From the opening chords of ’Wild Rover’ you know you are in for a treat with Belshazzar’s Feast’s new CD ’Find the Lady’. Paul Sartin & Paul Hutchinson - joined on some tracks by Pete Flood on percussion, Jackie Oates on vocals, octave violin & viola and Jim Moray on guitar - are in great form in a selection of mostly traditional tunes and songs in some stunning arrangements.

There are a plethera of good tunes, including Paul Hutchinson’s cracking medieval-ish stomp ’Royal Flush’, the mournful and lovely ’Lull me beyond thee’ and the strangely mysterious ’Circle of Biscuits’ - complete with suitably enigmatic percussion.

The Primus Hornpipe -’a camp little number’ according to the sleeve notes - wouldn’t sound out of place at a quality tea dance and comes complete with a plethora of star guests and tricks. As usual, listen out here and elsewhere for surprise snippets of the likes of The Sound of Music, Carmen, Die Fledermaus, Angels from the realms of glory, and did I hear a flash of Scott Joplin?

In amongst the jollity & tunes snuggles the hauntingly beautiful ’Turtle Dove’ as sung by Edith Sartin in 1907, who would surely be proud of her descendant’s version. A combination of low accordion and quietly soaring oboe accompanies a wistful tale of love and separation, with some wonderfully gentle and expressive singing. ’Queen of the May’, likewise, is perfection in its simplicity of delivery and warm string interjections.

The CD closes with ’Home Lad Home’ - Cicely Fox Smith’s evocative poem about a first world war soldier, who, hearing the chink of harnessed horses and gun carriages is reminded of farm labourers returning from the fields in his Hampshire village. The gentle setting and sonorous lower strings and accordion are a wonderful soundscape of evening sunlight and memories of happier times, as the church clock chimes and all return home ’at the quiet end of day’.

There are a couple of anomalies - Jackie Oates’ backing vocals in ’Wild Rover’ are frustratingly distant, and the reverb/echo in the remembrance verse of ’Home Lads Home’ is odd. But these are very small niggles. This is one CD I know I will keep coming back to again & again.