TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

According to February's MOJO (out now) there will be a box set released within the first six months of the year. anyone know more? Also in the same edition is the first sighting (That I know of) of the cover for "Sense of Occasion" in an advert for the tour. Can't help feeling the cover art is inspired by some of Cocker Freeman's works  ;D ;D

I read that too.  I was just about to post but saw you beat me to it.

A box set of Fairport at the BBC.....makes yer mouth fair water.  I sure hope some of the 1970 sessions are going to be on there in decent quality!

Jules

Apparently yes it is so, but I don't yet know any details.

Well I do, but I can't say...... :-X

All you need to say Jude is do you think we will like it?  ;)

Oooooh - secrets !!

Absolutely certainly!



Yes I know. I'm sorry but that's just how it is...

Best musical news I've heard in aeons....can hardly wait...  ;D  ;D

Sounds great - I hope it is more than just the stuff that has already been released on Heyday though.  In fact preferably they will leave that off, as it is available elsewhere - I object to having to pay again for material I already have!

theres an awful lot of bbc sessions out there that hasnt appeared on the various versions of heyday
but seeing as how Jude has been sworn to secrecy i only hope that we get decent recordings of the early stuff, even though i suppose most of it has already sufaced via boots (the quality of a lot of the boots are a bit dubious)

I'm not quite sure what's dubious about them, Jim, but they do (mostly) sound absolutely bloody awful!  Still if even 5% of the stuff I've got hanging around in barely listenable formats gets turned out in a form that is rather easier on the ear, this early FC obsessive will be a very happy man indeed ;)

But do you know the answer to the most important question: are you going to get paid?

i meant the sound quality, i'm gagging for a decent recording of "billy the orphan boy"

Apologies if someone has posted about this elsewhere, but does anyone have any info on a forthcoming 4 cd set of FC radio sessions?

WHAT ??????????
4 cds of bbc sessions!!!
im dribbling on my keyboard now, and its all your fault

This is all I can find:

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Fairport Convention - Live at the BBC (4 CD Box)
Our price: £26.99
Release Date: 2 Apr 2007
Catalogue No:
Label: Island
Format: CD (four box set)
Volumes: 1
 
This item is due to be released on 2 Apr 2007 and will be dispatched when we receive stock.

 



Description
(Island distributed by Universal Music)




Comments
No comments have been posted for this product.

BRILLIANT and just in time for my birthday :D :D :D [;-)

Please, if anyone gets a tracklisting for this, remember to post it here!

 

Jules

But too late for mine! Curses!  :'(

Can't wait though. Now if only there was a bonus DVD of the Babbacombe Lee special....

Stop it - you are making me drool.

Jules

Listed on Play.com as "Live At The BBC". Release date 2nd April. £29.99

Moody Blues BBC Sessions out about the same time I just noticed. I am guessing they may also have some admirers around here.

yes we are all rather fond of auntie, good old bbc, i say


moody blues are a different kettle of fish

Aren´t we april children lucky?  ;D. Can´t wait to get hold of that tracklisting. I´ve already talked to my local shop for them to preorder as soon as they are able...
Lovely news!
Staffan

Amazon has it listed at £27.99

amazon looking good,that'll be free p&p

Keep an eye here as more people give it a price...

http://www.find-cd.co.uk/cds/B000NA2UAU-fairport-convention-live-at-the-bbc.htm

While we're waiting, this is the well to be drawn from (HEYDAY *):

Top Gear, 24-11-67
-Let's Get Together
-One Sure Thing
-Lay Down Your Weary Tune
-Chelsea Morning

Top Gear, 6-2-68
-Ribbon Bow
-Time Will Show the Wiser
-If (Stomp)
-Violets of Dawn

David Symonds, 11-3-68
-If (Stomp)
-Witchcraft
-Take a Lot To Laugh
-Chelsea Morning

Top Gear, 28-5-68
-Close the Door Lightly*
-Don't Know Where I Stand*
-Some Sweet Day*
-You Never Wanted Me
-Nottanum Town

David Symonds, 18-6-68
-Jack O Diamonds
-Morning Glory
-Marcie
-Night in the City

Top Gear, 26-8-68
-If You Feel Good*
-Gone, Gone, Gone*
-Suzanne*
-Fotheringay
-Eastern Rain

How It Is, 29-8-68
-Morning Glory

Night Ride, 25-11-68
-Things You Gave Me
-Morning Glory
-Meet on the Ledge
-Bird on a Wire
-Mr. Lacey
-Autopsy (early version!)

Stuart Henry Show, 2-12-68
-Bird on a Wire*
-Mr. Lacey (Guitar/Vocal)
-Meet on the Ledge
-Reno, Nevada

Stuart Henry, 9-12-68
-Meet on the Ledge
-She Moves Through the Fair
-Light My Fire
-I'll Keep it with Mine
-Billy, the Orphan Boy's Lonely Christmas (Cheers, Jim!)

How It Is, 13-12-68
-Meet on the Ledge

David Symonds, 27-12-68
-I Still Miss Someone*
-Tried So Hard*
-Book Song
-Reno, Nevada*

Radio One Club, 6-1-69
-I Still Miss Somone
-Jack O Diamonds (late version!)
-Bird on a Wire
-Your Gonna Need My Help
-Meet on the Ledge

Symonds on Sunday, 4-2-69
-Shattering Libe Experience*
-WKWTTG
-You're Gonna Need My Help
-Fotheringay

Top Gear, 18-3-69
-Percy's Song*
-Si Tu Dois Partir
-Autopsy
-Cajun Woman

Top Gear, 23-9-69
-Sir Patrick Spens
-Lark in the Morning
-Tam Lin
-Lady is a Tramp
-Reynardine

Disco Two, 4-4-70
-Sir Patrick Spens

Top Gear, 20-4-70
-The Deserter
-Walk Awhile
-Flatback Caper
-Poor Will and The Jolly Hangman
-Doctor of Physick

