Beggars Opera ''Pathfinder'' (UK Prog-Rock 1972)

This album sounds a little more aggressive than the two previous albums. The mellotron was gone, and replaced by some harpsichord instead. The guitar is also more visible than before. The album includes what I would regard as BO's best recording ever: their version of Richard Harris' heavenly classic "Mac Arthur Park". The track seems to fit BO perfectly, and this version is still the best I've heard of it. Excellent harpsichord and organ lifts the track to the heights it deserves. This is simply one of my all time favourite tracks! But as I said, large parts of the album is heavier than anything the band had done before. "The Witch" and the harpsichord-driven "Madame Doubtfire" are both quite hard tracks with satanic lyrics! Both tracks are excellent anyway. "From Shark to Haggis" lives up to it's title. The first part is a sinister heavy progressive piece, while the last part is an instrumental with a very Scottish feel to it (after all, the band were from Scotland!). You should get both this and "Waters of Change". (vintageprog.com)