish solo acoustic guitar piece that is summery and languid and a sort of introduction to the next song,The Hunt.Male vocals dominate this jazzy piece.The violin solo is very Stefan Grapelli/gypsy in style.In other words Folk/Jazz/Hot Club de Paris.The guitar on this track is especially beautiful.Again ,jazz chords are the order of the day;not to dis-similar to Richard Thompson's on the first Fairport album track,Sunshade.

'Syrinx' is next up.A version of the piece written by Claude Debussy.

Gerswin and Heyward's 'Summertime' from Porgy and Bess gets the next tribute treatment.IMHO, It's probably the weak point of the album.Jan Scrimgeour's breath control on this is not good. The track's saving grace is probably the violin solo,which,once again revisits The Hot Club de Paris.

'Time Past,Time Come' is a beautiful instrumental that involves bass,flute, violin and acoustic guitar. From Summertime into autumn,you can almost see the leaves turn to gold,red and amber whilst listening to this.Utterly sublime.

'Minas Tirith.' Imagine if Dave Swarbrick and Ian Anderson had played with Pentangle,well this,I should imagine is what would have transpired.Robin Clutterbuck's vocals are a dera-ringer for those of Bert Jansch's.The problem that I have with this track is the drum solo.Not a very well executed one at that.There are a few,very audible mis-hits.In it's defence,time and money in the studio may have put paid to any re-takes .The song then resumes with jazzy flute and guitar.For all of the previous comparisons with regard to the sound of this track, the nearest I can think of is Giles,Giles and Fripp!

The final track,'Epitaph', sounds uncannily like Sandy Denny's ;Who Knows Where the Time Goes? ' Robin Clutterbuck plays and sings beautifully in what is a fitting end to a very curious but albeit,beautiful album

It's not often that the sound quality on a modern disc can be so bad that it actually has serious repercussions on my ability to provide a fair review, but this CD reissue of the limited pressing obscure 70s release is a case in point. Some of the muddy, muffled sound might actually been intentional, part of a desire to replicate the sounds of "deepest England", so the result is it sounds as you might hear it from several hundred yards away in a misty glade. The choice of material is eclectic, from traditional folk to show tunes standards, but the sound is very early 70s UK folk, unfortunately not in the same league as any of the better known names. Some decent fiddle and flute playing occurs here and there, with sprinklings of psych electric guitar, but overall this is a somnolent affair of interest to musical historians. If "minstrelsy from days of yore", as quoted on the CD cover, sounded like this, we didn't miss a whole lot in entertainment value.

A lovely obscurity from the early Seventies, U.K seven-piece male and female member band Oberon's sole release `A Midsummer's Night Dream' from 1971 is a rough little gem of eclectic folk, jazz and psych pieces. A mix of traditional interpretations and fragile original pieces, the album finds a curious balance of murky darker and gently uncompromising material with dirtier edges and more approachable sunnier tracks by way of both a modern and old-world quality throughout, as jazzier electric guitar soloing weaves in and out of traditional folk instrumentation supplied by violin, flute and acoustic guitars.

The late period medieval folk song `Nottanum Town' is the five minute opener, a piece that has been more popularly covered by folk group Fairport Convention and Bert Jansch of Pentangle, and here Oberon give it a fairly gloomy interpretation. A faraway percussive beat rumbles behind lightly melancholic flute and soft voices sighing wordless chants with contemplative violin themes carefully reprised throughout, and female singer Jan Scrimgeour's downbeat vocal falls between brittle and stark. `Peggy' is a warmer and lightly playful acoustic guitar instrumental interlude from Chris Smith dedicated to his pet dog, before the daring nine-minute `The Hunt' weaves a dreamy and disorientating spell that aims to capture a very Gentle Giant- flavoured medieval touch. Spurts of momentum and jumps in tempo are delivered by chiming acoustic guitar shimmers, rising cymbal crashes, rattling drums, searing violin and jazzy electric guitar licks, but the production moves between crisp and putrid, and an ambitious mix of vocals remain just a little too shambling - it's never dull though! The first side is then closed with `Syrinx', a brief solo flute interpretation of a Claude Debussy piece that almost takes on a psych-folk fragility.