Sounds of the Seventies, 21-4-70
-Open the Door, Homer
-Flatback Caper
-Sir Patrick Spens
-Bonny Black Hare

In Concert, 7-7-70
-Sir Patrick Spens
-Sir B. Mckenzie
-The Deserter
-Hangmans's Reel
-Bonny Bunch of Roses

In Concert, 9-7-70
-Dirty Linen
-Flowers of the Forest
-Now Be Thankful
-The Deserter
-Sir B. Mackenzie
-Tam Lin

Sunday How (Peel), 15-10-70
-Journeyman's Grace
-Dirty Linen
-Now Be Thankful
-Bridge Over the River Ash
-Staines Morris
-Sir Patrick Spens

Sounds of the Seventies, 12-11-70
-Sir B. Mackenzie
-Sickness & Diseases
-Journeyman's Grace
-Now Be Thankful

........sort of lose track after that... :-\

I've got about 80% of this stuff already - but only about a quarter of that is really in (repeat) listenable quality.  Can't wait...what with that and the Pentangle box, I reckon I'm sorted until the summer  :)

Blimey! I'm sort of hoping that it will be carefully compiled so there won't be too many multiple versions or repeats of he Heyday material. I'd also like it to carry on a bit further into the band's career, provided the material exists. The cahps are still doing BBC Sessions of one sort or another after all, though I guess if it is on Island it is unlikely to go beyond 1975.

I'm sure they will go through '75.

I share David's hope about re-masterings too, but there would had to have been a major archaeological discovery made in the vaults to recover the original masters to make it possible.

Since the Guv'nor and Free Reed had to use broadcasted dubs of many of these recordings for their own compilations, it could be a major feast!

i also hope they include the sessions the 9 line up did for auntie,i remember some of them as being great

There's a tracklisting up at Play.com

http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/3317115/Live_At_The_BBC/Product.html

Tim

Oooh that's me on Disc 4. :o

I'll look forward to hearing those 8 tracks.  :D

Haven't heard them properly for 40 years or so............... ::)

Wow, folk-rock pornography!  :o

Let us know what it sounds like if they are kind enough to send you a copy early, won't you Jude...!

Eh? ???

I think his hat's too tight Jude  :D

Something's too tight. *Thats* for sure  ;)

Can't frigin' believe it!  Still no Sandy era version of Morning Glory!  Geez!  

Truly, THE most smokingly beautiful guitar lead I ever heard from RT during his Fariport days came from his treatment of this song, either on 29-8-68 or 25-11-68.  I guess the masters from these shows are still MIA.  :'(

Still lookin' forward to the set though!  I'm glad I refrained from buying the remaster of Heyday! ;D

Sorry about BILLY-THE ORPHAN, Jim.  There's no excuse, really.  LIGHT MY FIRE, from the same session, made the cut.  Perhaps, its a hidden track.  :)

Apologies...that's a personal 'in-joke' that nobody else could be expected to understand...got a little carried away in my over-excitement..but what a truly wonderful looking set!!  This is not a time for "I can't believe it doesn't includes", Wileytown?!!  Would you just look at what IS in there...and hopefully in decent quality too...  Can't wait....  :)

Just one quibble. When you have got four discs to play with, why programme two versions of Now Be Thankful two tracks apart (ace tune though it is)?

When thinking of what we know has been recorded by the BBC, I find this a very good selection. But Jim, I get very excited about what´s so special about Billy the Orphan Boy? :D
This box will most certainly satisfy my high expectations.
Staffan

I'll have to go back and check, but I think one is pretty distinguishable from the other, in that it has a solo break instead of just returning to the first verse again.  Still, I agree that it would have been better to have placed the versions on separate discs.

Oh sweet Mary Mother of God would you look at what we're getting?!?!  I am so looking forward to this!!!  The BBC version of Journeyman's Grace with Richard!  The long version of Now Be Thankful!  I simply cannot wait!!!

 :) :D ;D [;-)

Jules

VH1.com has this set coming out on Island Records.....

Currently showing as Asda being the cheapest...

http://www.find-cd.co.uk/cds/B000NA2UAU-fairport-convention-live-at-the-bbc.htm

But not any more...(press link above) Foxy have gone all, well, foxy... for a 4-CD box set like this..that is dirt cheap.  Too cheap actually...

I just heard from Swarb that he wasn't aware of the box set's existence until I informed him a couple of hours ago.  "Always the last to know".  I wonder if that's the same with other members of the band - I'd have thought they needed release forms from all those involved...??

I posted about the Full House lineup playing at the BBC when Peggy was a guest on this list late last year and Peggy didn't seem to know that such a release was being planned.  Indeed Peggy had me send him a copy of a 1970 BBC comp and claimed never to have heard the 1970 Fairport performances since playing on 'em.  If he'd been consulted about the box, presumably he'd have heard the contents by late last year.

I guess Island isn't their label anymore, but still.....

Jules

These tracks will be BBC copyright, not FC copyright - so the producers of the box det just need to licence the tracks from the BBC - there would be no need to obtain band permission whatsoever.

it would be nice though , wouldn't it, if they informed the performers

Sure would. I usually find out what's being released by looking at Amazon..... ::)

Cor, you'll be expecting royalties next! :)

Artwork now on Amazon.

Yes indeed

(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000NA2UAU.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V43106254_.jpg)

Sorry, but a bit uninspired.

Yes, I thought that. Hopefully there will be an accompanying booklet to make up for it.

I like the artwork...  ;)

I like it too.  And without a wink!

 :)

Jules

Same pic as on the Heyday compilation - surely there's another one around somewhere that could be used.

Jackdaw

I agree about the photo - it does get overused that one.

