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Pyewackett specialized in very old material which they made current and very much alive. Check out one of the jazziest versions of Tam Lin ever recorded, followed immediately by an entirely loopy Merry-go-round Broke Down. Weird and wonderful.'

Review by Roots & Rhythm. And here's 'a music fan' writing on the Amazon UK site:

'Pyewackett's second album veers from the 15th century to 1930s Hollywood with never a foot out of place. They were one of the innovative English dance and concert bands of the 1980s who foreswore dreary rumpteetiddly drummers and seesaw concertinas in favour of bassoon, hammered dulcimer, violin, clarinet and synth played with oomph, style and brilliant musicianship. Their versions of late medieval dance tunes — Amoroso, the B de B/Bear Dance and, er, Dan and the Wombat — belt along with an astonishing driving force and inventive arrangements. Rosie Cross's clear, slightly lisping voice ranges from the eerie versions of Tam Lin and The Grey Cock to the jolly Ce Mois de Mai and The Well Below the Valley. The bizarre 1930s Merry Go Round Broke Down has simply to be heard to be believed... Buy this, and they might re-release the other three albums.'

The Man in the Moon Drinks Claret was recorded by Colin Peter, produced by the band and Andrew Cronshaw, and first released on Pyewackett's own label, Familiar Records. Music and Words have re-released it on CD.

As to those other three albums: Niels Grundtvig Nielsen has an entertaining online miscellany which includes a Pyewackett discography and tracklists. Maybe we could release a compilation: any suggestions?

Visit the Pyewackett Appreciation Society for recent discussions. And there's a great new Pyewackett lens on Squidoo courtesy of MobyD.