From Amazon.com
Simply the best
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: I got stuck on Liege & Lief & Unhalfbricking untill I read Mr Laffey's review. Then I bought this, and it truly is better than the other albums, and by far. Listen carefully & repeatedly initially, and you too will see that there is not one track here that is not immaculate. This is a must for anyone, let alone people from that golden era. And oh - if you like this, please try Incredible String Band's 'Earthspan' - another underrated classic of the same ilk.
Sandy Denny's first Fairport album
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: 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 Doyle, 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 think 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. The experimental nature of the album could have made the results something of a mixed bag, yet the end result is a collection of songs that sound great together.
Highlights among the original songs include Fotheringay (a song about Mary Queen of Scots). Meet on the ledge and Book song. There are also excellent covers of She moved through the fair (traditional), I'll keep it with mine (Bob Dylan) and Eastern rain (Joni Mitchell). This release features three bonus tracks not included on the original album, including a cover of Some sweet day (an obscure Everly brothers song) that was once intended as an A-side single but another song was released as a single instead. Nobody has ever had a UK hit with this song, but it sounds to me as if could be a hit for somebody, some sweet day.
This is an excellent album of folk music with other influences. Despite all being released in the same year, the three albums that Sandy recorded with the group all have their own distinctive styles. I suspect that most people would nominate Liege and lief as the best of them, but I'm not so sure. I might nominate this one Still, all of them are excellent so any preference I may have for one over the others is marginal at best.
First Album with Sandy Denny.
Album Rating: (4 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: "What We Did in Our Holidays" was the first album to feature Sandy Denny and in fact the last released with Ian Matthews as lead singer. As was the case with their 1968 debut album this album is a great mixture of various styles and inspirations.
The band would later become a legend in British folk-rock, and there are clear signs what direction the band might want to pursue on this album. Songs like "Nottamun Town" and "She Moves Through the Fair" would not have been totally out of place on their folk-rock classic "Liege and Lief". There is also a lot of folk-feeling in Denny's beautiful "Fotheringay".
Bob Dylan was obviously a great inspiration for the band, and they recorded several of his songs for their early albums. Here it is his obscure song "I'll Keep it With Mine" and you maybe you could also count in "Nottamun Town", which has the same melody as "Masters of War".
Richard Thompson wrote some really great songs for the album among which "Meet on the Ledge" has become a classic. At this point Thompson's songwriting was more pop/rock than folk.
Bassist Ashley Hutchings wrote the rock'n roller "Mr Lacey" and the other guitarist Simon Nicol contributed the fine acoustic instrumental "End of a Holiday", which closed off the original album.
The three bonus tracks are interesting, but none of them would have fitted very well into the album. The B-side "Throwaway Street Puzzle" has been a collector's item for years, and a track that many fans have been eager to hear. It's a Thompson/Hutchings blues rocker written and played much in the same vein as Dylan's "Down in the Flood" or "Wathcing the River Flow".
Great album, but not quite a five stars release.
My personal favorite
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: This is the first Fairport Convention album I ever heard, and if that colors my judgement, so be it. Having BOTH Sandy Denny and Ian Matthews on vocals is what moves this up a notch from "Unhalfbricking" (but that one's essential too)to my ears. The Dylan cover "I'll Keep It With Mine" may be the best thing they ever recorded--not only those wonderful harmonies, but Richard Thompson's entirely sympathetic lead guitar, especially on the fadeout; just sublime. Follow that with the Joni Mitchell cover "Eastern Rain" which gives you an idea as to just what they lost when drummer Martin Lamble died. Sandy Denny's opener "Fotheringay" would have fit in with Liege and Lief, yet is perfect here. Richard Thompson's early compositions "No Man's Land"(very underrated), "Tale In Hard Time", and "Meet On The Ledge" sound as great as anything he's ever done. And Ian Matthew's own "Book Song", adds a gentle dimension to the overall sound that was sadly never to be repeated. The only cut that doesn't fit is Ashley Hutchings' "Mr. Lacey", and it's still amusing and fun. There are two traditional ballads, a spooky chant, and a nice instrumental that closes the original album. In short, a variety of styles that form a whole greater than the sum of the parts. What might have been.
stepping stone to greatness
Album Rating: (4 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: This is the second Fairport album, released in late 1968 but the first to feature who is today generally considered the finest folk singer bar none - Sandy Denny. They are stil a young band searching for an identity here but the 40 minites captured here show scope and maturity that many band would never achieve.
With Denny giving the vocals a clarity the songs richly deserved, songwriter and guitarist was able to find the confidence to introduce 2 of his early classics to the listening public. "Meet on the ledge" retains its power to this day.The album closed originally with the wistful "farewell, farewell" but this reissue (which sounds great by the way) adds 3 bonus cuts. To be fair the only real one of interest is the original B side "throwaway street puzzle. Not a great album but a bonafide classic, lets make it 4.5 stars, just for opening with Sandys beautiful "Fotheringay" Anyone thinking of looking into Fairport Convention would do well to begin their search here.
Phil
Cambridge
ON
Purchases
1 Fotheringay
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