Circle Dance is an 18-track compilation put together by the editorial staff of Hokey Pokey, a quarterly
Richard Thompson fanzine, to benefit a variety of charities devoted to poor and disabled children. Given the crowd, it's unsurprising that the cream of the British folk-rock axis centered around
Fairport Convention contributes. Beginning and ending with two very different versions of the traditional "Maid in Bedlam" performed by
Andrew Cronshaw (once on Moldavian flute and once on, of all things, electric zither), the set features exclusive tracks and rarities from a remarkable lineup.
Ashley Hutchings'
Albion Band,
Iain Matthews (performing a terrific live take of
Richard Farina's classic "Reno, Nevada"),
June Tabor (playing two traditional tunes set to fiddle accompaniment), and Adams, French, Kaiser and West (delivering a wild reinterpretation of
Thompson's "The Madness of Love") are all notable, but the real treasures are two simple demos by the late
Sandy Denny (an exquisite piano and voice rendition of "The King and Queen of England" recorded in 1976) and
Linda Thompson (an otherwise unavailable collaboration with keyboardist
Betsy Cook called "Her Father Was a Sailor").
Thompson himself weighs in with the surprisingly jazzy "The May Day Psalter," in collaboration with longtime friend
Danny Thompson on double bass.
–
Stewart Mason, Rovi