Comments for Johnson, Bob and Knight, Pete, The King of Elfland's Daughter

Bob Johnson and Pete Knight are known for their work with the folk rock group, Steeleye Span, and that is very much the style in which this project has been created: this feel is very much in keeping with the Old World charm and warmth of the Lord Dunsany novel on which it''s based. The songs themselves aren''t always successful and the connecting narration by Christopher Lee, while well acted, is probably not too soft in some passages. Overall, the feeling is of a children''s album, with the vocalists lending a lot to the characterisations (Alexis Korner as the Troll, Lurulu, gives an inspired performance in a role that is all too short). I feel that too much of the narrative may have been pared away towards achieving LP length (though a sensible amount of Dunsany''s prose remains): while the story is consistent, the central thread about the "magic son" has been lost with the removal of the Orion character (it would be great if they could do an extra track or two for a CD reissue). Still, it''s a nice, if not entirely successful venture with some fine songs, such as the beautiful closing one, sung by the perfectly chosen Welsh singer, Mary Hopkin. For fans of folk rock. (Ian C. Thomas)

Compositions and instruments by Bob Johnson (acoustic and electric guitars, bass) and Pete Knight (electric piano, synthesiser, violins, mandolins, autoharp, orchestration and conducting. Additional musicians include: Herbie Flowers (bass), Ray Cooper (percussion), Nigel Pegrum and Kenny Clark (drums), Paul Lewis (orchestration on 5), Mike Batt (clavinet on 6), the Gayhurst Junior Choir (on 8) and the English Chorale (on 9).

A super record which I still enjoy listening to, in particular the final two tracks. Sadly, all I have is a poor quality tape recording made from a scratchy record that I borrowed from a library years ago. Is it possible to obtain a disc or, even better, a version on CD?