TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

IT'S HERE, and currently getting a very loud airing (Sorry neighbours), VERY pleasantly surprised (in light of recent comments) a superb collection of new material with a nice mix of styles and well composed tunes expertly mixed by John Gale. I must Say as a slightly biased listener that the new offering from Ralph Mctell, Clear Water, is absolutely stunning. Cant wait to hear it live, oh, thats tonight in Lichfield, hope the snow holds off. Enjoy.

Listened twice in the car... Its pretty good. Clear water is about the band...a few different interpretations may well be possible. I love the Gallivant. Nothing I don't like. Will bear repeated listening  over the next few weeks.

Arrived Wednesday, played last night and again in the car this morning. About 5 or 6 of the tracks I was already familiar with from last year, and I'm impressed with rest  - of which the Man in the Water and Clear Water stand out so far.  Why do I feel Jonah's Oak is so aptly titled ?  

Listened twice whilst peeling spuds, and I like it*. Grace and favour, and man in the water especially are stand out tracks for me. I think this is because they sound different to how I expected them to, if that makes sense. I can't make any of the wintour, but reckon the new songs will easily stand their ground against the old.

*Myths and heroes, not spud peeling.

Just listening to it for first time, verdict brilliant especially John Condon and clear water.

Yes, I'd agree with that assessment of the standout tracks, though in general the album is a strong showing. The Gallivant is great fun, even if it perhaps should have been called Danny Jack's something or other. The cover's nicer on the inside as well.

Incredibly, I've only just registered what Chris is singing at the end of Grace and Favour! Very nice touch, that ....

The track 'John Condon' is a true story - we saw his grave on a visit to the Ypres Salient last year. It's in Poelcapelle British Cemetery.

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/491331/CONDON,%20JOHN

although there is some dispute about his true age

[Photo over 400 days old. Removed by Admin.]

Don't quite follow. Have I missed something?

A verse of Sailor's Life.

(before Jim gets in first) - but in tune!  ;)

Having listened to the album a few times now, I think it's one of the strongest sets they've released in years.  Well done, chaps!  :)

After all these positive comments I am very much looking forward to picking up a copy tonight at the High Wycombe concert.

Recieved it a couple of days ago.  :)
Just heard it twice but yes I think it is quite good. (But Festival Bell was quite good as well.)

I enjoyed Festival Bell too.

I've been umming and ahhing about whether to buy this album, but I think I'll get it on iTunes, which is a new thing for me :)

I have to say I am encouraged by the reviews on here so far. I was feeling ambivalent but will be seeing the chaps tonight, who will hopefully soothe me at the end of what has been rather a trying week (Waterboys excepted). I will no doubt buy the CD and add it to the large pile of others that have dropped through my letterbox this week.

Don't anybody phone me for the next three days. I'll be busy!  ;)

First listen on today's trip into work, after picking it up last night.  Initial verdict is very positive - a good strong set of songs, well played and produced.  No particularly weak numbers, and a few very good ones.

iTunes?
There's lots of nice pictures of the band and lyrics and so on in the cd-version...  ;)

Well, I've had it for a week now and I'm impressed. Can't say what my favourite songs are at the moment, as I keep changing my mind. Today it's 'Man in the Water. I like the oomph in 'The Gallivant' and absolutely love 'Weightless'.  'John Condon' has a lovely set of lyrics and tells a sad, but true, story of WW1, but I'm not too keen, as it seems to plod a bit. Apart from that, I am happy that they've put out a decent album

Received it earlier this week. Great album. Their best in ... 40 years maybe. No weak tracks that you want to skip, no "funny" songs like that ukulele one.  Favourites so far: "The Man in the Water" , "The Gallivant", "Clear Water" and "Grace & Favour". Could've done with some more lead vocals by Simon though.

Yes - iTunes does have its advantages!!  ;)

I would have thought that downloading it would be infinitely preferable to having that terrible cover.

You know... on the CD it doesn't actually look quite so bad.  Not saying it is a good design, just that it doesn't feel quite as awful as I thought at first.

It's on the t-shirt too (and I bought one :-[ )

Just pre-ordered on Amazon (so I get an autorip version too), along with the Fotheringay set.

