TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

A recently completed review.  :)

https://rootsandbranchesaustralia.wordpress.com/cd-review-fairport-convention-shuffle-and-go/

A fair review, thanks for sharing. I received my copy a couple of days ago and have been playing it since.

First, my least favourite tracks - I'll pinch Michael's words here To my ears, other songs such as Linseed Memories and A Thousand Bars (the usual song about alcohol) don’t do much more than pass the time pleasantly

My favourite tracks are the opening one 'Don't Reveal My Name', 'Moses Waits' and 'Stardust & Solitude'. The two Ric Sanders instrumentals are decent and the two 'folky' ones ('Byfield Steeplechase' and 'Jolly Springtime') are definite growers. As for the rest - ok, but not particularly memorable.  I'm still reserving my judgement on the title track, it may grow on me.

I'm finding the title track more palatable on the album than live. The opener is strong, almost Richard Thompson-esque. Only listened to the album 1.5 times so far, buy I'd say it's on a par with Festival Bell and Myths and Heroes.

Having read the review, it states that there is use of the Summertime Blues chords in one of the tracks. Note the subtle use of a picture of a Gretsch on the cover?  ;) Eddie's was standard orange, but mustn't be picky.

I've played it constantly since it arrived on Thursday.
I find it quite gentle, agreeable even, I have to say that there's nothing on there that immediately jumps out as being outstanding, but I reckon it's a stayer.
A Thousand Bars is quite lovely and I must admit takes some shaking off, and it's good to hear Peggy take voice on Linseed Memories.

First listen to "Shuffle & Go" : if you're a fan of the current FC lineup, and I certainly am, then it's reassuringly business as usual - purchase or stream with confidence...

Hmmm, " business as usual"!
Does that mean its every bit as bland and uninspiring as everything the chaps have released in the last 20 years.

I didn’t post Jim for fear of being labelled negative but ‘ Quite gentle and agreeable’ didn’t make me want to rush and get it, nor the review.
We moved house 6 months ago and as I sorted albums, (by genre and then alphabetically , obviously!)
I was aware of the recent Fairport albums that I religiously bought then , after their initial listening, have never listened to again. There isn’t , for me, a standout track ,tha5 pullsyou back, whereas Wounded Whale gets regular, LOUD, visits.

I fully understand where you're coming from. I too would love more Rock with my Fairport folk.

Of course, nowadays you can just get whatever individual tracks you may like digitally, and disregard the rest.  :)

I miss Maart more than ever  :'(

The last album I bought was Sense of Occasion by which time I realised that at most two tracks per album were to my liking. Swapping an electric guitar for a range of mandolin based instruments made them sound MOR even if that wasn't the intention.  

Yes, I find between two and five or six tracks are passable, the rest mere filler and the 'saccharine quotient' implausibly high.

Yep Paul, couple of tracks I really like, instrumentals are really good too but it’’s been done before.
With instrumentals I think it’s the production. Playing is excellent , production is very good but it’s very safe, very similar sound to everything before. Everything just a bit too clean for me but it’s a personal opinion but I will get shot down by people who will tell me just to  the band and if not , to go away.
So I will go away....😂😱😉

I'll just sit quietly in the corner (with my hands wedged firmly under my bottom)....  :'(

Firstly, no one has the right to tell you to go away, and that sort of attitude is why I decamped the Fairporters site on farcebook, and yes, I was a moderator for that group once upon a time.
There's only one decent Ric tune on the album and that's the closer. Cider Rain could easily be Radio 6 friendly if another artist took it and worked on it, and 1,000 Bars is a beauty.

If you are suffering, specialist cushions are available.  ;)

Lol. My specialist cushion is an original cassette version of Full House I've just bought for a tenner.  Been on my wants list for years.  As for the current album, I shall give it a listen when it's available on Spotify or similar.  I know I won't enjoy it though, so it's bound to end in tears.

Full House on cassette, there can't be many of those in existence after 50 years!
I have to admit my copy of the nre album was bought for me by a mste as a get well soon prezzie.
I'd sworn that after 50:50@50 I wouldn't buy any more FC albums until something - possibly the line up- changed.
I do have to admit, gift horse though it is, that I find some pleasure in S&G.

