Detailed item info

Track Listing
1. Swing Down Chariot
2. Sassafras
3. Brandy
4. Wanderin' Willie
5. It Was a Very Good Year
6. Ox Driver
7. Pennies
8. Road to Freedom
9. To Catch a Shad
10. Home Is Where the Heart Is
11. Lee-Lo
12. Yes I See

Album Notes
Modern Folk Quartet: Chip Douglas, Cyrus Faryar, Jerry Yester, Tad Diltz.Liner Note Author: Richie Unterberger.On the Modern Folk Quartet's eponymous debut, Cyrus Faryar (guitar, vocals), Henry "Tad" Diltz (banjo, vocals), Chip Douglas (bass, banjo, guitar, ukulele, bells, vocals), and Jerry Yester (guitar, vocal, cymbals) present a fresh youthful visage to a superbly chosen selection of concurrently new traditionals and original adaptations of standards from the folk music canon -- such as the one that kick-starts the affair. Derived from the spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Swing Down Chariot" is a brisk modernization benefiting from the instrumentalists' considerable prowess, bearing a similarity to other burgeoning folk combos like the Journeymen and the Kingston Trio. "Sassafras" is a blithe and frolicking ballad with a quirky and interminably catchy syncopated melody displaying their four-part blend perfectly. This is contrasted by Faryar and Yester's revision of the lovely and reserved "Brandy." The tune is haunting with a slight and poignant Baroque quality that provides a further outlet for the singers' intricate harmonies. Legendary jazz reedman Anthony Ortega supplied the high-flyin' and energetic "Wanderin' Willie," presenting a prime example of how the MFQ compiled their unique style from a variety of disparate sources, including other young composers. Among the material from their contemporaries is the solemn and foreboding "It Was a Very Good Year" by Ervin Drake and the lazy and laid-back "Pennies" from Chet Powers -- who also used the pseudonym Dino Valente when he penned the hippie anthem "Get Together" and was briefly in the Bay Area's infamous Quicksilver Messenger Service. The long-player culminates with Bob Gibson's anthemic "Yes I See," as the MFQ billow forth at their most powerful and sonically strident. This substantial effort -- especially considering it was their first -- was certainly a positive omen for their follow-up in 1964, simply (yet aptly) titled Changes. ~ Lindsay Planer