Beat About the Bush by Show of Hands

Beat About the Bush is the fourth studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. Originally released by Twah! Records in 1994, it was their debut studio album to be released on CD, following the discontinued cassette albums that are Show of Hands from 1987, Tall Ships from 1990 and Out of the Count from 1991. It was their only studio album on Twah! Records, and was subsequently re-released in 1999 on the duo's own label, Hands on Music. Following Mike Trim's successful recording engineer work on Show of Hands Live, the joint vision on Beat About the Bush was to produce an elusive "radio friendly" folk/roots album that retained the band's live sound whilst adding a rhythm section. However, despite positive critical reception, radio reaction was minimal, and the duo subsequently moved towards a stripped down folk sound, and would not return to bass and percussion until 2006's Witness. The track "The Galway Farmer" would later be a staple on every live performance by the duo (and Steve Knightley solo). It is one of the band's better known tracks, and would end up being on various other albums in different recordings (such as its appearance on the band's well known live album of their 1996 performance at the Royal Albert Hall, where it closed the main set.) The song "Day Has Come" would be completely re-arranged for future live performance. "The Oak" has continued to be played live amongst other songs on the album, including the traditional "Blue Cockade".