I know that we have been down this road before, usually whenever Fairport put out a new record but their problem is, more than any other act I can think of, that they are not one band. They are a series of different bands, each with their own distinct flavour so the Fairport of the debut album sounds nothing like the Fairport of Liege & Leif, which sounds nothing like Nine, which sounds nothing like Gladys Leap, which sounds nothing like Jewel In The Crown which sounds nothing like anything thereafter.

People who first came to the current line up tend to love them. People who came to them before 1979 tend to think the new music is a fraudulent use of the name and a betrayal of the band's legacy. Some people who arrived with Liege & Leif heavily disliked Nine. All the band can do is plough their own furrow and the audience is free to pick and choose the eras that appeal to them with so much diversity of material available. At this point it is pointless to expect another Full House or to be disappointed by not getting one. The sort of music they make now is not solely about capability, it is largely a choice on the part of the band.

I haven't heard the new album yet. I expect to like bits of it and really dislike other bits in the same way as I have for the last couple of studio albums (not including 50:50@50 which was pretty much a disaster). In a career spanning Fairport playlist I shall enjoy listening to the bits I like alongside other Fairport songs but as an album it is unlikely to be amongst those I will reach for regularly and I wouldn't expect it to be at this point in their career.

well put, S&G has an elegiac quality to it, unlike most of their output, that's hard to shake off. End of the pier might sum it up better, perhaps change is afoot?

A good point, but it is at least possible to play a blinder in late career. A case in point is The Who, whose recent album is garnering praise from all quarters. Daltrey calls it the best since 1973, and a lot of people seem to agree (I don't quite, but after repeated listens I think it's the best since 1975, so not far off).

As for Shuffle and Go, I haven't listened to it a great deal yet. The odd few tracks I really like, but in the main it doesn't really get me excited. I'm afraid, in particular, it's a resounding thumbs-down to A Thousand Bars from me. All just personal taste innit, but for me it seems to go on for about a thousand bars too long.

I have the new Who album, it was being talked up in the press as being their best since Quadrophenia, which is possibly my favourite Who album. As for S&G, I'll maintain it does have a quite melancholy feel and is possibly their best in a while, but that might just be because I'm flogging it to death trying to find some redemption in there?  You might have a point about 1,000 Bars, After all,  didn't The Stylistics manage it in 16 (Bars)?  

The odd thing is that I have tended to take to recentish Fairport albums better than I've taken to this so far. I thought Myths and Heroes had some blinders on it, for instance. And I know it's going back a while now, but I really liked most of Festival Bell, too.

Yes, some left-field stuff on Myths, well left - field as FC get, Weightless / Gravity Reel and Man In The Water, Jonah's Oak a standout. Festival Bell is probably as consistent as this line up's got, post Over The Next Hill, which is a personal fave bar one track.

We all hear differently, IMO Next Hill / Sense of Occasion period was a real low-point, with Festival Bell / Myths & Heroes a clear improvement. So I'll have to see about buying S & G ...one day.  And you don't have to go as far away as The Who for a late-period classic - most of us agree that Steeleye's Wintersmith & Dodgy Bastards were just that (haven't heard Est'd '69 yet, although opinion seems not to be so enthusiastic).

If you did like Dodgy Bastards then you 'should' like EST'd 1969 just the same - unless Rick Kemps influence was a big draw for the two you mention. EST'd only suffers from being a little too short and a little rushed for getting ready for the tour. But to my mind there are a couple of tracks tracks better than anything on Dodgy Bastards , but the overall experience is probably not as good as the previous two.
But it does have Ian Anderson on flute on one track so that's always going to be good!

I'm looking forward to hearing to hearing S&G once its streamed. Myths and Heroes has been my favourite from the last 20 years so judging by comments I am not overly optimistic for this one!

S&G arrived yesterday and after giving it a pair of spins I must say it's quite a strong album. Not as good as M&H, their strongest album since the early 70s IMHO (as are all my comments), but there are some good stuff here. And, as with most albums, things that don't do much for me  but nothing that you just want to skip (like The Crowd f o). "Don't Reveal My Name" is a strong opener  and "Cider Rain" is like a jingle jangly hit from the 60s. "Moses Waits", "The Byfield Steeplechase", "Moondust and Solitude" and "Jolly Springtime" are other strong tracks. Maybe not great but solid good. The title track is one of the weakest, not my kind of song at all. The closing instrumental "Precious Time" most be one of Ric's finest. Beautiful playing, just listen to Simon's guitar. In my ranking it comes between M&H and "The Festival Bell" and above the other albums from the "Chris Leslie-era".
I have seen the word "bland" mentioned in a couple of posts. I can't see how the music here is more so than on albums like "Rosie", "RFTM", "R&G" or "The Five Seasons". I think that we shall cherish the fact that the band is still creating new music after so many years, that they are not content to just playing music from their past.