Man in the Water - blimey, what a song. Octave vocals is a stroke of genius.

My copy has arrived last Saturday. Since then, it is played daily.
What a great set of songs, beautiful tunes.
You`ve done very well, chaps. Thank you

I've enjoyed Myths & Heroes about a dozen times since the CD arrived last Saturday.  The standout tracks to my ears are Weightless/The Gravity Reel, The Man in the Water, and The Gallivant.  Grace & Favour has grown on me as well.  I'm not so fond of John Condon, but the rest of the album is solid and in places daring.  I've gleaned via this message board that the boys are playing quite a lot of pieces from this collection on the current tour, which indicates a well-placed confidence in the strength of the new stuff.  Congratulations, Fairport Convention: you've unleashed a cracking fabulous album upon the world.  Long may the songs and tunes from Myths & Heroes appear in your sets when you trod the boards in the future.

To elaborate on the tracks I tend to put on repeat play for long stretches: initially The Man in the Water was my favorite song out of the thirteen tracks, as the lyrics paint an eerie picture and the haunting timbres of the vocals get under my skin.  In recent days, Weightless/The Gravity Reel is the piece I listen to most often - musically brilliant (featuring some of Ric's finest violin playing and a simple but solid bass line from Dave Pegg, confident vocals from Chris Leslie, unobtrusive percussion from Gerry Conway, and the ever-comforting rhythm guitar of Simon Nicol) and lyrically about (according to the liner notes) recovery from trauma -- a theme I relate to.  The Gallivant is just a rollicking instrumental ride with a guest horns/string section that adds a unique sound to the Fairport vibe.  

Myths & Heroes: an instant classic in the Fairport Convention oeuvre.  

Paypal on the Fairport site broken today. Email sent.

And a quick fix was made. All ordered now.

Is It me or? Enjoying the second half of the album much more than the first one.
 There are a couple of tracks in the beginning which are ok but maybe not more.
But from The Man in the Water and onwards I think the album is really good.  :)

Unfortunately on the continent we are still waiting ... Anyway it's good to read so many good words.

all the best

P.

Totally agree on the meat being in the second half, but it's The Gallivant really kicks things off for me. The tracks before that are great, but the gears change at that point in the album. Man in the Water is solid gold, without a doubt.

I have only had time to listen once so far but that was pretty much my reaction too.

Good call. The chorus to Theodore's Song is a bit of a fiddler's maggot, but it's The Gallivant that really kicks things off.

I've only had one listen so far but sounds like a good one. A much stronger album than Sense Of Occasion and more consistent than Festival bell. Probably too early to say, but for me it rivals Festival Bell as the best by the current line-up. Looking forward to hearing tracks live, but that might have to wait until the Spring tour.

I think, for my money, whilst some tracks are better than others, it is probably the first disc for 20 years or so that works as an entire album and has nothing twee and nothing that I feel the need to skip. My only slight disappointment is that having heard the album after seeing the songs played live, the recorded versions seem a little more polite by comparison. The live performances had a bit more muscle.

Isn't that often the case though as songs get 'played in' more & more on stage.  The same thing struck me with a few of RT's recent albums - much as I'd enjoyed 'Electric' the songs came over much better live on the subsequent tour.

'Myths & Heroes' though, for me, is the best album by the current Fairport line-up.  They've all had their moments but this one, from start to finish, doesn't have a weak track.  Yes (as many people have said earlier in this thread) the cover is hellish but the disc inside is a gem.

Just wondered if it might be time to actually start a Myths and Heroes topic now that the actual album is released in 2015 and the music is getting much better reviews than the cover image?  I have it ordered and am very much looking forward to hearing it based on the reviews I have been reading here.

Since I didn't find a "Myths and Heroes" thread, I just thought I'd chip in a few impressions after playng the CD over the weekend.
I miss Simon's lead vocals. I don't know if it's age or something else, but my favourite tracks are "Home", "John Condon" and "Clear Water! The three tracks on the CD with Simon on lead vocals.
I like the instrumentals too, they sound pretty fresh to me. Maybe the other songs will grow on me. Going to Lübeck in a month's time to see the chaps - it's the closest to the Swedish shores they come - I sincerely hope to hear both "Home" and "John Condon" live.  8)

Jim hasn't heard the album, but i have a sneaking feeling that Chris has sung this with the verse before, must be last year i suppose.
unless i am barking up the wrong tree altogether.