Jules

Looks like Foxy is cheapest at the moment...anyway, they've just got my money so don't tell me if it gets any cheaper anywhere else  ;)

http://www.find-cd.co.uk/cds/B000NA2UAU-fairport-convention-live-at-the-bbc.htm

The set list looks amazing. I will finally get a live version of Lord Marlborough. Hurah!!!!!

April 2nd is just to far away.

April 2nd?

I saw April 2nd as the release date. Am I wrong? When does it get released?

April 9, according to Amazon.co.uk

Yep - that's what I thought too - but maybe US date is earlier?

Nope, the US release date is April 12 according to Amazon.com

it was originally april2nd but its been delayed by a week

Is it delayed 'cos they haven't finished recording it yet?  ;D

Am I being blind here?  I can't see Lord Marlborough on that tracklisting.

Jules

Disc 4. Track 20 :D

Thanks Jude!

I wasn't being blind - the tracklisting I looked at didn't go up to track 20 on disc 4.  I must have seen an impartial listing.  Can anyone direct me to a complete one please?

Jules

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-at-BBC-Fairport-Convention/dp/tracks/B000NA2UAU/ref=dp_tracks_all_4/203-2663210-2248722?ie=UTF8&qid=1175083889&sr=8-1#disc_4

There's a bit at the bottom of each disc that says 'see all tracks'
on Amazon :D

Is amazon the best place to buy it? I am going to see the band in may. Will they be selling it? Do they get more if they sell it themselves?  Gentle Giant has a site that you can order from the band and they get a larger cut. I try to support the bands directly when it is possible. It makes me feel less guilty about boots  ahem I mean archival recordings :)

There looks to be a lot of songs that I want. Side question.... Is there any live version of the Lobster available anywhere?

Amazon may not be the best place, but it's informative.....

Thanks Jude.  It just got even better!  I hadn't seen these before:-

15. Tam Lin  
16. Sir William Gower  
17. Banks Of The Sweet Primroses  
18. Sickness And Diseases  
19. Bridge Over The River Ash  
20. Lord Marlborough  
21. Angel Delight  

I'm thinking that disc 4 must be tracks in lower fidelity than discs 1-3 because the chronology begins again for disc 4.  At least that's my theory!

Jules

there is a review in the latest issue of "uncut" and it bers out your theory
 the 4 th disc is apparently poor quality stuff ,probably stuff that was on  the "a chronicle of sorts" and "alternative heyday" boots

Ah, it's always good to have a theory proved correct!  I'll have to pick up a copy of Uncut.  Thanks for the info.

Jules

My biggest hope is that Journeyman's Grace from 1970 will be the unedited version.  My biggest fear is that it'll be the same edited version used on Fairport Unconventional and the Angel Delight remaster.  If it is the unedited version then I'll be well chuffed as it's the definitive reading of the song to my mind and to have it in decent fidelity (it's on disc 3 so it should be decent) would be wonderful.

Jules

Sneak Preview here:  http://umguk.vice-versa.info/v-v/070404151658

Looks well produced so is it aFairport release or a BBC cash-in?

Basically are we buying it from the BBC or the Band(s) that appears on it?

Seem kind of strange that the BBC would release it as a 40th Anniverary tribute.

Or am I just too cynical (sorry) or are we just lucky?

It's being released by Universal who've swallowed up all the old Island catalogue as well as the Vertigo releases. They also have come to terms with the Beeb for all the radio sessions we did from day one to about '75. They weren't able to get the terms right (for them..) for the tiny amount of Video footage that still exists so no DVD bonus. Kingsley Abbot has done a great job (natch) of the sleeve notes and Phil Smee's packaging is right up there. Obviously the Heyday LP and CD are the backbone of the set but there is more, and I understand the tapes used for the transfers were of an earlier generation than those used to create the original releases.
If I sound like I'm endorsing this: well I am in a way, but not in a grasping financial way. I just like the completeness of the package and the way it's been done.

Thanks Simon,

Must say it appears well produced and if the music is as good as the cover...

Will look forward to listening to it especially as I too am celebrating 40 glorious years this summer!

See you - and the rest at Cropredy

WW

Can't wait, especially for disk 4.

The whole thing is indeed very lovely to look at ;D

Beautifully put together

Some very rare Jude recordings and the best performance of One Sure Thing. Fantastic. What's it like listening to your early stuff, Jude??

Ollie, it's really strange. I'm back where I was when I sang it. With all the open-mouthed amazement that goes with singing on the BBC!

Because you heard really good bands singing on the radio and never thought that'd you'd be on there too!
Coming out of the speakers! On the radio!!!! and with proper radio DJ's and all
Exciting times eh?
Ooooh better go and have a cup of tea now................ ::)

Jude (sometimes I'm just too cool for my socks 8))

Hi Simon,

Will you be selling the disks on the US tour? Or do you have a preference on how we buy them? Amazon, etc.  I am very interested in this set and always hope the band gets a good cut. I'll finally get a live version of Lord Marlborough. Woo hoo.

Hopefully I'll see ya May 3rd in Berkeley.

Simon, why shouldn't you endorse it !!!!!! it looks bloody marvelous ::)

come on amazon, get em out,i cant wait

I've just picked up my copy - I pre-ordered it from my local indie CD shop and they got it in early.  It looks great, sounds terrific.  It's actually f***ing jaw-droppingly good.  In fact I'd say it was the best Fairport release I've ever had the pleasure to hear.  It's essential stuff folks.

99 out of 100.  Docked 1 star for using the bloody edited version of Journeyman's Grace!

Even the supposedly rougher sounding 4th disc sounds bloody good to my ears.  BUY IT!

Jules

Simon, will there be an American distributor for this? How long does is typically take for a set like this to become available in the US as a non-import? I'd really like to buy the set, but $73.49 (http://www.amazon.com/Live-at-BBC-Fairport-Convention/dp/B000NA2UAU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-8669165-3216727?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1175803845&sr=8-1) seems a bit pricey. Or am I underestimating its value?

can you not import it from blighty?

blighty?

