Fairport Convention album by album thread

That's a great shot of Dave!

 

ok then. here's a few i took of christine collister with her band and ian matthews. it was real nice setting out on the water with some good food and some great music. making the intros is nancy covey aka mrs. richard thompson.

 

Thank you very much for the pictures. Looks like a great setting.

I never met Nnacy Covey but by all accounts she did a great job of organising the US contingents' visit to Cropredy each year.

Best Wishes
David

 

Gladys' Leap

Gladys' Leap is a folk rock album by Fairport Convention originally released in August 1985.
It was recorded in April and May 1985 at Woodworm Studios, Barford St. Michael, Oxfordshire, UK.
It was produced and engineered by Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks and Dave Pegg and the assistant engineers were Tim Matyear and Mark Powell.

The title comes from Gladys Hillier, who was a postwoman for Cranham, a village near Stroud in Gloucestershire, England.
As a short-cut, to save a two mile walk, she used to jump the three feet (~ 1 metre) across a stream on her round.
In 1977 the Ordnance Survey agreed to name the spot in her honour, and in 2005 a footbridge was built across the stream.

Fairport heard the story, and named the album in Gladys' honour.

Track listing:

Side one (The Folkside)

1. How Many Times (Richard Thompson) - 3:29
2. Bird from the Mountain (Ralph McTell) - 4:51
3. Honour and Praise (John Richards) - 5:21
4. The Hiring Fair (Ralph McTell, Dave Mattacks) - 5:53

Side two (The Backside)

5. Instrumental Medley '85 The Riverhead (Dave Pegg) > Gladys' Leap (Dave Pegg) > The Wise Maid (Trad. Arr. Simon Nicol/Dave Pegg) - 5:08
6. My Feet are Set for Dancing (Cathy Lesurf, Arranged by Bill Martin) - 4:01
7. Wat Tyler (Ralph McTell/Simon Nicol) - 5:36
8. Head in a Sack (Dave Whetstone) - 4:23


Bonus tracks on the remastered Talking Elephant CD TECD 034 released in 2001.

09. Angel Delight (Dave Swarbrick, Dave Pegg, Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks) 4:32
10. Polly On The Shore (Music: Dave Pegg - Lyrics: Trad Arr. Dave Swarbrick / Trevor Lucas 5:14
11. Lucky Old Sun (Beasley Smith / Haven Gillespie) 5:36

Personnel:

Simon Nicol - Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Dave Pegg - Bass Guitar, Mandolin, Bouzouki, Double Bass, Vocals
Dave Mattacks - Drums, Drum Machine, Keyboards, Percussion

with

Ric Sanders - Violin (Tracks 2, 4, 5)
Richard Thompson - Electric Guitar (Track 8)
Cathy Lesurf - Vocal (Track 6)
Harold Wells - Spoken Intro to Track 2

Recorded: April-May 1985 at Woodworm Studio, Barford St. Michael, Oxfordshire. Violin parts overdubbed in May 1985.
Produced & Engineered by: Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks & Dave Pegg
Assistant Engineers: Tim Matyear & Mark Powell
Cut At: Townhouse Studios
Cover by: Mick Toole
Photography: John Woodward, Derek Holmwood, Doug Lake

Vinyl issues:

UK Woodworm Records WR007 (August 1985) (Inner sleeve contained the song lyrics)
Woodworm Records (Cassette) WRC002 (August 1985)
USA Varrick Records VR023 (1985) (included insert sheet with song lyrics)
AUSTRALIA Interfusion L38538 (1985) (Inner sleeve contained the song lyrics)
Note:
Tim Matyear the Woodworm Sound Engineer confirmed that one night Dave Pegg slipped into the studio behind his back
and slightly remixed the Bass Guitar parts for the Australian issue,
although he further added that he had never been able to work out what Peggy had done to the tracks!
GERMANY Spriggan Records FMS102 (1985) (included insert sheet with song lyrics)
CANADA Stony Plain CDVR 00023 (1985)
SWEDEN Amalthea AM55 (1985)
SOUTH KOREA Jigu Records Corp ROPL-4006 (VR-023) (1991) (including insert sheet with song lyrics in English and article about Fairport in Korean

CD issues:

UK Woodworm Records WRCD 007 (October 1986) (Booklet has extra photographs by Garry Hunter)
Terrapin Trucking Co. Ltd TRUCK CD 015 (1994)
Folkprint FP002CD (with " Expletive Delighted" as 2-CD) 1997
Talking Elephant TECD 034 (Remastered with Bonus Tracks) 10 August 2001
USA Varrick Records CD023 (1986)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladys'_Leap
http://www.musikfolk.co.uk/expletive-delighted/album-gladys.htm

 

I remember Ian, Martin and Dave were doing radio appearances, and Ian was plugging Fairport on air. I still have the cassette I dubbed off the radio from back then.

