The cover is in great shape with a very good spine and perfectly legible. The front cover has some minor rubbing (see photo) and the back cover is absolutely perfect. Labels are excellent and the vinyl has a lovely sheen with a few hairline marks. It plays beautifully, with a couple of minor clicks that will have no impact on your enjoyment of this fine folk album. Great notes on the back cover to aid your understanding of the tracks and the album in general. Cleaned on a VPI Cyclone RCM. For photos and music review, see my .com site

VINYL: VG+

LABEL: Ex

COVER: VG+

Side 1

1. Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford
2. The bellringing
3. Young hunting
4. Golden vanitee

Side 2

1. Up to the rigs
2. The three butchers
3. The Royal Oak
4. Blackwaterside
5. The parson and the clerk
6. Tavistock goosey fair
7. Tavistock goosey fair

Tony was devoted to finding old traditional folk songs and revitalising them. This album certainly does this, with songs collected in Somerset and Dorset, rescued by Tony from obscurity. ‘Young hunting’ was Tony’s first recording and is noticeable for the brave a cappella approach to most tracks. Where there is musical accompaniment, Tony plays concertina, with Robin Dransfield (fiddle) and Barry Dransfield (guitar), plus a chorus of the great and good of 1960/70’s English Folk music – Dave Calderhead, John Kirkpatrick, Kevin Sheils, June Tabor, The Young Tradition (Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood).

Great start to the album with a tale of Robin Hood and his merry men getting the better of the Bishop of Hereford, sung superbly by Tony. The title track ‘Young Hunting’ (sometimes known as ‘Love Henry’) is a long and fascinating tale about a jilted lover who gains revenge by killing her former lover and who is ultimately burnt to death having accused a servant girl (who fails to burn because of her innocence). The song is really powerful and compelling, due to the drama and mystery lent to the story by the hints of magic and the supernatural. Stunning!! Side 2 starts with a superb traditional acapella version of ‘Up to the rigs’, with the Tony’s friends joining in for rousing choruses. Quite different, but just as valid, as the more recent and more upbeat version, recorded by Bellowhead. ‘Blackwaterside’ is a beautiful song that speaks eloquently for itself, while the ‘Parson and the clerk’ was collected from South Wales and exposes the hypocrisy of the clergy and the clerk is certainly seen in the more favourable light. Lastly, the album finishes with a great flourish with ‘Tavistock goosey fair’ – great track.

This is a fabulous traditional folk album that will take you back to our folk roots, especially with Tony’s superb folk vocals. Highly recommended for lovers of folk music.