The new mine

"Refreshing dose of US-Anglo folk from ex-Fairport singer: Soon after he'd formed Matthews Southern Comfort, ex-Fairport Convention singer songwriter Iain Matthews enjoyed a million-selling No 1 hit in the UK with his version of Joni Mitchell's 'Woodstock'. Throughout the five decades since, Matthews has consistently produced some fine and tasteful, albeit too often overlooked, music in a variety of solo and collective guises, including the much-loved Plainsong, before deciding ten years ago that the Matthews Southern Comfort name fitted a new group of musicians from his new home in the Netherlands. Coincidentally enough, [their] fourth album (...) opens with a Joni Mitchell song, the poignant 'Ethiopia' from 1985, but [most of the] tracks here are penned by Matthews with various combinations of MSC members, all harking from that sweet spot between British folk-rock and Americana that has long been his classy comfort zone. Even at 73 years of age, Matthews possesses a voice that sounds as sweet as ever, with his ear for angelic harmonies well served by his current comrades".

"Country-folk gold: Fifty years after striking gold with "Woodstock", Iain Matthews returns to the Joni Mitchell songbook with "Ethiopia", the delicate opener here. The reformed band - Matthews and several chums from the Netherlands, where he now lives - create a warm, magical sound that continues through the record, up there with his very best work".