I want this NOW.........   >:(

By the way Simon... I assume that at this vast temporal disjuncture there are no extant recordings of you lot (well, Richard) doing East-West????  I live  (or rather ail quietly) in hope...

Just looking for myself, so far I've found this:
http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/7398903/a/Live+At+The+BBC.htm

If you find a better price, let me know.

The UK

This is from the Oxford English Dictionary (I was going to write OED but thought I might be adding another layer of confusion!)

Blighty
n   noun British informal
1   Britain or England, as used by soldiers serving abroad in the First and Second World Wars.
2   military slang a wound suffered in the First World War, sufficiently serious to merit being shipped home to Britain.

ORIGIN
   first used by soldiers in the Indian army; Anglo-Indian alteration of Urdu bilayati, wilayati 'foreign, European'.

Ah, I thought he was referring to a specific online retailer that had "blighty" as its nickname.

Yes, I could order it from a uk retailer, but I imagine the shipping and handling charges would probably get the price up to at least the cduniverse price. I will investigate it though.

I'm still curious, if I wished to wait for an American distributer, how long would I have to wait? I suppose I should direct this question to Universal.

Cheers

Amazon.com have the release date as 12th April and cd.universe have the date as 24th April so I would think you won't have to wait too long

Ordered mine from amazon last night - and I got a 5% NUSExtra discount

Right, but they both have it listed  as an "Import", which I assume raises the price. I am under the impression that an American distributer is necessary to allow the purchase of a non-Import copy. Am I mistaken?

Ah well, Bob sorry, I dunno!

 it's as much a mystery to me as to you ??? ::)

Jude (not managing to be terribly helpful....)

Am probably leading you on a wild goose chase Bob but does anyone know if it is available to download?

You would think that in 2007 the BBC archive or certainly those released as a commercial project - which I thought we Brits owned - ( BRISK SLAP ON THE WRIST another subject don't open that can of worms!) would be available to download.

Blighty
as in "dear old Blighty how i miss her" as spoken by all true brits as the steampacket pulls away from the quay

Quite a lot of Fairport is on Napster, so you may be lucky.

Paul

Foxy still the cheapest at £21.99.....

http://www.find-cd.co.uk/cds/B000NA2UAU-fairport-convention-live-at-the-bbc.htm

Thanks. I've ordered it from Foxy. Even with the 8 quid P&P, it still came out less than the cduniverse price.

I ordered it to be shipped to the US from Amazon.uk, and received e-mail notification that it's been shipped.  Total cost including airmail shipping was GBP 26.90, so far better than $73.49.  I find that many, but not all, UK imports are less buying from Amazon.uk rather than Amazon.com, even with the higher shipping cost.

well, i got the email fowm amazon today to say it was in the post
so fingers crossed for early next week

Got my email to say that as well I hope they haven't sent you mine! ;D

Huzzah - got mine!

Which disk to start with? Decisions decisions.

Probably disk 4 as theirs no chance I will have heard any of it before.

First impressions folks?

On the plus side...the newly crystal clear Marcie session is a godsend. A cracking Jack O'Diamonds for one thing. Definitely nice to have A grade recordings of the early stuff in proper order, even if a lot of it has already come out officially. The "off-air" disc four is as good as could be expected; pretty listenable in the main and definitely "cleaned up" compared to the bootlegs that have done the rounds in the past.  

But...not wanting to put the cat amongst the pigeons (or set off the nerd alert) but...don't be fooled by the credits for BBC studios for the Full House-era tracks (Disc 2 tracks 13-15 and Disc 3 tracks 1,2,3 and 4). These appear to be identical to Joe Boyd productions easily available on the remastered Full House CD (albeit with slight differences to the mixes- some added "authentic" radio hiss, for example). It's likely that a couple of these (Walk Awhile and Poor Will) came out on the BBC in this form (I'd noticed the similarities on the "off-air" Full House BBC bootleg that did the rounds a while back) BUT the box claims to source four seperate sessions for the tracks mentioned and (put simply) this doesn't add up...take Dirty Linen from the Folk On One session. This has been in circulation on tapes for years and  is a distinctly different, rough and ready beast. There's no bloomin' handclaps for a start.

I've had similar moans about Fairport box sets in the past (don't get me started on FreeReed's supposed "Liege & Lief rehearsals" - pah! crude mono remixes more like  >:(). The point is this- record companies should know better. People buy "archive" releases because they know the official stuff backwards and want more...do they really think the same old stuff with a bit of hiss added on is going to fool people?

Shame really- it's tarnished the box for me (which I have to say is a pretty neat package) and (irony) I'd actually have preferred some more authentic, dubious quality "off air" stuff at the expense of the offending tracks. I'd like to hear what those who put the box together have to say about it but doubt anyone would own-up to okaying it in the first place.

Oh, the version Time Will Show The Wiser is from the French TV show (not the Beeb) that is currently on show on YouTube... ;).

Anybody ordered this from Foxy and actually received anything?

Uh-oh ...
How long ago did you order? I ordered from Foxy last Saturday and yesterday received the email telling me the item has been shipped. I'm supposed to give it up to 14 days to arrive (something about potential problems getting through customs). I will let you know if/when it arrives.

I also ordered on Saturday but have had no such confirmation. I didn't necessarily think it would have arrived yet but I thought it would have been despatched.

Have just checked my account. It is still showing as Pre Order Awaiting Processing. Hmmmm.....

Yep and yep.  Very promptly.

Ah. I received a total of 5 emails detailing the progress of each step of fulfilling my order.

David, do you agree with Jackdaw's assessment of the set?

Huh?

Do you mean the Jolly Hangman?  If so, no, not really although I do bow prostrate before his magnificent anality  :)

I'm very impressed with it, but haven't delved as deeply as he has into comparing it with the different boot versions of things that I already possess.  I'm sure I will though!  Pound for pound it's one of the best box sets I've come across...it's on a completely different scale to the (musically at least) pretty 'challenging' Free Reed ones.

Sorry. Got my "J" names confused ... At least I didn't say "Jim" ...

I was really worried you'd got me confused with Jack O'Diamonds for a minute!!

I only got up to email number 3. Then it all went dead. No further contact since Saturday. Same thing has happened with something else I have ordered from them. It is very strange. I have emailed them to ask what is going on. No reply yet.

Re David's comment, "it's on a completely different scale to the (musically at least) pretty 'challenging' Free Reed ones", I quite liked the Cropredy box, especially given the wealth of Cropredy material that was already available. But I agree, the Unconventional set was patchy and doesn't get played a lot in my house. I'm really looking forward to this though.....hence my frustration.

HMV take away price £29.99. Amazon wait a bit price £27.45.

Can I be arsed next time.... no!

Aha! Items now showing as "Moved To Despatch". It's amazing what a little emailed "encouragement" can do!

Right, I'm off to castigate an Ebayer for not forwarding a DVD I purchased 2 weeks ago.  >:( Don't stop me now. My dander is up! At least I think that's what it is... :P

it arrived today and it really is a splendid package
re- the photo of the original fairport 5 on page11 ,
how young goes poor Martin look?
 about 12 to these jaded eyes
smashing looking singer though, hubba and indeed hubba ;)

We all thought it.  Jim says it.  Good man  :)

And yes, you're right about Martin too...so young....

Ordered it from some strange company called Caiman through Amazon for $45, will have to now explain this to the wife. ;D

and the booklet is a damn sight more permanent than the pentangle one
 i still find them overlapping cd holders a bit tight though,i keep wondering when im going to shatter a cd trying to get it out of the plastic centre

My plan is to immediately rip it to mp3 files.

I agree with you, Jim, on those tight cd holders.  What you can try, if it has several little tabs, is to carefully break off one or two of them.  That way, there's still enough to hold the cd, but it's not so tight.

Another thing that bothers me is when cds come in cardboard pockets with a slightly rough inside surface.  I wind up transferring those to plastic slim cases.  I feel uneasy when the cd playing surface is touching something, especially something that might scratch it when the cd moves slightly, as in transit.

(Yes, I am a bit technologically retro.  I don't have an iPod yet.  I did not have a personal portable cd player until mid-2003!)

Cheers ///  Tom ***

Write to Sue Armstrong at Universal Music if you're that bothered about it.

Hoping mine is going to turn up today as I have now had confirmation of depatch from Foxy. I shall then be doing the very same thing.

Btw re Jim's note, I had always understood that it was the label side that was more vulnerable to damage than the "playing" side, or rather that damage to the label side was more likely to result in playing problems. Not sure where I heard that but I definitely remember it from somewhere.

Am enjoying gradually listening to it.

Box Set design is excellent and yes, unlike the Pentangle one< the booklet has decided to stay on its mooring.

If I wanted to send her a congratulatory note, where would I direct it?
Oh! Is there an address on the CD box that can be used?

Mine just arrived today, and I've listened to all but the last half of the "Off Air" disc, which is still spinning as I type this.
Definitely worth the purchase price for me, but the standouts are the longer version of Now Be Thankful and the version of Down in the Flood with Sandy's double-tracked vocals.  For my money, Fairport has always done the best Dylan covers band.  RT doing the vocals on Open the Door Richard just came on.  I liked the "Heyday on steroids" comment made a bit ago in this thread.  Love the packaging.

How does the sound quality compare with previous issues of the BBC stuff?

In my opinion, the stuff that was on Heyday doesn't sound as good as the expanded remastered version of Heyday, so I'll be keeping that.  I didn't have much of the other stuff beyond the scattered cuts that have been on the Free Reed box sets and used as bonus on the remastered CDs, and felt that I wanted them together in more proper context.  The sound on all but the "Off Air" is decent, and if that was cleaned up from what had been available as boots (which I didn't have) I can't say, other than that I wouldn't have bothered listening to it more than once
if the sound was any less good.

Mine arrived today (that was fast!!!).
Listened to 1 & 2 - great stuff!!
Ripping the rest right now and will listen to it tomorrow.

Dispatched today according to the company should be here by the weekend hopefully.

Finally got mine on Monday but have had no time to listen! :( Have Mp3d the lot though and have a couple of long rail journeys to while away tomorrow so hopefully I will get to it then.

I'm really enjoying the music, much of which I had never heard before (even in studio form - I still don't have WWDOOH or Unhalfbricking).

I must admit to a little disappointment in the essay, which could use some editing to improve its chronology and fix some POV problems. For example, on page 35, there is an abrupt shift from 3rd person narrative to an unquoted and unattributed 1st person description of a recording session: . I doubt the "I" is referring to the essay's author, Kingsley Abbott, is it? Was it a quote from Simon?

In addition to the essay, I was anticipating (hoping for) something more like what was supplied with the Beatles BBC set: track by track anorak info for easy reference.

Neither of which really detracts from my enjoyment of the set of course.

C'mon Bob! WWDOOH is essential! $8.11 from Amazon Marketplace.  :)

The problem is I've got compilations (MOTL, etc) that include many of its tracks. up till now, I haven't been able to justify getting it.
I'm wavering. ???

Get the originals! Sell the compilations! The exclusive tracks on MOTL have turned up as bonus tracks on the reissues anyway. Go on, you know you want to!

Is that any help? ;D

 Yeah ... a big help! ::)

Have just managed to listen to the first disc whilst at the gym. Outstanding so far. Some terrific performances and the sound is mostly excellent too, though it does drop out slightly during Bird On A Wire (included in spite of this I imagine because it is such an electrifying version).

