The complete title for this album is ‘Ten Man Mop’ or Mr Reservoir Butler Rides Again’. Recorded with the same line-up as the second album, this was the last to feature Ashley Hutchings and Martin Carthy. The title was a combination of one suggested by Ashley and one by Tim, and as neither got enough votes they decided to use both! As well as more sleeve notes in the digipak, this 2016 reissue also includes a small booklet. It is easy to see why Ashley and Martin both left after this release, as not only was the sound moving more to Irish folk from English, but the sound was also much more commercial. But, as stated in the booklet, this was “A selection of ballad songs and airs of the British Isles” so was never really going to be that commercial! Interestingly the packaging on the original was so complex that the band agreed to pay for it, but the album was sold for less than what it cost to produce so the band actually lost money on each one!
The interplay between violin and acoustic guitar on “Four Nights Drunk” is nothing short of beautiful, while Maddy sings like an angel on “When I Was on Horseback”. Although Martin and Ashley may have been disappointed with the musical direction, this is a timeless album that is as relevant and wonderful today as it was when it was released in 1971. This reissue contains three of the four bonus songs that originally came with the 2006 Castle reissue (three versions of “Rave On”, including one that sounds as if it is scratched, I’m sure there is a point to it somewhere). It is wonderful to hear this album again after so many years, when folk and rock really being brought together in one of the most delicious ways possible. For more details on this and many others, www.talkingelephant.co.uk
