Gay & Terry Woods - Lake Songs From Red Waters: The Best Of Gay & Terry Woods (2003)

This 20-track survey of Gay & Terry Woods' mid-'70s output is drawn from three albums: Backwoods, The Time Is Right, and Renowned. You could be forgiven for judging it as something of a mild variation on the music Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span were making during the same period, albeit with somewhat less personality, particularly in the lead female vocal department. At least the Woods, however, came by those similarities honestly, having been in the first lineup of Steeleye Span with ex-Fairport Convention bassist Ashley Hutchings (Fairporters Dave Pegg and Dave Mattacks also played on both The Time Is Right and Renowned, with ex-Fotheringay bassist Pat Donaldson playing on The Time Is Right). And though it might not measure up to the best of what those other groups did, it's pretty solid '70s British Isles folk-rock, perhaps a little less inclined toward the trad side of that blend than their musical cousins were, and more inclined to use slide and pedal guitars than fiddles. It also has a little less of an edge than the Woods' previous work in the Woods Band, but Gay Woods still has quite a pleasant voice that suits the material well, with Terry Woods' much less-frequent, grainier lead vocals providing occasional but effective contrast.