 

I think Gladys Leap was my second Fairport disk. I think it is a strong album's worth of songs with one of my favorite Fairport instrumentals. How Many Times and The Hiring Fair are also stand-out tracks.

All those Cropredy pictures make me want to get to one myself....

 

FC live on The Midday Show, Australia, March 1986.

Honour & Praise > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLT9jVGIadc

Royal Seleccion no. 13 > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkZevDlJ6iM

 

I agree with all of the above (in fact, I think it was my second FC album too). The only weak link for me is the Cathy Lesurf song; the arrangement and production (it's pretty much all keyboards and drums -- and hey, are those syndrums?) make the track seem sound a misguided attempt at a hit single. But the other songs are all very fine, and as a bonus several tracks (notably Wat Tyler) make learning about British history and culture more fun than any social studies class I ever took in high school.

 

Sir Patrick Spens did the same for me all those years ago.

Best Wishes
David

 

I too think Cathy's song dosn't fit the album well, but I don't begrudge them trying to stretch-out for a hit.

Question: What do people think of Fairport Convention's BBC collections? There are 3 available on Amazon: the 4 disk complete set, the 1 disk "best of BBC" and the expanded "Heyday".

 

Expletive Delighted!

Released: August 1986
Recorded: February, April & May 1986 at Woodworm Studios, Barford St. Michael, Oxfordshire

Expletive Delighted! is a 1986 album by folk rock band Fairport Convention.
It is the band's only album consisting solely of instrumental tracks, despite the claim "Lyric sheet enclosed" on the album cover.

Ric Sanders, who had played on some tracks on the previous album Gladys' Leap, was invited to join Fairport full-time, as was Maartin Allcock; the result, according to Dave Pegg,

"Ric and Maart were both writing stuff, composing these great instrumental pieces. I thought we should do something immediately, catch the moment.
So we put out an all instrumental album, Expletive Delighted. I really wanted to show everyone just what these new chaps could do, how brilliantly they could play. ...
The line-up meant we could tour again, it meant we had new material for Cropredy, it meant there was a Fairport again.
So from 1986 on, Cropredy wasn't just a reunion festival any more. We had a band."

This new lineup would last for the next eleven years, the most stable of all of Fairport's configurations to that point.

Allmusic's reviewer described Expletive Delighted! as "alternately enjoyable and maddening",
criticizing the prominence of Dave Mattacks's drums in the mix, while praising "Portmeirion"
and the title track as "delicate and beautiful as any work that this version of the band has done.
Richard Thompson and Jerry Donahue turn up on electric guitar for the rippling finale "Hanks For the Memories,"
a reconsideration of instrumentals ranging from "Apache" and "Pipeline" to "Peter Gunn."

Track listing:

Side One

1. "The Rutland Reel/Sack the Juggler" (Ric Sanders) - 3:20
2. "The Cat on the Mixer/Three Left Feet" (Maartin Allcock) - 3:37
3. "Bankruptured" (Dave Pegg) - 3:04
4. "Portmeirion" (Ric Sanders) - 5:21
5. "Jams O'Donnell's Jig" (Dave Pegg) - 2:48

Side Two

1. "Expletive Delighted" (Ric Sanders) - 1:55
2. "Sigh Beg Sigh Mor" (O' Carolan) - 7:18
3. "Innstuck" (Maartin Allcock) - 2:08
4. "The Gas Almost Works" (John Kirkpatrick) 1:58
5. "Hanks for the Memory" (various, arrangement by Jerry Donahue)* - 4:38
1. "Shazam" (Duane Eddy, Lee Hazlewood)
2. "Pipeline" (Bob Spickard, Brian Carmen)
3. "Apache" (Jerry Lordan)
4. "Peter Gunn" (Henry Mancini)

Release history:

1986 : August : Woodworm Records WR009, UK LP; WRC004 UK Cassette
1986 : Varrick Records VR029, US LP
1986 : December : Sandstock SSM019, Australia LP
1987 : August : Entente 12-3074 (833 074-928), Germany, LP (different cover, gatefold sleeve)
1990 : Varrick CD-VR-029, US CD
1990 : Folkprint FP002CD, UK CD, reissue with Gladys' Leap

Personnel:

Ric Sanders : Violin, Keyboards
Martin Allcock : Electric Guitar, Electric Bouzouki, Mandolin, Mandola, Double Bass, Slide Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Simon Nicol : Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Dave Pegg : Bass Guitar, Mandola, Acoustic Guitar
Dave Mattacks : Drums, Percussion, Keyboards, Clavinet

Jerry Donahue : Electric Guitar*
Richard Thompson : Electric Guitar*

Tim Matyear : engineer



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expletive_Delighted!

 

Cropredy warm-up gig August 12 1987, at the Half Moon, Putney.

Gas Almost Works > Cat On The Mixer > 3 Left Feet

 

Oh yeah,this version of the band is one of my faves, they ROCKED ! This vid is from right around my first time seeing them (with Tull).

 

Holy cow, I was at this show! Thanks!

 

Portmeirion is a stand-out track from Expletive Delighted.

 

It was re-cut for the "XXX" album with Ian Anderson on flute. I like both versions but give the Ian one the edge.

 

and on a side note, the location where the prisoner series was filmed in the 60's. we traveled there after the 1992 fairport cropredy festival.

 

I learned only relatively recently this isn't a bona fide Live album. The applause is dubbed on. I've had it since 1987 and didn't know. I always thought it sounded exceptionally clean for a live recording. I love it, nevert heless. 'Too Close to the Wind' moves me every time.

 

A beautiful tune from Ric.

‪Portmeirion‬

 

Heyday: The BBC Radio Sessions 1968–69



Heyday: The BBC Radio Sessions 1968–69 is an album by English folk rock band Fairport Convention first released in 1987.
As its title suggests, it consists of live versions of songs recorded for John Peel's Top Gear radio programmes.

Released: 1987
Recorded: May 28, 1968 - March 18, 1969

Track Listing:

Side One

"Close the Door Lightly When You Go" (Andersen) – 2:56
"I Don't Know Where I Stand" (Mitchell) – 3:40
"Some Sweet Day" (Bryant, Bryant) – 2:18
"Reno, Nevada" (Farina) – 2:18
"Suzanne" (Cohen) – 5:27
"If It Feels Good, You Know It Can't Be Wrong" (Hutchings, Thompson) – 3:12

Side Two

"I Still Miss Someone" (Cash) – 2:37
"Bird On A Wire" (Cohen) – 2:36
"Gone, Gone, Gone" (Everly, Everly) – 2:10
"Tried So Hard" (Clark) – 2:48
"Shattering Live Experience" (Nicol) – 3:19
"Percy's Song" (Dylan) – 5:34

Bonus tracks on 2002 edition:

"You Never Wanted Me" – 3:18
"Nottamun Town" – 3:37
"Fotheringay" – 3:01
"Si Tu Dois Partir" – 2:28
"Cajun Woman" – 2:47
"Autopsy" (Sandy Denny) – 4:26
"Reynardine" – 4:24
"Tam Lin" – 7:49

Original album assembled and compiled by Ashley Hutchings, Frank Kornelussen, and Joe Boyd
Post production by Edward Haber
Tape sources thanks to Simon Stable, Edward Haber, Frank Kornelussen, Ashley Hutchings, and Richard Thompson.
Additional material thanks to Phil Lawton at the BBC and Ashley Hutchings
2002 re-issue project coordination: Tim Chacksfield and coordination for Universal: Joe Black
2002 re-issue remastered by Gary Moore at Universal Digital Mastering, London

Musicians:

Sandy Denny: vocals
Iain Matthews: vocals
Richard Thompson: guitar, vocals
Simon Nicol: guitar
Ashley Hutchings: bass
Martin Lamble: drums
Dave Swarbrick: fiddle on Reynardine and Tam Lin
Dave Mattacks: drums on Reynardine and Tam Lin
with
Ric Grech: violin on Cajun Woman and Si Tu Dois Partir

Additional Credits:

