''The Prospect Before Us'' is a

British folk rock British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...

album, by The Albion Dance Band, which was released in 1977 on the EMI Harvest label. The album was produced by Ashley Hutchings and Simon Nicol and was engineered by Vic Gamm. It was recorded at Sound Techniques Studio and Olympic (including live dances at Olympic), London. There are several instrumental tracks. The album cover was designed by Dave Dragon, based on an idea by Pete Scowther.

Track listing

Side 1

#"Uncle Berhard's"/"Jenny Lind" (instrumental) – 3:44 #"The Hunt Is Up" – 1:51 #"Varsoviana" (instrumental) – 2:42 #"Masque" (instrumental) – 1:00 #"Huntsman's Chorus" – 4:25 #"Minuet" (instrumental) – 2:05 #"Wassail Song" – 2:11 #"Picking of Sticks"/ "The Old Mole" (instrumental) – 3:39

Side 2

#"Merry Sherwood Rangers" (live version) – 3:18 #"La Sexte Estampie Real" (instrumental) – 1:51 #"I Wish I was Single Again" – 3:42 #"The Whim" (instrumental) – 3:29 #"Hopping Down in Kent" ( Roud 1715) – 2:44 #"Horse's Brawl" (instrumental) – 3:40

1993 CD bonus tracks

#"On Christmas Night All Christians Sing" ( The Sussex Carol) #"Merry Sherwood Rangers" (studio version)

Personnel

* Simon Nicol – electric and acoustic guitars, piano * Michael Gregory – drums, nakers, percussion * Philip Pickett – curtals,

shawm The shawm () is a Bore (wind instruments)#Conical bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 13th or possibly 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissanc ...

s, recorders,

crumhorn The crumhorn is a double reed , double reed instrument of the woodwind family, most commonly used during the Renaissance music, Renaissance period. In modern times, particularly since the 1960s, there has been a revival of interest in early mu ...

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

s, racketts, chalumeaux,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

* John Sothcott, –

vielle The is a European bowed stringed instrument used in the medieval period, similar to a modern violin but with a somewhat longer and deeper body, three to five gut strings, and a leaf-shaped pegbox with frontal tuning pegs, sometimes with a fig ...

citole The citole was a String instrument, string musical instrument, closely associated with the medieval fiddles (viol, vielle, Geige, gigue) and commonly used from 1200–1350."CITOLE, also spelled Systole, Cythole, Gytolle, &c. (probably a Fr. d ...

, crumhorn * Graeme Taylor – electric guitar, piano * Ashley Hutchings – leader, electric bass guitar, vocals *

Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the British Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on ...

– vocals * Eddie Upton – caller, vocals *

John Tams John Tams (born 16 February 1949) is an English actor, singer, songwriter, composer and musician born in Holbrook, Derbyshire, Holbrook, Derbyshire, the son of a Public house, publican. He first worked as a reporter for the ''Ripley, Derbyshire ...

– vocals, melodeon * John Rodd –

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

, tambourine, vocals * Dave Mattacks – drums, piano,

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prospect Before Us, The The Albion Band albums 1977 albums Harvest Records albums