Steeleye Span's ninth album was the second produced by British eccentric Mike Batt--best known for his bubblegum hits as part of the Wombles, stars of a British kiddie TV show--and while ROCKET COTTAGE is less renowned than its hit predecessor, ALL AROUND MY HAT, it's nearly as fine an album.

Poppy and mostly lighthearted, the songs on ROCKET COTTAGE are an odd lot, from the brief instrumental "The Bosnian Hornpipes" to the Shirley and Dolly Collins-like suite "Fighting For Strangers" to an impromptu unaccompanied version of "Camptown Races" (supposedly recorded spontaneously by the group's five male members while lead singer Maddy Prior was in the loo). The irony-tinged opener "London" and an excellent version of the standard "The Twelve Witches" are particular highlights.

Q (11/96, p.158) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...ROCKET COTTAGE represents an added shove into the almost funky....A fine record, it was also, unfortunately, one that signaled a farewell to Steeleye the way they were."