''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 Ashley Stephen Hutchings, MBE, sometimes known in early years by his nickname, "Tyger" Hutchings (born 26 January 1945) is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of t ...

and

Simon Nicol Simon John Breckenridge Nicol (born 13 October 1950) is an English guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founding member of British folk rock group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the ...

and was engineered by Vic Gamm. It was recorded at

Sound Techniques Sound Techniques was a recording studio in Chelsea, London that was operational between 1965 and 1976. Housed in a former dairy, it was founded by recording engineers Geoff Frost and John Wood. The studio became well known as the place where man ...

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" - 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

– electric and acoustic guitars, piano * Michael Gregory – drums, nakers, percussion *

Philip Pickett Philip Pickett (born 17 November 1950) is an English musician. Pickett was director of early music ensembles including the New London Consort, and taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He played recorders, shawms and similar in ...

– curtals,

shawm The shawm () is a conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissance periods, after which it was gradually eclipsed by th ...

s, recorders,

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

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, Nor ...

rackett The rackett, raggett, cervelas, or sausage bassoon is a Renaissance-era double reed wind instrument, introduced late in the sixteenth century and already superseded by bassoons at the end of the seventeenth century. Description There are fou ...

chalumeau The chalumeau (; ; plural chalumeaux) is a single-reed woodwind instrument of the late baroque and early classical eras. The chalumeau is a folk instrument that is the predecessor to the modern-day clarinet. It has a cylindrical bore with ei ...

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

* John Sothcott, –

vielle The vielle 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 ...

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

, crumhorn *

Graeme Taylor Graeme Taylor (born 2 February 1954 in Stockwell, South-West London) is a British guitarist. Taylor played lead guitar with 1970s medieval/rock band Gryphon, and leading folk rock bands including the Albion Band and Home Service. With Grypho ...

– electric guitar, piano *

– 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 English 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, the son of a publican. He first worked as a reporter for the '' Ripley & Heanor News'' later working for BBC Radio De ...

– 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 David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician and as a performing artist. Apart from playing the drums, he ...

– drums, piano,

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

References

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