Mr. Fox – The Gipsy (Transatlantic 1971)

‘The Gipsy’ was the second and last album by this obscure English folk rock band. It’s at times even darker than the great debut, and perhaps also better. The album opens in a very striking way with the epic song ‘The Mendle’. I was actually quite shocked when I first heard this, as it’s not exactly often you hear heavily distorted guitars and church organ in old English folk rock! Here we have a song that literally drowns in these elements, and I absolutely love it! The singing by Carole Pegg adds yet another dimension to it, as her way of singing here – and the melody itself – is so incredibly mournful. The song is seven minutes long, and just builds and builds. This is heavy, apocalyptic folk rock at its very best, and has to be heard to be believed! Of course, after an opener like that things have to slow down a bit. An that is just what happens, but the epic nature of the songwriting continues. The title track, that follows ‘The Mendle’, is 13 minutes long and is really a suite consisting of several small songs. These all have really good and memorable melodic themes, great storytelling, and it all flows beautifully. Very traditional folk here, but the instrumentation and singing is first class. Both Bob and Carole sang with utter conviction – they obviously lived and breathed this kind of music 24/7. Then the album surprises yet again, with ‘Aunt Lucy Broadwood’, which has to be the VERY earliest example of rap!! Really bizarre to hear something like this from 1971. Amusing too, in its own way, but frankly I could have lived without this one. Thankfully it’s kept short. The rest of the album is more in the Fairport Convention-vein, especially the driving ‘House Carpenter’. Carole Pegg actually sounds a bit lik Sandy Denny on that one. The melancholy sounding ‘Elvira Madigan’ is probably my personal favourite on Side B, though. The melancholy vibe is strong on this song. The album ends with the anthemic ‘All The Good Times’. Overall a vey fine album. Mr. Fox disbanded after ‘The Gipsy’, only two years after the band had begun, but both Bob and Carole Pegg made some solo albums afterwards.