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Product Description
CD + 3 Bonus Tracks
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 71 people found the following review helpful
By Tim Edmonds
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
From the first gentle guitar notes of "Fotheringay" until the quiet epilogue instrumental "End of a Holiday" this has always been an album that grabs you and doesn't let go. Between these opening and closing tracks of the original 1969 LP (and the 1990 CD release) we are treated to a variety of musical styles, all played superbly with panache and/or sensitivity. There are songs by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, two 'trad/arr' songs, with the remainder composed by various members of the band. This is the album where the Fairport male/female vocalist style, pioneered by Judy Dyble and Ian Matthews on the first album, reached its peak with the pairing of Matthews and Sandy Denny. The other members of the band here are Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Ashley Hutchings and Martin Lamble, who all contribute high quality playing.
My first listen to the remastered version was a revelation - although the music was familiar I began to hear this album with a new clarity and, in particular, I could distinguish some individual instruments and voices in the mix which were hard to separate previously. For example, Claire Lowther's cello playing on "The Book Song" comes through more strongly. There isn't a bad track here, but my personal favourites are Sandy's exquisite "Fotheringay", a soulful performance of Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine", and the definitive version of Thompson's "Meet On The Ledge".
There are three bonus tracks. "Throwaway Street Puzzle" is a Thompson/Hutchings song that was the B side of the "Meet on the Ledge" single, since when it has been included in a remixed form on the Thompson collection "(Guitar/Vocal)". Pleasant, but not outstanding, "Some Sweet Day" was recorded as a possible single but has never been released until now.... Read more ›
My first listen to the remastered version was a revelation - although the music was familiar I began to hear this album with a new clarity and, in particular, I could distinguish some individual instruments and voices in the mix which were hard to separate previously. For example, Claire Lowther's cello playing on "The Book Song" comes through more strongly. There isn't a bad track here, but my personal favourites are Sandy's exquisite "Fotheringay", a soulful performance of Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine", and the definitive version of Thompson's "Meet On The Ledge".
There are three bonus tracks. "Throwaway Street Puzzle" is a Thompson/Hutchings song that was the B side of the "Meet on the Ledge" single, since when it has been included in a remixed form on the Thompson collection "(Guitar/Vocal)". Pleasant, but not outstanding, "Some Sweet Day" was recorded as a possible single but has never been released until now.... Read more ›
63 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Fairport Convention's second album was recorded scant months after their debut, but it's light years ahead. The band had improved in every way: the playing and arrangments are tighter and the production is much, much cleaner. Importantly, they had added the peerless vocal talents of Sandy Denny. Not only was she a great singer but she was a pretty decent songwriter as well and the album opens with her beautiful song 'Fotheringay', a haunting portrait of Mary Queen Of Scots in her fortress prison. Pretty much every band member gets some form of songwriting credit, although Richard Thompson was responsible for the bulk of the original songs, showing himself to be a composer of remarkable assurance, especially on the timeless 'Meet On The Ledge' which remains Fairport's set closer to this day. Good as Richard Thompson's songwriting was, it was nothing compared to the dexterity of his guitar work which was truly prodigious. His solo on 'Nottamun Town' is one of the best I've heard, if not THE best. Prior to the release of 'Heyday', 'What We Did On Our Holidays' was the only Fairport Convention album where Sandy Denny and Ian Matthews could be heard together and they harmonize beautifully throughout. However, Matthews evidently felt overshadowed and left the band soon after.
Besides the band compositions, the song list also includes a number of well chosen Dylan and Joni Mitchell covers (their version of the obscure Bob Dylan song 'I'll Keep It With Mine' really is outstanding) and two tradtional numbers, which Sandy Denny presumably brought with her. Neither sounds particularly like the material that would later make them famous: 'Nottamun Town' is an American folk song (Bob Dylan used the tune for 'Masters Of War') while 'She Moved Through The Fair' is a well-known Irish staple.
