Martin Carthy "Shearwater" (UK Folk 1972)

Recorded in 1971, Shearwater was Martin Carthy's first album after leaving Steeleye Span, with whom he played folk-rock in his brief stint with the band in the early '70s. Shearwater's arrangements aren't similar to the full folk-rock ones Steeleye Span used, although Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior makes a guest vocal appearance on "Betsy Bell and Mary Gray." Instead, it was an acoustic record, and one that emphasized Carthy's guitar and voice, some of the pieces featuring only his unaccompanied vocals. It's something of a stark entry in his catalog, devoted wholly to traditional material arranged by the singer, the emphasis on sober ballads. "Lord Randall" might be the most renowned of these performances, though "Famous Flowers of Serving Man" gained some notoriety merely by virtue of its extraordinary (nine-minute) length; famed British radio DJ John Peel and his producer John Walters even claimed that Carthy added a verse or two to the epic each time he did a session on BBC's Radio One. There's not a whole lot of bonus material on the 2005 expanded CD reissue on Castle, this consisting of three traditional numbers Carthy recorded for a BBC Peel session in May 1972. Fans, however, will appreciate their addition, even if the sound isn't perfect (though it's easily listenable). Interestingly, none of the three tracks -- "The False Lover Won Back," "King Henry," and "Trindon Grange" -- were on the Shearwater album, though he did the last two on a different early-'70s album, Sweet Wivelsfield. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide