On the Modern Folk Quartet's eponymous debut, Cyrus Faryar (guitar, vocals), Henry Tad Diltz (banjo, vocals), Chip Douglas (bass, banjo, guitar, ukulele, bells, vocals), and Jerry Yester (guitar, vocal, cymbals) present a fresh youthful visage to a superbly chosen selection of concurrently new traditionals and original adaptations of standards from the folk music canon -- such as the one that kick-starts the affair. Derived from the spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Swing Down Chariot is a brisk modernization benefiting from the instrumentalists' considerable prowess, bearing a similarity to other burgeoning folk combos like the Journeymen and the Kingston Trio. Sassafras is a blithe and frolicking ballad with a quirky and interminably catchy syncopated melody displaying their four-part blend perfectly. This is contrasted by Faryar and Yester's revision of the lovely and reserved Brandy. The tune is haunting with a slight and poignant Baroque quality that provides a further outlet for the singers' intricate harmonies. Legendary jazz reedman Anthony Ortega supplied the high-flyin' and energetic Wanderin' Willie, presenting a prime example of how the MFQ compiled their unique style from a variety of disparate sources, including other young composers. Among the material from their contemporaries is the solemn and foreboding It Was a Very Good Year by Ervin Drake and the lazy and laid-back Pennies from Chet Powers -- who also used the pseudonym Dino Valente when he penned the hippie anthem Get Together and was briefly in the Bay Area's infamous Quicksilver Messenger Service. The long-player culminates with Bob Gibson's anthemic Yes I See, as the MFQ billow forth at their most powerful and sonically strident. This substantial effort -- especially considering it was their first -- was certainly a positive omen for their follow-up in 1964, simply (yet aptly) titled Changes. ~ Lindsay Planer, Rovi

1		Swing Down Chariot
2		Sassafras
3		Brandy
4		Wanderin' Willie
5		It Was a Very Good Year
6		Ox Driver
7		Pennies
8		Road To Freedom
9		To Catch a Shad
10		Home Is Where the Heart Is
11		Lee-Lo
12		Yes I See

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