... Read more ›9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Following their debut album in 1968, Fairport Convention released three albums in 1969, all of which featured Sandy Denny and all of which are regarded as folk-rock classics. (The other two are Unhalfbricking and Liege and lief.) Sandy actually replaced Judy Dyble, who had been the group's female vocalist in the beginning, but this album does not just revolve around Sandy. In what is now recognized as a star-studded line-up, the male members of the group on this album were Ian Matthews, Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Martin Lamble and Ashley Hutchings. Nobody knows what Martin might have achieved if he hadn't died in a car crash later in 1969, but the other men all made their mark separately or sometimes in various combinations on the folk-rock scene, including (in some cases) further Fairport Convention albums.
The first thing that strikes one about this album is the cover picture, which is the result of doodling on a blackboard. The group were given a classroom to use as a dressing room for a university gig. Given the intricacy of the doodling, they must have had plenty of time waiting to go on stage. After they performed their gig, they realized that the blackboard doodling would make a great cover picture for their album. It is probably not the strangest cover picture that I've seen, but I haven't seen anything else quite like it. Still, it's the music that counts, not the artwork.
At this stage in their careers, Fairport Convention were experimenting with different sounds and styles within the overall framework of folk music but bringing in other influences. Rock hadn't come into their music yet; that came later, especially on Liege and lief.... Read more ›
The first thing that strikes one about this album is the cover picture, which is the result of doodling on a blackboard. The group were given a classroom to use as a dressing room for a university gig. Given the intricacy of the doodling, they must have had plenty of time waiting to go on stage. After they performed their gig, they realized that the blackboard doodling would make a great cover picture for their album. It is probably not the strangest cover picture that I've seen, but I haven't seen anything else quite like it. Still, it's the music that counts, not the artwork.
At this stage in their careers, Fairport Convention were experimenting with different sounds and styles within the overall framework of folk music but bringing in other influences. Rock hadn't come into their music yet; that came later, especially on Liege and lief.... Read more ›
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okey
It holds it's ground as a decent album. Nice playing, good singing and pleasant variety of songs. Okey but not magical
Published 1 month ago by Christer
5.0 out of 5 stars
memories
Excellent to be able to play this CD when vinyl opportunities are diminishing. Glad they are still as good as ever
Published 2 months ago by hazel mills
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely Stuff
A good place to start with Fairport Convention and then work your way forward to their later albums. Sandy Denny's voice is unbeatable.
Published 3 months ago by Brian Mavis
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stands up well over the years
One of my favourite albums of the late 60's which I had not heard for years. Most tracks have stood the test of time and Sandy Denny's voice and her, and the band's compositions... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Peter
5.0 out of 5 stars
NOTHING CONVENTIONAL HERE
What a band and what a fantastic voice in Sandy Denny and incredible guitarmanship by Richard Thompson who was SO young at the time. Read more
Published 4 months ago by goatsrant
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fairport Convention
What can I say Fairport Convention always guaranteed to be a great success. Yes love the CD, has been played many times already
Published 5 months ago by Susan Rushmer
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the greatest albums ever!
I can only echo the praise heaped on this album by previous reviewers - it is an absolute gem.
I bought it on vinyl just after it's release as an impulse buy and I was... Read more
I bought it on vinyl just after it's release as an impulse buy and I was... Read more
Published 8 months ago by W. J. Mccormack
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most famous blackboard ever?
With this album I reckon I'm more likely to be in tune with popular opinion. It's a goodie and, to my mind, reflects Fairport in their early pomp, that is, with Alexandra Elene... Read more
Published on 19 Jun 2011 by Dangerous Dave
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fairport Convention for eveyone
If you considered Fairport Convention too folk for your music taste- think again. This is just pure melody with a real spread of different music styles so the album never gets... Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2011 by Mr. John Lumbard
4.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome back long lost friends
It is not in my nature to revel in past glories. Suffice to say that '69 when this album came out was an exceptional year in many ways. Read more
Published on 24 Dec 2010 by Iva Eardit
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