This 20-track survey of
Gay & Terry Woods' mid-'70s output is drawn from three albums:
Backwoods,
The Time Is Right, and
Renowned. You could be forgiven for judging it as something of a mild variation on the music
Fairport Convention and
Steeleye Span were making during the same period, albeit with somewhat less personality, particularly in the lead female vocal department. At least the
Woods, however, came by those similarities honestly, having been in the first lineup of
Steeleye Span with ex-
Fairport Convention bassist
Ashley Hutchings (
Fairporters Dave Pegg and
Dave Mattacks also played on both
The Time Is Right and
Renowned, with ex-
Fotheringay bassist
Pat Donaldson playing on
The Time Is Right). And though it might not measure up to the best of what those other groups did, it's pretty solid '70s British Isles folk-rock, perhaps a little less inclined toward the trad side of that blend than their musical cousins were, and more inclined to use slide and pedal guitars than fiddles. It also has a little less of an edge than the
Woods' previous work in
the Woods Band, but
Gay Woods still has quite a pleasant voice that suits the material well, with
Terry Woods' much less-frequent, grainier lead vocals providing occasional but effective contrast.
–
Richie Unterberger, Rovi