Still waiting for my 'pre-ordered' copy to arrive and wondering how long to leave it before I contact the office!

Dodgy Bastards & Eat 1969 are excellent albums.
S&G is a grower, there are some 'lifts' and I'd say eight or so out of 13 tracks isn't bad for FC these days.
 

Hi Will
I'd contact them ASAP we've had ours about a week. Our post is a bit erratic and we've had a few cd's going awol

The new Who album did not get much praise from this quarter, or part thereof, it is bobbins, but marginally better than the awful Endless Wire

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

This is probably an aside and in the wrong thread but I have always seen talk awhile as having a chat in the pub so.......
I subscribe to RnR mag and every edition comes with a cd, entitled UN-Herd and it does exactly what it says on the tin.....introduce you to stuff you may have never heard of. The last edition is getting daily repeat plays.
I am also lucky enough o play at folk clubs, clubs, festivals etc etc and I see such an array of new unheard talent.
Fairports ‘turned me on’ to Folk Rock back in 69 ( Sailors Life) and now they are firmly in the gentle folkpop milieu .
So let’s just put Shuffle and Go, in with all the stuff that is out there and weigh it against that.
I am firmly of the school , ‘ you like it you like it........’
If you don’t know R n R , ( which was R2 which was Rock n Reel) give it a go. The editor has kept it going for years in face of the usual economic problems and people from this parish write for it)
Mods if this is in wrong place please move .......

I heard a Ric Sanders radio interview yesterday evening wherein he told the interviewer that 10/13 songs from S&G will be played in this year's Wintour set along with the lions share of Full House which will have reached its golden anniversary.
I can't guess which 10 S&G tracks will make the live set or which three will remain on the shelf, hopefully, the truly embarrassing Jolly Springtime will be one of the three that remains shelfbound!  

I'm with David here. It takes a lot of digesting, but digestion achieved, it's revealed as a classic. Anyway, sorry, this is one for The Who forum really: my fault we went of topic there!

There is a Fairport Connection, in that Sandy was friends with Townsend and Moon and sung on the orchestral version of the album, so. erm, not so off-topic in a roundabout way!  :)

Thanks.  I decided to do that yesterday evening, so we'll see if I get a response soon (they are usually very good).

Mine arrived a day, two at the latest after the Fairport official site announced that discs were being posted out, maybe they're sending the discs out in batches?

I'm not averse to asking potentially silly questions, so here we go.  I admit I only have the album files as mp3s, not the full thing with lyrics, presumably.

So, regarding the title track.
What is it - "craving / playing / ? rock & roll on the old banjo..."

And what exactly does the phrase "shuffle and go" actually mean?

I thank you.

The line is  Craving Rock 'n'Roll on the old banjo,  but I've nom idea what shuffle & Go means unless it's a reference to dancing?

Or being old?

Or; how you move to the toilet the morning after drinking ten pints of strong ale followed by an ill-advised phall curry - as my mate so inelegantly puts it.  

The theories so far are all equally plausible.  :)

Unlike Expletive Delighted, lyrics aren't included with the new album. However, there are lyrics on the Fairport site (but I can't seem to link directly). So,http:// www.fairportconvention.com, then click The Band, News and the relevant item is 'New Album Song Lyrics'

Very well put and spot on....

i have no problem with them ploughing their own furrow, but the plough has to actually break into the ground to be of any use.

Well, look at that.  :)  Thanks for pointing that out.

With respect Jim, that is missing the entire point of the post. I am not a huge fan of the current line up's material either but many people are and they now have a sustained touring career based on that material which attracts an audience, many of whom never saw them in any other incarnation. The band are making the sort of music they now want to make. They are uninterested in competing with their past. They do what Fairport Convention 1998 have always done. That appendix should really be part of their name because it is the schizophrenic nature of the various different bands (and I do now definitely see them as different bands rather than different line ups of a single band) that causes the unrest. Even in performing Full House material as they will be this year, it is in the style of FC 1998, not FC 1970.

