The Druids
Album: Burnt Offering
Label: Talking Elephant
Tracks: 18
Website: http://www.talkingelephant.co.uk

The Druids was a Derby-based folk group named after the folk club they ran at Normanton. The principal lineup comprised Keith Kendrick, John Adams, Mick Hennessy, Dave Broughton and Judy Longden, and had a fairly short lifespan, from its beginnings as a trio in November 1969 through to its longer tenure as a five-piece and eventual breakup in late 1973. It left behind a recorded output consisting of just three albums, of which the first, Burnt Offering (the title having been wittily mooted by their mate John Tams, who makes a cameo appearance thereon), was recorded in early 1971 (incredibly, according to Keith Kendrick's new liner note for this timely reissue, none of the group had ever been in a recording studio before!…). The Druids had been signed to Decca's Argo subsidiary (then more famed as home for train sounds, spoken-word and contemporary orchestral manœuvres!) by none other than Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger following an encounter at a booking at the aforementioned Normanton club, and in the event, and to their credit, these folk "unknowns" actually made that transition to the recording studio surprisingly easily, as any listen to this forthright, well-coordinated and good-all-round disc will testify. Over the course of the album's three-quarters-of-an-hour, we hear plenty of evidence of the group's enthusiasm and togetherness, the strength of its instrumental and vocal work and its well balanced and sensibly varied choice of repertoire - even if at times the whole affair resembles a bit of a whistle-stop trot through a typical club-evening set that's hell bent on demo-ing the act's versatility!

I'm pleased to report that my fond memories of this treasurable LP have emerged from this remastered reissue virtually unscathed, and although the set is pretty much representative of a very good semi-pro act of the time the performances haven't dated in any significant sense either, and what comes across in spades is that essential youthful freshness and exuberance, that seeming refusal to let any interpretation grow stale through repetition, and a continuing relish in reinvention of sources and resources. The group's approach to traditional song is sturdy and reliable, and often deploys considerable imagination - A Sailor's Life is effectively done to the tune of Sovay, for example, and Gabriel John is rearranged by local friend Roger Watson as a dirge. They also call on Roger's well-developed observational songwriting skills for a brace of delectable fun recollections, Salvation Band and The Christmas Hare. Performances are very fine whatever the type of song essayed, from the intrinsic bawdiness of The Cuckoo's Nest and A Trooper And His Horse (both suitably lustily rendered) to the poised tenderness of the Irish lullaby The Castle Of Dramore, the cathartic celebratory Prickly Bush to the stately processional of The Boar's Head Carol.

The LP's three brief non-vocal tracks may be just tasters for the interested listener's prospective exploration of similarly spirited instrumental proficiency elsewhere on the folk circuit, while the generous inclusion of around half-a-dozen a cappella tracks certainly made me aware of the appeal of purely unaccompanied song settings arranged in harmony; indeed, the Druids' boldly faithful rendition of the shanty General Taylor (with lead taken by Keith Kendrick) served to form my own personal introduction to a folk sub-genre which has become both a favourite and a speciality for my own singing pleasure to this day. In fact, if I think about it, this record was at the time of its appearance a formative experience for me in many ways, in that it introduced me to the glories of a non-amplified (straight, in the sense of not "rocked-up) folk act in the context of a "standard" repertoire intelligently arranged and performed and not pandering to any silly commercialised whims. Very refreshing, and still sounding exactly so today. Big congratulations to Talking Elephant for exhuming this Burnt Offering, and let's pray hard for the subsequent unearthing of the group's remaining two albums.

David Kidman