Ziggurat (1974)

Track Listing

1. Musical Priest (Trad)

   Steve Verge - Bodhran; Dave Styles - Guitar; Ted Verge - Violin; John Wills - Bass
2. Bright Morning Stars (Trad)

   Steve Verge - Vocals; Dave Styles - Vocals
3. Moorland Ride (Dave Smaldon)

   Dave Smaldon - Dulcimer
4. Egloshayle Ringers (Trad)

   Steve Verge - Vocals; Dave Styles - Vocals; Ted Verge - Glockenspiel
5. Sweet Georgia Brown (Pinkard)

   Steve Verge - Guitar; Dave Styles - Guitar; Ted Verge - Violin; John Wills - Bass
6. Wish Hounds (Dave Styles)

   Steve Verge - Vocals, Bodhran; Dave Styles - Vocals, Guitar; John Wills - Effects

   

   The legend of the Devil and his Hell-Hounds is a world-wide one. The hounds are known by different names in different localities, in Yorkshire they are known as the Yeth Hounds, on Dartmoor they go by the name of the Wish Hounds. The Wish Hounds are commonly believed to hunt in the long, narrow lanes on the borders of Dartmoor, especially at St John's Eve (Midsummer Eve, June 23rd), and do so in a long procession behind the Devil, who is mounted upon a horse and cloaked in black.

   The Wish Hounds legend in Devon is cosely connected with anothe Devonshire legen, that of The Black Dog or Bargest, Its haunts include the Dewerstone Rock (a large rock in the valley of the River Plym, near Shaugh Bridge), the borders of the Moor and wooded glens on the Moor.

   The chorus of the song mentions the "wishful swain", by which is meant a slow, mournful dirge connected with the illness, peculiar to Devonshire, of "wishness". Wishness is a strange kind of melancholy and sadness which is reputed to be brought bout by being in close proximity to the Wish Hounds. Another place mentioned in the song is Jay's Grave which is a lonely roadside grave on the road, from Haytor to Manaton. The third verse is connected with a legend thaat once upon a time, after a deep fall of snow, the traces of cloven hoof-shaped human footprints were distinctly visible leading up a deep valley in the parish of Dean, another haunt of the Bargest

   Other hell-hound legends include the Welsh Dogs of Annwvyn, the Yorshire Yeth Hounds and the Cornish tale of the pursuit of Tregeagle. See R.Hunt's book "Romances of the West of England" and Theo Brown's articlas in "Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the ADvancement of Science".
7. Jigged Hare (Trad/Ted Verge)

   Steve Verge - Guitar, Mandolin, Bodhran; Dave Styles - Guitar, Bodhran; Ted Verge - Violin; John Wills - Bass, Bouzouki
8. Space Oddity (David Bowie)

   Steve Verge - Vocals, Guitar; Dave Styles - Vocals, Guitar; Ted Verge - Violin; John Wills - Electric Guitar
9. Rabbit Hills (Mike Chapman)

   Steve Verge - Vocals, Guitar; Dave Styles - Vocals, Guitar; John Wills - Electric Guitar
10. S'Wonderful (George Gershwin)

    Steve Verge - Guitar; Dave Styles - Guitar; Ted Verge - Violin; John Wills - Bass, Vocals
11. Swan Of The West (Steve Verge)

    Steve Verge - Vocals, Guitar; Dave Styles - Recorder
12. Wear A Smile For Me (Steve Verge)

    Steve Verge - Vocals, Mandolin; Dave Styles - Vocals, Guitar; Ted Verge - Violin; John Wills - Bass, Vocals
13. Seagull's Cry (Dave Styles)

    Steve Verge - Shakuhachi, Sitar; Dave Styles - Vocals, Guitar
14. Spring Seasons (Roger Nicholson)

    Dave Smaldon - Dulcimer
15. Taruggiz Chant (Eiwob)

Credits