Can't wait to get to the rest of this tomorrow!

Disc 4, track 15 - Tam Lin

Sounds to me like Peggy singing - I was expecting to hear Swarb - or is it just my ears playing tricks?  There's definitely a hint of Brum...

Anyone (Simon?) enlighten us?

and Swarb grew up in ...

Brum  ;)

That's what I mean! This information (if available, that is) should have been supplied in the booklet!

And who's playing the horns on "Light My Fire"? And the vibes on "Ribbon Bow"? And the piano on "Tramp"?

Ummm Tristan Fry is playing the vibes on Ribbon Bow...

Thanks.
Sorry if I sounded more perturbed than I was. I meant to put some smilies in there but got interrupted.  ;D

PS. Who is Tristan Fry?  ;)

He was lovely ;D

http://www.ezrock.com/performer/78100/tristan-fry

and

http://plum.cream.org/sky/band.htm

not just your common or garden vibes player...... :D

It's either Sandy or DM on the piano for Tramp.  I seem to recall reading who it was, but I've now forgotten.   ???

Jules

its definitely Swarb, remember its early days for a Swarb vocal

'Course, if all this info had been in the booklet, we'd have been left with nothing to discuss, right?   :D

Finally got through it all courtesy of Mp3 and the British rail network yesterday. Discs 1 - 3 are outstanding. The highlight for me is what must be the definitive performance of Journeyman's Grace, prior to RT's departure. Disc 4 - well, it is great to hear those performances, especially Swarb's tentative early vocals on the L&L stuff and the tightness of the band on the Angel Delight material but the quality of the sound is going to prevent regular repeated listens.

Aaarggh - but it isn't definitive!  That's my main beef with the boxed set.  There's a version recorded at that BBC session which is the full song.  The version on the box (and on Fairport Unconventional, and on the remastered Angel Delight) has the second verse missing.  Was it edited for broadcast or was it recorded in two versions maybe because they were considering the song for a single?  I have no idea.

I have the full version on a b@@t.  THAT'S the definitive version.  Except that the audio quality is pretty lousy.  It's slower than the Angel Delight version, has a better groove, and of course it has RT playing lead guitar (and singing the second verse).

When you've heard the full version, the edited version is always frustrating.  I can only think that they couldn't find it in decent quality for the BBC box, but I sure wish they'd included it on the fourth 'off-air' disc at least.

If I had the technical know-how I'd take the edited version and edit the missing verse back in from the bootleg.  Would anyone out there have the know how to do that sort of thing?

Sorry.  Rant over.

On the plus side we do get that wonderful extended version of Now Be Thankful, a terrific Sir William Gower, a great John The Gun, a dynamic Possibly Parsons Green, a beautiful Rosie, and Reynardine and Tam Lin sound much better than they did on Heyday.  It's a terrific release.  It's just that version of Journeyman's Grace that really bugs me.

 :(

Jules

Judy has told us about Tristan who was parachuted into the studio to play the intro and outro for Ribbon Bow. He was the drummer/percussionist in Sky, John Williams' fusion group. DM is tinkling the ivories behind RT's spirited vocal on Lady is a Tramp, Iain is his straight man for the opening pun and I'm the guilty party assaulting Dm's kit while the drum stool was momentarily vacant. As for Light My Fire: well, no-one has 100% recall but I think it's snuck into this set as a red herring, a joke, a bit of inspired mischief or a clerical error. It's not Fairport, that's for sure.

And on that showbusiness bombshell, I shall mix my metaphors and leave the cat among the pigeons.

Sorry to have fueled your apoplexy Jules!  ::) I've never heard the version of which you speak so to me, what we have here is very much a highlight of the box but I had forgotten about the seriously kick ass version of Time Will Show The Wiser which knocks spots off the studio version, except regretably for the sound quality.

As for Light My Fire, I suspected as much Simon but thanks for the confirmation. Instrumentation all wrong and no recognisable vocalist.

That's OK.  The nurse has just given me my medication, so I'm OK now except for a few nervous ticks.

 ;)

Jules

Thanks Simon, that clears things up.
Do you remember whose idea it was to add the vibes? I don't have the booklet in front of me now, but I seem to recall you saying that Ribbon Bow wasn't really part of your repertoire.

I certainly don't remember whose idea it was. Possibly Joe's. Simon might remember more.... but it would have been a bit difficult to lug a harmonium around to get the same sound live...... :D

Don't you mean vibraphone Jude  ???

 My record shop phoned me today. I pick up mine tomorrow. Can´t wait!!! All reissues of the first albums and Heyday have been most rewarding. I look forward to a more than brilliant musical weekend. ;D ;D ;D
Staffan

Well no Ollie, I did mean a harmonium, that being one of the main instruments on Ribbon Bow, but to carry a vibraharp as well, just for the intro and outro would have been a bit of a pain as well.... ;D

Oh yeah...just listened back to it and hadn't identified it as a harmonium before. That song always, to me, sounds like the theme tune to Steptoe and Son. Who played the harmonium

Me. Well I played the keys, someone else (Martin probably) had to work the pedal bellows as my feet couldn't reach them without me sliding off the seat....... :D

Steptoe & Son???? :o

Well, the harmonium part does!

Steptoe & Son? Ollie, are you really 13?

Yes, I am. As I've mentioned in other threads, when people have asked similar questions, my English teacher reckons that I was one of these people born with an old head

I read in Kingley Abbots book that he has an acetate of the first radio session.  I'm surprised that this
 has n't been used for this set. The storming version of Mr lacey is also missing, was this an oversight?

How is Now Be Thankful longer ??? extra verse???

There is an extra verse but it isn't sung, it's a solo from RT, leading into an extra chorus before the first verse is sung again as it is on the regular version.

