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. ~ Richie Unterberger