Thanks for doing this thread as a separate one.  I was worried that I was coming off as sounding bossy, but now I just look goofy in the middle of the new thread asking someone to start a new thread titled appropriately.

Now that we seem to be agreeing that Myths & Heroes is actually rather good (which is high praise on TAW).
Here's the link to buy a copy. (http://www.fairportconvention.com/catalogue.php)
It will make the band really happy if you buy it directly from them.  ;D

Myths and Heroes finally landend on the continent - and, yes, it's quite good.

all the best

Paolo

Ok, just bought it on the basis of the reviews in this thread. If it's more of the same bland, middle of the road, twee Chris Leslie compositions That have dogged the last few albums I will not be happy and back on here with my review.......  :) ;)

My review of 'Myths & Heroes', which insisted I write it earlier this evening:  
https://rootsandbranchesaustralia.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/review-fairport-convention-myths-heroes/

I would say it is largely free of twee. However there are a number of CL compositions. Don't go in expecting Full House. What it is, is a superior album in the style that this line up have finessed, free of the absolute clunkers that have largely dogged their albums to date.

thanks, thats sounds reasonable and I will listen from that perspective.

I'm currently sat working to Sense Of Occasion (followed by Festival Bell) in order to remind me what went before it .... ! ;)
As long as I don't go and listen to Full House between today and getting the new one then I should be ok....! O0

Is it just me or does anyone else think that 'Bring Me Back My Feathers' sounds like the kind of song Swarb would sing - almost along the lines of 'Hexhamshire Lass'?

No, ok so it IS just me! :-\

I've listened to the CD a couple of times now and it is a very good album.  There is a consistancy throughout that has been lacking on recent releases, and to my surprise a song that I thought was a little so-so when I saw it performed live, Weightless/The Gravity Reel, is actually one of the highlights of the album.

No, I'm with you on that one.  I can see what you're getting at.  Interesting that that is a song that, at Cropredy, I didn't like at all, but has now become a not unwelcome earworm!

Just got the CD . Very good boys.

Class does not diminish with age , great new disc from the Oysters last year and Fairports this.

By the way, anyone know where I can buy a ton of chinese Cement?
Free delivery to Wales an essential.

I could do you a pile of Limey's Lament.....is that near enough ?

Blimey, Charlie!  :o
http://louderthanwar.com/fairport-convention-myths-heroes-album-review/

I wrote a review for Louder Than War for the new album.

I really like it! I think it's the most consistent record the band have released in a long while.

Here is the link:

http://louderthanwar.com/fairport-convention-myths-heroes-album-review/

Just seen you'd beat me to posting, Shane.

'Really liking'.  'Consistent'. 'Best by the current lineup'.

Great...but 9.5/10?  Come on... I'd struggle to give Bob's 'Desire' 9.5 out of 10.

Personal opinion I guess. I really like it. Sounded great live.

Fairport reviews and celebrity deaths - the two things to get posted on here quicker than you can say A frog up the pump.  ;D

Haha! That tickled me that did!

Overmarking albums is endemic unfortunately.  Personal opinion sure, but one only has to think of say Liege & Lief or Full House, which would presumably be considered superior, to see that if so they'd not only have to get a perfect 10, but also would be only half a mark better.

Fair comment.

I feel it is very good though, and a record that I can listen to from front to back without skipping, deserves high praise. I haven't been able to do that with a Fairport album for a while. The songs are strong, and so many things are right with Myths and Heroes. I'd love them to play it all at Cropredy; all the way through.

If it was my choice I wouldn't put scores on albums as it takes away from the reading of the review.

Take your point too Dominic (and I'm also guilty of it on occasions), and yes, I'd do away with scores too but a lot of people expect them.

Yeah, scores can be frustrating. I write for two other sites about rock and metal and generally don't score on those sites; it's one of the things that particular website I wrote the Myths & Heroes review for requires. At least the record is good and we can all enjoy it!