The second side mostly proves to be instantly more accessible, and it opens with a cover of the well-known George Gershwin showroom piece `Summertime' given a mellow sunny makeover with a jazzy pattered saunter in its step and breezy falsetto vocals, and there's frequent jamming instrumental bursts by way of twirling flute and some subtly versatile bass playing from Bernie Birchall. `Time Past, Time Come', possibly the highlight of the disc, is a pretty and glorious instrumental where infectious acoustic guitars, spiralling flute and searing violin weave a magical spell together. The eight-minute `Minas Tirith (Parts I & II)' is a mix of folky acoustic fragments and darker improvised flourishes. A plaintive wistful vocal, stirring violin and sweetly murmuring bass eventually (and somewhat disappointingly) trail off into an overlong segment of cacophonous drum soloing before lifting again with jazzy guitar flights. `Epitaph', written in tribute to a fellow schoolmate of the group at the time of recording that had unexpectedly passed away, is a warm acoustic ballad performed by Robin Clutterbuck singing Hughie Lupton's reflective words, and it's a hopeful and reassuring close to the LP.

By no means essential and likely to frustrate some listeners with its schizophrenic approach and production inconsistencies (although that often just gives the music a raw honesty), `A Midsummer's Night Dream' is one to be appreciated by fans of experimental folk groups like the Incredible String Band and Malicorne rather than something tidier and more instantly melodic like Steeleye Span or Fuchsia. But adventurous prog-folk fans looking to fill their collection with worthwhile little- known works should absolutely investigate Oberon's sole contribution, as there's fleeting little bursts of real magic popping up here and there throughout it.

Three stars - and bonus points for the lavish booklet from the 2014 Sommor Records reissue containing lovely photos and a nice recent interview with some of the performers!

Oxford University friends produce a mish-mash of songs connected in a hodge-podge of seemingly unrelated dots (certainly not all of A Midsummer's Night Dream). Too bad they only had one mic to record from.

1. "Nottanum Town" (4:47) starting right out of the gate with a song that expresses/mimics an archaic sound and style (almost "Scarborough Fair"-ish), the pacing is slow and plodding. When the vocals enter--at first as female and then male vocalise--they add depth and fullness while merely repeating the already established melody. Flutes and violin join the weave as Jan Scrimgeour's lead vocal moves into the world of the worded. The accompaniment of deep male voices gives the song a kind of minstrel/monastic feel. Interesting if oddly engineered (especially among the murky vocal tracks). (8.6667/10) 2. "Peggy" (2:44) sounds familiar to me because of my long-standing acquaintance with Lindsay Buckingham's "Never Going Back" (on Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album Rumors.) Also has a Spencer Davis/Steve Winwood feel to it. (4.25/5)

3. "The Hunt" (8:55) the best song on the album--a lot due to the theatricity of the song, the excellent violin play, and the unusual vocal choir arrangements. A top three song. (17.75/20)

4. "Syrinx" (2:51) flute solo in the tradition of Claude Debussy. (4.25/5)

5. "Summertime" (5:06) from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Jazzy (especially thanks to the flute play and. later, the walking bass) with a Parisian coffeehouse/café feel to the rhythm section. Vocalist Jan Scrimgeour's performance is not quite up to the quality of standard renditions (she's no Ella Fitzgerald). (8.6667/10)

6. "Time Past, Time Come" (3:52) opens with the light-/airiness of a classic Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young or Traffic song. Great interplay within the weave by each and every musician (guitar, bass, flute, violin). Another top three song. (9/10)

7. "Minas Tirith" (Parts I & II) (8:21) is quite an excellently engineered and mixed folk song. The interplay between the flute and violin are most delightful. The war & conflict-like drum exposition in the middle 90 seconds is not unwelcome but is overly long. The music returns in the form of a DOORS-like four-chord psychedelic jam with electric guitar, Ian Anderson-like flute, and violin taking turns and even duelling with each other a bit to the song's weird end. (18/20)

8. "Epitaph" (3:36) beautiful (if familiar ["Wildflower"]) chord progression introduced from the strumming guitar provides accompaniment for the heart-felt singing of Robin Clutterbuck. There's even a steady Paul Stookey "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" presence that Robin seems to be channeling. Powerful. (9/10)

Total time: 40:14

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent find for any Prog Folk loving prog lover.