Joe Boyd – liner notes
Bernie Andrews – producer (tracks side 1: 1 to 3, 5, 6, side 2: 3, 6)
Johnny Beerling – producer (tracks side 2: 2)
Keith Stewart – producer (tracks side 1: 4, side 2: 1, 4, 5)


AM Review by Mark Deming

"Fairport Convention has long been British folk-rock with the emphasis on British and folk, but listeners most familiar with their revved-up interpretation of traditional English ballads (and like-minded originals) often forget that the band started out as the U.K.'s response to Jefferson Airplane. Heyday collects 12 performances (ten of them covers) recorded for the BBC during the early period when Sandy Denny and Ian Matthews were both singing for the group (and a bus accident had not yet taken the life of original drummer Martin Lamble). While most of the songs were written by noted American folk-rockers of the day, the Fairports put a very individual stamp on every selection here; if you don't think you ever need to hear another version of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" or Bob Dylan's "Percy's Song," you might well change your mind after hearing Fairport work their magic with them, and their takes on Joni Mitchell's "I Don't Know Where I Stand" and Gene Clark's "Tried So Hard" actually improve on the very worthy originals. Fairport Convention approaches these songs with taste, skill, and subtle but potent fire, and Richard Thompson was already growing into one of the most remarkable guitarists in British rock (and if you're of the opinion that he doesn't know how to be funny, check out his goofy double entendre duet with Sandy, "If It Feels Good, You Know It Can't Be Wrong"). While Fairport Convention would create their most lasting work with Liege and Leif and Full House, Heyday offers delightful proof that this band's talents (and influences) took many different directions, and it captures one of the band's better lineups in superb form."

AM Review of the expanded edition by Richie Unterberger

"In its previous edition (first released in 1987), Heyday was an important document of Fairport Convention's early days, its dozen tracks including numerous songs (mostly folk-rock covers) that they didn't put on their late-'60s albums. The 2002 edition adds to its value considerably by adding eight more tracks, all of them also taken from 1968-1969 BBC recordings, with all 20 of the songs featuring the lineups (with varying personnel) in which Sandy Denny was included. The 12 songs that were also on the original release, though, remain the most interesting due to the absence of studio counterparts, but also due to their exceptional quality. The version of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," with Ian Matthews and Sandy Denny alternating lead vocals, is perhaps the best cover of that standard. There are also fine interpretations of songs, sometimes quite obscure, by Gene Clark, Eric Andersen, Joni Mitchell, Richard Fariña, the Everly Brothers, and Bob Dylan, as well as the quite good Simon Nicol original "Shattering Live Experience." The newly added eight songs, by contrast, are mostly versions of tunes that also showed up on their official late-'60s albums, though Jackson C. Frank's "You Never Wanted Me" (which did previously appear on the Sandy Denny Who Knows Where the Time Goes box set) is an exception. Still, it's good to hear different versions of standouts like "Fotheringay," "Si Tu Dois Partir," "Autopsy," and "Tam Lin," though the arrangements aren't significantly different from the familiar studio ones. A new sleeve note by Ashley Hutchings is another good reason to pick this up. Incidentally, some other Fairport BBC cuts from the time have been bootlegged but eluded inclusion on this disc, though perhaps subpar fidelity had something to do with those decisions."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heyday_(Fairport_Convention_album)
http://www.richardthompson-music.com/album.asp?id=44
http://www.allmusic.com/album/heyday-bbc-radio-sessions-1968-1969-r7072/review
http://www.allmusic.com/album/heyday-bbc-radio-sessions-1968-1969-uk-bonus-tracks-r574460/review

 

"WHO IS NUMBER ONE ?!?"

 

The Live Cropredy sets are well worth it if you can find them, they were mostly limited releases but are filled with rarities and special guests (aside from band alumnit)such as Robert Plant,Ian Anderson etc. I even did some photography for the 1997 set.

 

Any love for Heyday out there in SHTV land?

One neat thing about proceeding by release and not recording dates are the chances to explore way back in time every once in a while.

Four tracks from the album with Mitchell, Cohen and Dylan covers plus a fun jug band style composition from Hutchings and Thompson.

I Don't Know Where I Stand
Suzanne
Percy's Song
If It Feels Good, You Know It Can't Be Wrong

 

I loved Heyday and I really need to either track down a copy, or better yet, invest in the Fairport BBC box set.

 

Does the BBC box make the Heyday CDs irrelevant?