Search - Gay Woods & Terry :: BBC Radio 1 in Concert

Definitely worth checking out

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 08/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An unusual (and kind of sweet) set by Ireland's short-lived folk-rock Woods Band ensemble. Terry Woods was a veteran of the likewise short-lived pioneering '60s Celtic folk group Sweeney's Men and was later an early member of Steeleye Span; in the 1980s, he went on to become a member of the raucous Irish punk-folk outfit, the Pogues. Here, though, he and his then-wife, Gay Woods, were exploring a new style in Irish pop, one markedly different than the prevalent hard rock and trad folk of the times. This CD collects two separate performances -- a 1976 concert in London and a 1978 BBC session with DJ John Peel, the much-revered guru of the British underground scene. Each performance showcases soulful melodic rock with a strong debt to the languid electricifaction of Thompson-ian editions of Fairport Convention (and indeed, Dave Mattacks and Dave Pegg played with them on their London gig). There is a slightly hippie-ish, elves-in-the-woods vibe, but this is clearly more rock than folk; what's most amazing is how much the upbeat '78 sessions seem to anticipate the jangly twee of '80s and '90s navelgazing indiepop... An interesting footnote to both the trad and the rock worlds. Worth checking out!"

An underrated Irish folk-rock duo 's back pages revisited

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | 01/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gay & Terry Woods like many of the great male/female folk rock duos ie Ian /Sylvia and Richard/Linda Thompson made great music which never quite received the acclaim they deserved. This previously unreleased collection culls two BBC Radio concerts from 1976 and 1978 and finds their airy acoustic/electric folk/rock in fine shape. Songs like the gripping "Love is like a burden" and the autobiographical "Song for the Gypsies" have weathered well and "We can Work this one out" and"Lonesome Blue" rocked harder than most folk-rockers at the time. Undervalued yes definately as their taste and muscial savvy wins the day over time and tide. "In Concert" brings an under rated Irish folk/rock duo's back pages into the spotlight again and begs an overdue re-appreasal of their work and re-release of their back catalogue."