TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

I know there was a thread about this a while back, but I can't find it. I finally bought it as a late xmas present to myself. I finally have a live version of Lord Marlborough. Yeah!!!. It is a bit rough, but  I have been searching for years for it, so ...YEAH!!!!  I have only listened to some tracks on disk 4. I am happy. I like the photos. A lovely picture of Simon on what looks to be a tele and Jude playing a autoharp. I would have liked more tracking information. But I am very happy with this purchase. I will give it a full listen this weekend. Nice rainy weekend for a good listen.

That would be here:
http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?topic=20224.msg228206#msg228206

I definitely agree about the booklet ...

Just whilst we're on the subject, I got it for my birthday, and I am pretty sure that most (if not all) of the Full House tracks on disc 2/3 are the album versions just in worse quality. Not sure if this was mentioned elsewere, and I can't be bothered to check. Just the only downside IMO.

Yeah, the Full House tracks are definitely not BBC sessions despite what they claim (also mentioned in my review at http://www.greenmanreview.com/cd/cd_fairport_liveatthebbc.html).

I was reading a review of a Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band BBC sessions CD just a little while ago, where a reviewer had the same issues, ie not "Complete" as described, and some tracks were obviously inferior quality LP versions.

The question which remains of course is "why?".

Maybe they played the album tracks at the time, and then whoever came to put the set together (and I don't know who) doesn't know FC's music very well, and just assumed that they were live sessions?

Don't know - what confuses me is that these tracks were presumably found and kept "in the vaults", which means presumably that someone a long time ago copied them and put them there.  Why would they do that?  Or why would there be inferior copies of LP tracks made in the first place, when they had the LP itself?   And then mark them as BBC live sessions at some point?  It doesn't make sense to me.

Another possibility is deliberate deception when putting the set together, which of course I don't know of and don't accuse anyone of either.  

It's just all a bit odd.

The rest of the set is great of course!

In the early 70s a lot of bands gave the BBC versions of their recorded tracks that were not the same mixes as the actual records to pass off as BBC recodings.  The Who for example.  The shame is that there are plenty of other genuine 1970 Fairport BBC recordings not on the box set, and these surely should have been given priority, even if they were 'off air' recordings....?

Jules

OK, that's one explanation I hadn't considered!  Though I'd still like to think a box set compiler would know album tracks well enough to distinguish them from actual BBC sessions...

Who is the resident expert on this era? Its sad that they didn't research the tracks better. What did they miss? Are the missing tracks available anywhere? I think the full house and angel delight eras are amazing. I want more of the Angel Delight tracks with Richard still on lead.

Well there's a full-length version of Journeyman's Grace with Richard on guitar.  Ditto Sickness & Diseases.  There's a BBC Radio in concert show with John Peel as master of ceremonies that includes Staines Morris, Bridge Over The River ______ and Now Be Thankful amongst others.  I'd say there was a good disc's worth of 1970 BBC recordings left off the box set.  Many tracks would be duplications, but they are still alternate performances.

Jules

There's also a "Nine" era session from 1973 with a studio version of "Days Of '49" among others - the one on the Fiddlestix CD is a different, live version.

"Orphan Billy's Lonely Xmas" from c.1968 is another one that comes to mind.  That one definitely is out there... (in more senses than one)

Wow.  I'd love to hear that one.

Jules

Hi,

I have the Journeymans grace from the boot Sandy. Where do the other tracks exist? Is it possible that we make a talkawhile bbc cd of tracks left off the set? Can we list the songs (versions) that are not on the bbc set?

BBC rarities so far:

Orphan Billy's Lonely Xmas (1968)
Journeyman's Grace (1970)
Sickness and disease (1970)
Bridge over river ash (1970)
Stainess Morris (1970)
Now Be Thankful (1970)
Days Of '49"  (1973)
Fiddlestix (1973)

Any others?

The 1973 session is as follows (doesn't include Fiddlestix; that was the name of the CD that the live Days of '49 is on)...