I'm fortunate that I've seen nearly every incarnation of FC apart from the  MK2v Dyble/Matthews/ Lamble,  Farnell/ Swarb/ Peggy v Rising For The Moon v  and the GOG Burridge / Brady/ Ar Bras permutation.
This line-up, the longest surviving, is not necessarily the best ever line up, but they are the best at what they do, or they can be.
However, their albums since 97'S WKWTTG are consistently patchy, where you can mine possibly 5 or 6 half decent tunes out of a 13/14 track CD, and that's not good.,  
Fairport is very comfortable in what it does,  both on stage and on record. I've been fortunate enough to have seen some excellent shows in the 23 years that this current line up has existed, my only wish would be that they'd find some fire, well as much fire as five pensioners can find.
I have them at Bridlington in two weeks time, let's see how they go.  
 

What I find so weird is how the current 5-piece sound so markedly different to the previous lineup with Chris (but still with DM).  In fact I'd contend (at least live) the latest lineup didn't settle on this current sound until a few years into the new century.  It was about 2005 before I really twigged I was falling out of love with the (current) band....

Basically they just turned FC into FAC with a bigger drum kit didn't they?

Yes, I think that is a fair assessment. They tried to keep some electricity after Maart left by getting Chris to play instruments that he didn't really seem comfortable playing. As Chris's influence grew, so they became more acoustic. Not sure it took as long as 2005. The sound was largely in place by The Wood & The Wire in 1999. The previous album was all over the place stylistically but had energy and electricity in places. I love Gerry but maybe the loss of both Maart & DM in quick succession ultimately prompted the rethink.

One question ....if the present incarnation of the band weren’t called Fairport would their music be garnering any interest at all. So if album had been created by a completely new band would it get Folk prog air plays and an audience?
Fairports are on in Leics on Winter Tour ....we intended to go down but if , as Ric says, they are playing 10 songs from this album.......

it will be interesting to see how much / little of the new album stays in the live set as time moves on - if you check set lists little of the past three studio albums is included which suggests people go to gigs to listen to the old favourites rather than the new stuff once the initial pushing of the album ceases.

DW

Absolutely.
......and I have no probs with a band making an album to sell to fans at gigs.....

I think this question would have to be approached retrospectively so that name change would have had to take place in 1998 when this band was formed. i think there would always have been residual interest in music being made by a band featuring Messrs Nicol & Pegg at that point and the name change could have been subtle. The Convention or such like (though Simon more than anyone is entitled to the Fairport title of course).

As you say, there would still be some continuation and therefore legacy which would entice Fairport fans to buy the albums. I read hendo's question differently : hypothetically, if some anonymous band were releasing the same records, would they get any airplay or attention? ie, in the case of everything from TWATW to S&G, what proportion of sales are out of loyalty to Fairport, and what is due to the musical content alone (I assume there is some intersect between the two!)

Darren , that is exactly what I was trying to say.

I guess at least it's been a natural enough progression to get from Fairport in 1967 to Fairport in 2020. Not like some bands who splinter into various parts along the way, where you have 'Gerry Conway's Fabulous Fairport Show' playing in one market, and 'Dave Pegg's Fairport' in others.  

Even if there is sometimes marginal musical similarity between line-ups, there's the quote from Ashley Hutchings in the It All Comes Round Again video, along the lines of Fairport standing for a way of doing things, which I think still applies.

After a couple of spins, I really enjoy it. Don’t reveal my name is a very strong opening song, Cider Rain and Shuffle and Go move along nicely. Linseed Memories has a real charm, and the Byfield Steeplechase could almost be from Tipplers Tales (albeit with a different arrangement). No trad songs, but Jolly Springtime comes close. I personally think A Thousand Bars is about two minutes too long, but will listen a few more times.

Overall, it feels less MOR than some recent releases, and (thankfully) doesn’t have any Summer by the Cherwell clunkers. Good songs, looking forward to hearing them live on the Wintour.

I thought that too. Is it Simons double tracked vocals?