Before I consider bringing it up with Fairport Towers, has anyone else received their copy ordered from the website while the tour has been going on? Feel like this happened to me once before and it was suggested that was a reason for the delay. Just curious.

Still waiting for my copy. Not be happy if it comes after the 1st

Received my copy yesterday and have given it a few listens at this point. I agree that it is a very strong album. What this one has is a lot of surprising instrumentation and textures-the opening of Myths and Heroes, that persistent riff on Grace And Favour, and the intro to Love At First Sight are all very strong and different for a Fairport album. The Gallivant is fantastic and the Fylde Mountain Time Medley is very reminiscent of Flatback Caper and as such is I think some sort of accidental or deliberate nod to Full House which may have prompted the cover. I will have to see if I note other lyrical or musical moments that reference Full House. I also like the photos of the band on the gatefold and in the booklet. There is one of Ric that I think is an especially good in the moment photo. Songs are well chosen and though I miss more vocal contribution from Simon, one could argue that the three songs he sings are some of the strongest on the album. John Condon and Clear Water especially.  Very well done chaps.

Some years ago we ran an FA Cup competition, pitting FC albums against each other to establish their finest output. Unfortunately I cannot find it now. I do know that L&L narrowly beat Full House in the final but I do not remember which other albums made it to the latter stages.

As we have mostly lived with Myths & Heroes for a while now, I wondered how it might have fared in the competition and where it stands in the catalogue. In a straight fight with all the other albums, in my view the results would be as follows:

Fairport Convention v Myths & Heroes
What We Did On Our Holidays v Myths & Heroes
Unhalfbricking v Myths & Heroes
Liege & Lief v Myths & Heroes
Full House v Myths & Heroes
Angel Delight v Myths & Heroes
Babbacombe Lee v Myths & Heroes
Rosie v Myths & Heroes
Nine v Myths & Heroes
Rising For The Moon v Myths & Heroes. A controversial result this with the potent strike force of One More Chance being ultimately overcome by the greater consistency of the younger (older?) side.
Gottle O Geer v Myths & Heroes
Bonny Bunch of Roses v Myths & Heroes
Tipplers Tales v Myths & Heroes
Gladys Leap v Myths & Heroes
Expletive Delighted v Myths & Heroes
Red & Gold v Myths & Heroes
The Five Seasons v Myths & Heroes. Score draw between the two most similar teams in the tournament with The Wounded Whale and Claudy Banks (nephew of Gordon) scoring good penalties to settle the tie.
Jewel In The Crown v Myths & Heroes
Who Knows Where The Time Goes v Myths & Heroes. Another very close match. John Gaudie just seeing the veterans over the line.
The Wood & The Wire v Myths & Heroes
XXXV v Myths & Heroes
Over the Next Hill v Myths & Heroes
Sense Of Occasion v Myths & Heroes
Festival Bell v Myths & Heroes. Recent strong performer hampered by ukeleles and song with London in the title.
By Popular Request v Myths & Heroes. Pyrrhic victory achieved by enlisting the crowd.

Referee!! I demand a replay !!    :o :D

I'd agree with most of the others though. Although I've never really got into WKWTTG (album) so Myths and Heroes would win that fixture.

So, (ignoring popular request) this is the 'best'album', of the present line up.

Who Knows Where The Time Goes v Myths & Heroes. Another very close match. John Gaudie just seeing the veterans over the line.

Not sure that WKWTTG should win this as John Gaudie should have been cup-tied having already appeared for Whippersnapper F.C.

Cheers Nigel

I'd agree with much of your results there, but I'd put M&H ahead of Gladys Leap (let down by a dreadful performance from My Feet Are Set For Dancing) and also Tipplers Tales and Bonny Bunch of Roses (much as I enjoy them, I feel this one pips both to the post).  I think it probably beats WKWTTG as well.  You didn't mention Old New Borrowed Blue, which I would put as a score draw, as I also would with Jewel in the Crown.

I did consider it but as it is mostly live I decided against it. Conversely I should probably have included In Real Time (incidentally my first Fairport album) as, despite the dubbed crowd noise, it is effectively By Popular Request Vol 1

Top idea, but this time we'll have a league, where every team (album) gets to play every other one.

