Prior to Ralph McTell hitting the charts with Streets of London in 1971, he had already four years of recording material behind him, four albums of which were recorded for Transatlantic Records between 1967 and 1970.
All Things Change: The Transatlantic Anthology 1967-1970 collects together the albums Eight Frames a Second, Spiral Staircase, My Side of Your Window and for the first time, Ralph McTell Revisited.
Unlike some singer/songwriters of the era, McTell shows a talent to diversify on his material, The Mermaid and The Seagull for instance employs sound effects to enhance McTell’s storytelling while Granny takes a Trip is as playful as anything you’ll hear on Sgt Pepper.
It’s hard to imagine why the breezy Summer Come Along failed to capture the record-buying public’s imagination when released as a single with its catchy vocal chorus back in 1968 but its great that all these tracks can now be enjoyed once again by old fans as well as a new generation of listeners.
Review by Andy Howells