He's supernatural, a grim and frightening guest.

I got that definition from the liner notes of a set of LPs (SEVEN HOURS of unaccompanied English and Scottish ballads) sung by Ewan McColl and A.L. Lloyd.

My, I wish I could lay hands on that set, or CD version! I have the Smithsonian's CD reissue of McColl's Folkways CD with the same title, "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads", but it's not the same assortment and not the same recording session as McColl's portion of the LP set, and A.L. Lloyd is not part of this set. There were a number of ballads I'd love to have that are not involved in the Smithsonian/Folkways set.

I've been informed that the masters were bought by a British company, but they have not re-released them, at least as this complete set, but that they may from time to time use individual tracks in compilation recordings. I forget the name of the original label and the successor owner.

Dave Oesterreich