Jules

Off topic I know - but Ollie, old head on young shoulders implies intelligence of a high order, which in any case you must possess merely to be posting on this board (hem-hem).

Wish I could get my daughter to post here again but she's off on the All About Marillion board or summat.  

A first impression after a quick run through discs 1-3 between family commitments:I'm glad that these recordings have been collected after being spread on different CD:s over the years. Also fulfilling that they are released on a proper label and the artists get their money.
The first CD and a half is to me Heyday complete, not meant as a criticism but if you have Heyday on vinyl, cassette and two CD:s a lot is familiar. "Jack Diamonds"  was new to me. The Full House material has been circulating but I enjoy the good sound quality although loud music played around my ears for 40 years has made me rather blunt to hi-fi finesse. The third CD has  several highlights, I enjoy some rarely heard tracks from  the"Nine"  lineup. The Sandy-second-time-around live recordings are several why the excitement maybe isn't so overwhelming with the final tracks but I enjoy them a lot nonetheless. I guess the fourth rarities CD will give me the exclusiveness that maybe the first didn't give me, but I'm very glad that I bought this box. Everything collected in one place. Only disappointment was in the liner notes when Simon admitted to some minor overdubbing  ;) . I thought this was supposed to be totally live recordings. ;) ;) ;)
But I give 4 out of 5 pints., tankards or what's used in the TAW reviewing system.
Staffan

Well, there have been allegations made on the RT discussion list that the "Full House" material on this set are actually NOT live BBC recordings, but lesser quality/generation versions of the studio recordings, so that may be truer than you think.  I wish I had saved the digest that had these allegations so I could be more specific, but at least one other person has listened to both versions of the songs in question and came to the conclusion that it was probably true.  This is indeed disturbing news if true, and seems quite sad if someone was indeed intentionally trying to pull something.

Around about 1970 there was a change in how BBC sessions were done.  Whereas before most bands tended to record all-new versions, by 1970 many bands were giving the BBC subtly different versions of their album tracks to play as if they were session recordings.  Often these just had a different vocal or a different mix.  Check out The Who's BBC sessions - up to 1969 they were all-new recordings, afterwards they were as I've just deescribed.

I don't think anyone's been duplicitous here - after all it's Island putting out the BBC Sessions box and they own the rights to Full House too.  I think it's an honest mistake.  I don't think the same of the Fairport Unconventional set however - in that case I think there was a degree of tall tales being told!

The really annoying thing is that those Full House songs are taking the place of genuine 1970 BBC sessions that are still unreleased.  There was a whole concert session on a John Peel show including Staines Morris and Bridge Over The River ___.  Plus there's still unreleased versions of Sickness & Diseases, Flowers Of The Forest, Journeyman's Grace, Tunes My Mother Taught Me (aka Sir B. Mckenzies) etc.  Those album versions have kind of stolen the place of some really deserving tracks.

In this day and age when a label is doing a major retrospective on a band with a huge cult following, it really baffles me why they don't extend their research to checking with fans like us on the internet.  A little advice from a few of us in the know could have made a terrific box set truly definitive!  Plus it wouldn't have cost them anything other than time and brains.

Jules

Presumably they're working with the band, too, so Simon et al might have pointed out these details....

With respect to Simon - he's probably too busy being in Fairport vintage 2007 to spend too much time thinking about vintage 1970.  Many people in famous bands with long careers have difficulty remembering all the recordings they made way back when.  In many instances the fans know more than the band, because we tend to be a bit more anorak-y than the band members.  This is undoubtedly a good thing by the way!   ;)

And Swarb says they didn't talk to him at all.....

Jules

i know thers unreleased stuff from the 9 era line up as well
they are probably putting vol2 together as we speak









                                                                     i hope

Any information about which songs are MIA?




I can't see it - they used pretty much all the 1967-9 stuff.  All they'd have left would be a few 1970 recordings, and a few 1973 recordings - and maybe the odd other thing.  Certainly not enough for a second box.  I'm pretty sure that that'll be our lot.

 :'(

Jules

i cant remeber all the songs but i distinctly remember listening to Peel one night when fc were in the studio and they played "country pie" and i seem to remember "George Jackson"
 sounds like a bit of a zimfest

Neil, did it ever arrive? I'm just wondering if i should order anything from this vendor in the future.

Oh boy - I'd love to hear BBC versions of those two songs!

 :P

Jules

It finally arrived today, my earlier hopes were dashed but now it is in my hands in one piece and all ok. I only have a 3 minute drive home so will listen on the weekend.

10 days is actually not bad service, took them three days to dispatch, they are real and it was only $45 in the end.

Interesting to note this is being picked up on elsewhere also. See also my earlier post in this topic (page 10 or therabouts), Neil.

Two tracks (Walk Awhile and Poor Will) WERE originally broadcast in this fashion; i.e. identical to the Full House studio recordings, but several others (Dirty Linen, Sir Patrick Spens and Doctor Of Physick) are identical (performance wise, if not in terms of the mixes) to the ones on Full House and blatantly not broadcast on the BBC as sessions in 1970 or since (given that we have off-air tapes in circulation to compare them with). To the best of my knowledge (and the research into what the band recorded at the Beeb undertaken by Mark Fuller of Friends Of Fairport some years back) the Doctor never even visited Maida Vale back in the day...though I stand to be corrected :).

Part of the problem- I would imagine- was that so little of the 1970 sessions existed in releasable quality. My hunch is that while Ashley Hutchings was still in Fairport, he supposedly made a point of asking BBC engineers for tapes after the sessions were completed (hence the arrival of Heyday as a privately released tape in the mid-70s) but, with him no longer in the picture, there was no one that organised enough in or around the band at the time to bother keeping stuff archived for the box set some 37 years on...Probably having far too good a time, no doubt ;). So...I'd imagine the compilers were left with lots of ropey sounding "off-air" recordings made by home recording enthusiasts but, little of the quality of the '68-'69 stuff that preceeds it on the box set, hence the offending tracks.