Sept 10 1973 (Bob Harris)
Days Of '49
Polly On The Shore
Hexhamshire Lass

I assume the 1970 one mentioned is the
Sunday Show (John Peel) Oct 25 1970:
Journeyman's Grace
Dirty Linen
Now Be Thankful
Bridge Over The River Danube (as it's announced)
Staines Morris
Sir Patrick Spens

Both are findable.  :)

mh
(once described by a listener as the "John Peel of Adelaide"   :D )

And add to that the late 1970 session with Journeyman's Grace, Sickness and Diseases and Tunes My Mother Taught Me (alternate version of Sir B).

There's more from 1970, but it's hard to work out which tracks have been released from the bootlegs and which haven't without going through track by track and comparing performances.

Jules

Mr Lacey (1968)  This was on the RT cd "Guitar & Vocal".  The BBC version of Time will show the wiser is also missing, the version in the box is from French tv.

I am no expert on these sessions, as I don't have any of the boots, just the released versions on Heyday, and the Fairport, Swarb and Sandy boxsets, but there is what seems to be quite a full list of BBC sessions on Reinhard Zierke's website.

The address is: http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/fairport/records/broadcast.html

It also says which tracks have been released, and where, but it may not be a complete list - I think some other sessions are mentioned in this discussion that aren't on there.

Great site!  Many thanks for that link.

Jules

Very interesting to see what songs appeared in the repertoire at what points between albums.

Interesting to see Bonny Black here in there during the Full House era.

Does anyone know what Richard did on the 'Bridge over the River Danube'? I noticed he's not credited on the arrangement, does that mean DM played bass even then?

Yes DM was on bass.  I think RT may have just banged a tambourine or something.

Jules

they used to nbill it as the string quartet with Swarb and Peggy on fiddle, Simon on viola and DM on bass

Great link!!!!

I see some very interesting stuff.

Danish Television, Copenhagen, November 1969

   1. The Deserter [trad. arr. Fairport Convention]
   2. Matty Groves [trad. arr. Fairport Convention]
   3. Crazy Man Michael [Richard Thompson, Dace Swarbrick]


 Does the video still exist?

I think this is the third time I've mentioned it, but I have an absolutely killer BBC version of Morning Glory from the WWDOOH era, with Sandy singing Ms. Dyble's part.  RT's solo blows like a rocket, until the announcer fades it out  >:( babbling about all his "groovy friends" and other nonsense.  To have included the uninterrupted master of this rendition would have made it an unquestioned highlight in the set - I guarantee it!

Ahem! I never did sing Morning Glory, I just played recorder on it and I shouldn't think she sang that bit :)

Iain sang it....

.....and a wonderful touch (the recorder) that was, Jude!  :)  Sandy sang harmony only.  I thought you sang the harmony during the chorus and the played recorder during the verse.  Sorry to have been mistaken!  :-[

Don't worry wiley, I just had another listen, I didn't sing on it, just played recorder. I haven't listened to other versions for a long time, prob Sandy did sing a fab harmony to it. :D

She did okay.  Its mainly Mr. Thompson's solo that makes it stand out so much - mercy me, its a peach!

We are so lucky that some of these BBC sessions from the sixties have survived.  Such wonderful performances, a truly great band.  :)

We're a little unlucky though that the opportunity for doing the definitive Fairport BBC set was slightly let down by less than impeccable research and a few missed gems.

Jules

We're a little unlucky though that the opportunity for doing the definitive Fairport BBC set was slightly let down by less than impeccable research and a few missed gems.

Jules
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I agree with you.  There are several rough sounding "off-air" recordings on various boots, these could have been used I'm sure.  And to miss out "Mr Lacey" when it was issued in the !970s on an Rt comp, thats a major oversight.
Thank god for CD burners....

I still think a bonus cd of the unreleased tracks for the talk awhilers would be great.

That's a fine and noble idea!

Jules