Reviewed by Tony Cummings

For many a long year Pete Ryder has driven his own idiosyncratic furrow down the vast fields of popular music. In many ways a throwback to an earlier era of folk singer he also brings into play a scalpel like wit and a detestation of injustice mixed with a laconic delight in whimsy which occasionally reminds this listener of the old duo Flanders & Swann. Having written this I don't suppose Mr Ryder will agree with any classification for such a defiantly eccentric talent as his. This 15 song compilation offers tracks from a batch of his old cassette releases and gems they are too though one wonders why so many involve small furry animals. Take them or leave them "The Mole's Revenge", "Do Gerbils Have Souls?" and "Stuffed Guineapigs Can't Play Cricket" are all well up to par while even collectors of Ryder's vast output will encounter the songs "Squirrels" and "Flounder" for the first time here. My favourite is the tongue-in-cheek put down of Beatrix Potter "Beatrix Potter's Gun" a song which followed a visit to the famed children's author's house where an aghast Ryder discovered that the inventor of Peter Rabbit was not adverse to shooting a few of the cuddly dears. As always Pete's voice is an acquired taste and the accompaniments tend to be skeletal. But for his followers this is an essential Ryder compilation.