Who gives a damn whether they were recorded at the beeb or not, they are still good!!!

Ollie many people give a damn about where they were recorded and also what may have been omitted or we wouldn't have so many pages discussing this box.

There has never been on the board a willingness to be amazed and love everything the band has released, hence the long discussion regarding Sense of Occasion. I don't remember anyone saying the tracks are bad just asking where did they come from, and on a set clearly marked Live at the BBC doubt over whether tracks were recorded there seems appropriate.

Now I have to go listen to the thing.

Just as a little side track,H M V are selling Liege and Lief , with two bonus tracks for a fiver.

I probably wouldn't give a damn, Ollie, if they weren't identical to the studio recordings I've owned and loved for as long as I can remember.

The whole point and reason why people buy archive releases like BBC sessions is that it's "buried treasure" (or "new old stuff"). Also, it's great to hear more spontaneous (sometimes inferior, sometimes fresher) versions of the studio records. There are several (though not all) of the 1970 "sessions" on this box which fit neither of the above. That's the point ;)

On a happier note, I'm listening to the 1971 session with Angel Delight songs at the mo- the real deal (as is 95% or so) of the set, so I'm happy enough now the dust has settled over my original disappointment.  

That was me who made the observation on the RT list.  I'm sure the so-called 1970 BBC Sessions are nothing of the sort but the Full House tracks in lesser quality.  Of course the performances are still good, but the point is that they are part of a box named as BBC recordings, making it a deceptive description for those particular tracks.

I have no problems with any of the other tracks and am very happy to have them all together.  I just wonder what the thinking was in this case??  Maybe it was an attempt to keep the set "complete" except, as noted here, it's not 100% complete either (I recall a studio "Days Of 49" from 1973 as another example).

Oh, I didn't realise that they were identical!! Still, it's still worth getting the box

I don't think it's been proven...but it is a conspiracy theory that appears to have legs..

I doubt that it is deliberate duplicity. I suspect if it is true, it is a mistake. Wrongly labelled tapes? Off air recordings of broadcasts of the studio versions wrongly identified?

As Ollie says, it is still by & large a great set.

Most assuredly...........

Yes, I think that your theory regarding the Ashley Hutchings factor is probably spot on.

Jules

Nice positive review in this month's The Word magazine, which doesn't reveal anything not already mentioned here, but does contain the splendid line "With Dave Swarbrick up front, the music begins to reek of loam and pewter."  :) Should be in your local newsagents shortly.

Is RT playing electric guitar on Banks of the Sweet Primroses? I can hear electric and acoustic guitars so someone must be.

Simon probably overdubbed the electric.

Jules

for a live BBC recording? At that time, wasn't RT still preforming with them, but wasn't on the record?

According to the booklet, many of the recordings had some overdubs:

Like Bob says, they did do a little overdubbing on those BBC tracks - they weren't broadcast as they were being played unless they were actually 'in concert'.

RT had quit playing live with them by Januray 1971.  He did help out on occasion later on, after Simon left, but he won't have been around for that '71 BBC session.  If he was, then the solo on Sickness And Diseases would be plenty more firey!

Jules

Sorry, I got discombobulated! RT was still living with them at The Angel, not playing with them.  ::) Silly old me!

New in-depth review of the box has just gone up, at http://greenmanreview.com/cd/cd_fairport_liveatthebbc.html

Gee, that reviewer goes on a bit...    :)

mh

Rick was quite taken with the box set last night. It seemed to be the first time he had seen it.

sorry for being really pedantic Bob, but it's Ric with no 'K'.

Yes, I don't now how that raskally k snuc in there ...  :)

I got the box set this morning - 22 quid from some place in the USA. I approach these things with some trepidation...

So far I've skimmed through it, but it sounds marvellous!

I like the version of Rising for the Moon. It sounds less Eagles and more Fairport than the version on the album.

Time will show the wiser on the 4th CD is one hell of a rocker!

I love Time Will Show The Wiser.  Musically, it always reminds me of the early Buffalo Springfield.  Probably no coincidence given the band's listening habits at the time.

I also like that BBC version of Rising For The Moon.  But I can't say I prefer it over the album version.  I like both equally for different reasons.

Jules

Having just got hold of this set, I was looking at the list of Fairport sessions on Rienhard Zierke's website http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/fairport/records/broadcast.html and realised that there were about three versions of Tim Buckley's Morning Glory recorded at the early sessions, but none has ever surfaced on an official recording.  Does anyone know why - copyright reasons maybe?

I'd like to know myself, Will.  As I stated earlier in the thread, I have one version (w/ Sandy) that is absolutely stunning.  The only problem is that the DJ (Peel?, Sydmonds?) breaks into the final refrain of RT's blistering solo before the fade out.  I can only deduce that this interruption might have lead to it being passed over.

Regardless, it should have been included.

Sounds like you're right.  I must track this performance down.

Jules

My guess would be that it was David Symonds, simply because the other tracks with DJ talk over the beginning or end are him as well, so preumably the source of that session is from a tape of the show rather than the master tape of the session.

Interesting. Does Sandy sing on that version? The only Fairport 'Morning Glory' I've ever heard is the earlier Bouton Rouge version, which is Iain's vocal with Jude on recorder.

Yeah.  This time, its definitely Sandy singing backup for Iain - from the Holidays era.  (Presumably) Symonds breaks in about Fairport's "huge sound" and starts rapping about "all his wonderful young friends."

As soon as I'm clear of Christmas, I'm getting a cassette to digital converter.  Y'all remind me about it this winter and I'll send ya some copies.  :)

Morning Glory....such a fantastic song,sends shivers down my spine every time.Never heard a bad version of that.The first version I heard was by This Mortal Coil.I was most dissapointed there was no official Fairport version in the box.