As soon as I figure out how to do it without too much hassle, I'll announce it.

Good luck! I remember that the cup competition was a lot of work and that was a knockout tournament. I did do a Folk Rock Champions League too which had a round robin element. Also a lot of work!

Not had my copy yet. Not happy as it said 'now dispatching' when ordered it. If I'd known then I would have paid £3 less and got it from Amazon - which arrive on Monday.
I'll be ok if it comes by the weekend!

And indeed much else that has been released since 1985. In my personal tally therefore, it ranks about 15th out of the 26 studio albums that the band have released. Not bad at this point in their career.

Gladys has to have a special place for longer standing fans, as it meant FC were back after we thought we'd lost them.

It has a special place for me too, as that was when I first saw them.  And a number of the songs on there are great favourites of mine.  Still, I'd say that, setting the emotional attachment aside, the new album is actually better as a whole (just!).

I spent ages tearing myself apart about that at the time.  I have an affection for it I don't have for much of the other albums of the last 30 years but it's not terribly easy to like.  It sounds like a museum piece to me now (as does so much other music from the period).

Off topic David.......but i have a love of Marianne Faithfuls Broken English, which i regularly return to but it is now very much of it's time. It's the synths!

Huzzah - vinyl copy ahoy!

I liked it because it was a statement that they were back, but its not an lp i play, like most of their sucessive records.

Well, that is a very good album, I must say. I could probably do without the Leslie-esque Bring Me Back My Feathers on a first listen, but Clear Water is an absolutely splendid piece of work for those of us who like to read between the lines on the gatefold sleeve. It's also an impressively solid slab of vinyl and I can see myself shelling out for the CD version just to catch up on what they've shaved off to fit it on two sides of an LP. Buy with confidence, waverers!

Done gone & bought it on the strength of the chatter here,so it's all your fault if I don't like it! Mind you the Skirkmeister does have impeccable taste(Usually)  [;-)

Still wavering!

I wish I could get the vinyl as well. I recall hearing some questionable opinions about Feathers when the band was playing it last year. My thought upon hearing it is that I can hear that song spreading throughout the folkosphere and I could really see someone like the Carolina Chocolate Drops to name one, performing it.

Not my favourite song on the album either but not a Leslie composition as I recall. Somebody mentioned that they could imagine it being sung by Swarb in the Nine era and I can hear that. Perhaps it just needed a different vocalist at that point on the album, though I am not sure it is suited to Simon.

"Leslie-esque". Written by Anna Ryder.

Apologies for being drum nerdy, but the cover shows Mr Conway playing both a green kit and a red kit. Were some of the drum tracks laid down separately?

Is the red kit, his 'little kit'?

Could be that, yes. Maybe it's a colour perception thing, like that dress.

Maybe he used both of his drum kits on different tracks depending on the sound he wanted to get.
My "drum nerdy" question - I'm just wondering when and why he switched cymbal allegiance from Paiste to Zildjian having used the former for many years. I knew there was something I forgot to ask him at the gig a few weeks ago !  :)

Take a look at the sleeve notes for the past few albums.

"...why he switched cymbal allegiance from Paiste to Zildjian"

Maybe it's something of a status cymbal..

Coat, hat scarf and gloves already on   ;) ...

The first clue I had of any change was the below photo from Cropredy 2014 (green drum kit). Paiste cymbals are credited in the sleevenotes for Festival Bell and By Popular Request. They're also credited in the booklet for Myths & Heroes, but in the first photo he's using Zildjians (with Paiste hi-hats). Confusing, if a little retentive - I think it's best I ask him about this when I catch the band on the Easter tour  :)

[Photo over 400 days old. Removed by Admin.]

I wonder if Kraftwerk use CTRL-V to get their cymbal sounds?  ;)

Staying on topic, M&H continues to impress with each play... Definitely the strongest album for years, IMO.

"Since the current line-up (Leslie, Pegg, Sanders, Nicol, Conway) came together in 1998, making its recording debut with The Wood and the Wire, they’ve not put a foot wrong." apparently...

http://www.folkradio.co.uk/2015/03/fairport-convention-myths-and-heroes/

I decided I should probably get this and it arrived in the post this morning. Will let you know what I think after a few plays, but with all the other positive comments I am looking forward to hearing it.

Myths and Heroes has ,'definite touches of the Levellers'??      

No. It doesn't. Which is in no way a criticism of either band.

Lol.  I think we can safely ignore that particular review...

And who is Eddie Cochrane?

To be fair, having now read the review, there is much that I agree with in the more objective comments about the album. In fact, the Levellers comment and the over generous assessment of the current line up's recorded output to date seem the only real howlers to me. Otherwise it is a pretty accurate analysis of a reasonably strong album (albeit one that will not threaten the "classics").

Whilst an undeniable improvement on more recent efforts Myths and Heroes doesn't really satisfy me as an album overall. The key thing for me is that whilst the slower "acoustic" tracks work really well the supposed rockier numbers aren't played with any conviction to my ears.
Simon is one of the great acoustic guitarists but doesn't seem to get any guts out of an electric which leaves an odd middle ground - this is especially on the title track and Love at First Sight and also for me Grace and Favour is in need of a big outro in the Spanish Main style.

Having said that there are some things to like:

The overall production was better than recent years, tracks like Man in the Water and John Condon sit well for the current line up and I also liked the sparse nature of Bring Me Back my Feathers and really love Theodore's Song which Chris sings beautifully.

My other slight gripe is that FC seem to have dispensed with Trad Arr stuff which is a real shame, the snippets of morris tunes which crop up sound great and I would love a bit more of that.

DW

Have you purchased M and H yet Mr Hendo??? (I'm waiting for your comments before shelling out my ten shillings  ;)

I've been wavering Dave, after the good reviews but David W's comments have swayed me in to the no camp.
 When I heard  Myths and Heroes at Cropredy I thought it needed Maart , or PJ Wright ( or ,pick folk rock guitarist of choice) putting a big power chord through it.  
I read somewhere that Simon plays his electric through an 8 watt practice amp , which could explain David W's comment.
I also agree that Simon is one of the best , if not the best, acoustic accompanist around.

Maybe off topic a bit, but I get a sense here sometimes that if the current line up did something much like "L & L" they would simply be accused of imitating themselves. Music is a matter of individual taste and, for the record, I quite like "M & H." Not perfect, but good---really good, even.

But then I freely admit, nostalgia kinda irritates me. That's just me.

I do feel that Simon has ONE guitar sound, and unfortunately that provides a sameness to his style. Occasionally it would be nice to get a more distorted feel rather than the cleanness he has, it would really stand out.

Philip

Mark, since recent chat on this site about the strength of Myths and Heroes against other  albums I have started , probably far too late, to think of Fairport as several bands, in many ways unrelated to each other.
Liege and Lief was that fabulous Sandy and RT  band , which lasted 6 months.
Babacombe Lee was that wonderful ,IMHO, Swarb led incarnation and with the arrival of Rosie I lost interest.
85 to 96 was another band and I liked some of the stuff, I am the bloke who really likes Wounded Whale and Tam Lin and Jewel in the Crown (the album) yes I know it became too keyboard led and was on the edge of prog rock but I loved it live , particularly at Cropredy.
97 to present a totally different, gentler , more acoustic band.
So I am starting to compare the present line ups albums to each other and ignore the past. 
 

Gotta say that I disagree with David W's comment. I don't think there is any lack of conviction. What it doesn't haver though is the muscle with which it is being played live. It is a wholly decent album which is something that cannot be said of anything this line up has perviously produced (By Popular Request excepted), all of which have had some element of the curate's egg.

Make up your own mind Dave. Give it a listen if only on Spotify (assuming it is there).

Played Man in the Water to Mrs W last night - she is not really a FC fan - and she thought the vocals were great but commented that the "spiky" nature of the song, the definite rhythm etc were compromised by Ric's legato playing style.

DW

I don't think I'm indecisive. What do youy think?
Seriously Al, I sat down and relistened to Sense of Occasion and Over the Next Hill cos they are never played and i am wary this would be just the same.
 I think your comment that the songs have more energy live, than on the album is spot on.

It really isn't. I am not fond of those albums at all but that's why I say find somewhere to sample it and preferably give it more than one listen.

I was not excited or enthusiastic about the prospect of the album (though I had liked more than half of Festival Bell) and it was looking to be the first Fairport album I had not immediately acquired since I first came to the band nearly 30 years ago. I mostly bought it because I went to the gig and they played many of the songs there. I have been more than pleasantly surprised. There is nothing twee and plinky plonky and there are no songs with "London" in the title!  ;)

I have the same problem, I followed them till 1978, then bought the two cds from 1989/90 and then lost them for a while, when a couple of years ago I started listening to them again I realised the above.
I think the reason is that the sound of the early Fairport is embedded in my brain, but with coming and going of bandmembers it is obvious the sound changes. I just have to adjust my brain (well what's left of it).

Have played the cd now three times and several songs are really growing on me, even the ones I did not like at first.

One of the things I like about the album is that (acoustic-ish though it may be) there are some actual riffs throughout, and when is the last time you could say there was a truly memorable riff by Fairport? There are also subtle textures that are different than the recent albums, and eliminate the twee as Al points out, not to mention some excellent song choices. I would say the title track, Clear Water, The Gallivant, John Condon, Bring Me Back My Feathers and Fylde Mountain Time are worth the price of admission alone IMHO

That seems like an eminently sensible approach to follow in my opinion. When there have been so many disparate versions of the vehicle that we know as Fairport, it is difficult to make a meaningful comparison with what has gone before, and perhaps better (certainly simpler) to compare releases from the current band on the merits of the current line-up alone. Certainly, the current “Chris Leslie” era of Fairport seems quite distinct to the years with Maart that preceded it, and with the “classic” years that preceded that (which themselves saw many distinct variations within a time period no greater than either of the two main post-reformation “eras”!). It avoids a certain amount of hankering for the past, that’s for sure (not that there’s anything wrong with that – I stumble into that particular rut often enough)!

I picked up my copy of the new album at the Birmingham Wintour gig. None of the previously performed new material had particularly grabbed my ear, and I don’t find that the recorded versions of these songs (“Myths and Heroes”, “Bring Me Back My Feathers”) have built on that. I can’t admit to recommending it in as rosy terms as a number of reviewers have done, but I have found the new album to be as pleasing as much of Fairport’s output (recorded and live) over the past decade or so: Perfectly pleasant, satisfying if not outstanding as a whole. There are some outstanding individual tracks that I particularly enjoy – “Clear Water”, "Love at First Sight" and “Home” being the three that I rate most highly, and “The Gallivant” is good fun – but a couple of others that I could happily miss.

Out of the albums of new material that the “Chris Leslie” incarnation of Fairport has released, from “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” onwards, I’d place it about level with “Over the Next Hill” in my personal estimation, which is to say around middle in that particular league table.

Just listening to the vinyl. So far, I'm enjoying it a lot more than I've enjoyed the band's output of recent years.

 

I am pleased that I decided to buy it. I seem to be listening to less folk recently and straying back to rock, the stranger the better. But, for what the current lineup do, this is a good album and after three listens it will definitely be staying on my playlist and not collecting dust like some Fairport albums of this period.

In fact I would say it is a good folk rock album and won't disappoint. No it hasn't got the energy of bands like BTP, but then FC are 50 years older.

It's a very good Fairport album: REALLY well recorded by John Gale; a surfeit of good Chris Leslie material; Ric's best composition perhaps ever ("Gallivant"); Simon playing a lot of wonderful electric guitar; and back at Woodworm. The only thing I would have suggested is that Simon sing "Grace and Favour." The album feels a bit out of balance vocal-wise, too much light Leslie vocal sound. He is a wonderful singer, but his voice lacks the depth of Simon's increasingly rich baritone.

The more I listen to it, the more I'm convinced that they missed a trick by not getting Dame Judy in to sing Man in the Water. It's just so her style.  

Maybe, and I would like to hear her sing it.  But I think that what lifts that song above the normal already is the vocal arrangement.  I just love it!

By coincidence, I could also imagine Judy singing "Man in the Water", sharing a lead vocal with Iain Matthews.
I loved their harmonies on the first Fairport album.

Maybe at Cropredy this year, then, since Iain will be there  ;D