Dando Shaft - Dando Shaft & Lantaloon (2002)
Review by Richie Unterberger (AMG)
Dando Shaft (1971)
The major change on Dando Shaft's second album was the addition of singer Polly Bolton, whose lead and harmony singing added considerable color and appeal to the group's vocal blend. The band might have been edging just a bit closer to the folk-rock mainstream, too, with a more standard rhythmic and melodic base to some of the tunes. Generally, though, they remained in the same mindset as they were on their 1970 debut: just barely rock-influenced folk, similar to Pentangle but folkier, and given to a greater emphasis on mandolin, violin, and unusual tempos. While something like "Whispering Ned" sounded as traditional as British folk-rock got, other songs nodded a bit toward the more wistful romantic pop song tradition, like "Sometimes," "'Til the Morning Comes," and "Waves Upon the Ether." The nature imagery of the debut was still present, too, if not as prominent, in songs like "Riverboat" (one of the highlights, with its lovely Bolton vocal).
Tracklisting
01 Coming Home To Me
02 Railway
03 Whispering Red
04 Sometimes
05 River Boat
06 Kalyope Driver
07 Waves Upon The Ether
08 Dewet
09 Till The Morning Comes
10 Pass It On
11 Prayer
Lantaloon (1972)
Dando Shaft's third album wasn't all that different from its predecessor, Dando Shaft: rollicking folk-rock tunes that were more folk than rock, heavy on rhythmic interplay among mandolin, guitar, and violin. Nor was it at times all that different from Pentangle, particularly on one of the best tracks, "Road Song," which sounded quite a bit like some of the more up-tempo Pentangle tunes on which Bert Jansch took lead vocals; "The Black Prince of Paradise" trod pretty far into Pentangle territory too. And as with Pentangle, the woman singer, Polly Bolton, was the best of the vocalists, though the male singers weren't bad and served as good counterpoints. Perhaps their songwriting and instrumental approach broadened just a bit to take in more pop and rock influences, with occasional flute (and, on "The Magnetic Beggar," harpsichord). In all, though it's not as original as the best British folk-rock of the period, it's very well played and fairly well written, guaranteed to appeal to fans of bands like Pentangle, to restate the inevitable comparison.
Tracklisting
12 Road Song
13 Is It Me?
14 Down To You, Up To Me
15 Melancholic Fervour (It's Only Us)
16 It Was Good
17 The Harp Lady I Bombed
18 The Black Prince Of Paradise
19 When I'm Weary
20 I Heard Somewhere
21 Magnetic Beggar
Enjoy!!
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