Beggars Opera's third album offered up another dramatic change in pace and style from a band that had already demonstrated its musical schizophrenia well enough.
Considerably more song-oriented than either of its predecessors, Pathfinder set out its stall with the pounding pop of "Hobo" before delving deep into period preoccupations with a truly visionary assault on "MacArthur Park" -- imagine Vanilla Fudge if Brian Auger had created their arrangements.
Eight minutes seem too short a time in which to layer all of the group's ideas, but they succeed with room to spare, and deliver what is probably the definitive reading of the song.
The pulsating "The Witch," the fusion and folk-inflected "From Shark to Haggis," and the closing menace of "Madame Doubtfire," with its glance back at the soundscapes of Act One, are the album's other highlights -- particularly if you catch them on headphones.
From beginning to end, though, Pathfinder is a powerful record, dramatically produced and deliriously delivered, a wild smorgasbord of musical innovation and staggeringly brilliant ideas.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HoboAlan Park | Beggars Opera | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 2 | Macarthur ParkJimmy Webb | Beggars Opera | Play | 08:20 | 19 MB | 59 MB |
| 3 | The WitchRicky Gardiner, Dennis Scott | Beggars Opera | Play | 06:05 | 13 MB | 43 MB |
| 4 | PathfinderRicky Gardiner | Beggars Opera | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | From Shark to HaggisRicky Gardiner, Dennis Scott | Beggars Opera | Play | 06:45 | 15 MB | 44 MB |
| 6 | StretcherRicky Gardiner | Beggars Opera | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | Madame DoubtfireRicky Gardiner | Beggars Opera | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 38 mins | 88 MB | |||||
| 38 mins | 263 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry Ainsworth | Engineer |
| 2 | Beggars Opera | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 3 | Ricky Gardiner | Composer, Guitar, Vocals |
| 4 | Peter Goodfellow | Sleeve Illustration |
| 5 | Martin Griffiths | Percussion, Vocals |
| 6 | Alan Park | Composer, Keyboards |
| 7 | Dennis Scott | Composer |
| 8 | Gordon Sellar | Bass, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Bass), Vocals |
| 9 | Roger Wake | Engineer |
| 10 | Jimmy Webb | Composer |
| 11 | Chris Welch | Liner Notes |
| 12 | Ray Wilson | Drums |
| 13 | Raymond Wilson | Drums |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |