Not wishing to sidetrack the ongoing Ewan MacColl thread, I was curious to know if people here had any recollections of the Critics Group. There doesn't seem to be much info out there, yet I'm sure they were/are reasonably well known in folk circles.

I know about the basic premise of the group, but it intrigues me that a group that recorded half a dozen albums appears to have faded into obscurity. Even in Frankie Armstrong's autobiography they only get a cursory mention. Did they actually tour as a "band", or were their performances limited to the Festival of Fools?

I'm particularly interested in their pair of London-themed albums, "A merry progress to London" and "Sweet Thames flow softly". Jim O'Connor's sleeve notes didn't allude to individual songs, so I've no idea where songs like "The parson grocer" and "The lawyer's lament for Charing X" came from.

I'd say the Critics LPs were of a generally high standard, and it's sad that none of their output has ever made it to CD. Does this reflect a lukewarm attitude to this group? Any thoughts welcome!