Byfield Steeplechase appears to borrow some of the melody from Val Doonicans Walk Tall. I'd be interested to hear a version by PJ's Trad Arr who are sort of inspired by Leige & Leif era FC without actually copying them.
Plus, anyone who's familiar with the Sky TV series Jamestown will recognise its theme tune replicated in Chris' Don't Reveal My Name.
I can well do without In The Jolly Springtime, which represents the latest recorded  FC nadir.
Still, those of us going to Wintour will have the opportunity to see the band perform 10/13 of the album tracks in the live environment, which hasn't been done since the Jewel In The Crown tour if my memory is correct.
However, I'm enjoying S&G at the moment, the litmus test will come in 12 - 18 months time when I'll see if I can still be bothered to play it or whether I consign it to the charity bag.

Paul, Shuffle and Go,( the song)  reminds me of something Lonnie Donegan may have done ( with Chas and Dave overtones!) 😱😂😉

Just got home from Tewkesbury... most of the new album given an airing. The slower songs lost some of the subtle nuances of the recorded versions, but the more upbeat numbers rocked! A few from Full House - no names, no pack drill, suffice to say I was rather surprised, most Pleasantly, by one of the selections.

To add my two pennyworth to this debate I really like this album, The way some people react you would think Fairport had destroyed all copies of their early work, they have grown old and moved on musically but still producing great music, other acts evolve and change over the years, for example Hank Marvins last album sounded nothing like the early Shadows hits. I think this is a classic case of not being able to please everyone all the time, if they had kept producing songs like on L & L and FH they would probably be accused of resting on their laurels and not trying something new and different.

I think for some it’s not so much that they’ve changed but that they’ve become “safer”.

I agree Bridgwit. Safer, but I love them anyway. No band stays the same; there are always eras that we, as individuals, prefer.

Listened to the album a few times over the last week, and I rather enjoy most of it. However, is anyone else distracted by the fact that ‘A Thousand Bars’ briefly becomes ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight?’

I have now had chance to give the album a proper considered listen and I think it is fair to say that, taken on its own merits and setting aside the baggage of history as far as possible, I am pleasantly surprised. The setting aside of the past is important because, stylistically, there is little here that has anything to do with any music released under the Fairport name prior to 1999 or certainly prior to 1980. So the question becomes does it succeed on its own terms, divorced from those expectations? I would say, on balance, that it does.

As with every album from the last 20 or so years there are songs here that I could live without. Linseed Memories & Jolly Springtime are the sort of songs bordering on novelty (of which Ukelele Central was the notorious nadir) that this incarnation of the band seem unable to resist but which I think they should stay well away from. Additionally A Thousand Bars is not actually a terrible song but it doesn't belong here or really anywhere in the Fairport repertoire. Otherwise it is a solid set of singer-songwritery material and instrumentals.The Byfield Steeplechase might even have made it onto a Swarb era recording but it would have been played at twice the speed. Don't Reveal My Name, Moses Waits, Steampunkery and The Year of Fifty Nine are probably my early favourites but solid and enjoyable as these songs are (and I thought some of them came much more to life in live performance) the album does lack an individual standout song that really jumps out at you in the way that Weightless, Home and Man In The Water from Myths & Heroes did for me but it is early days and some of the aforementioned may grow in stature for me with additional listens.

Even the good reviews (and 10/10 to you, Al for giving it a go), make it all sound like far too much of an effort to be anything even resembling fun.....

But, back on topic, and having seen the chaps twice on this tour, A Thousand Bars is  the song which you sing all the way home.....and for days afterwards!



Agree 100%. Don't Reveal My Name and Moses Waits are both outstanding played live and, surprisingly, fit well into a set-list which is Full House heavy.

Sorry to double post, but I seem to be having issues with differentiating between Gub-Gub' s original text and my response.
Hope it makes sense....

I have entirely wiped that one from my memory along with the rest of the 50/50@50 catastrophe.

4 tracks on the recording I've heard (Southport.  I note Canterbury is circulating now too) - Walk Awhile, Spens (both of which get played all the time), Physick, Sloth.  I could have sworn that when it was announced they said they were playing the whole album?

Yes four tracks. the two instrumentals and Flowers of the Forest were missed. They are promising the entire album "and more" with DM & RT at Cropredy. I take the "more" to mean Poor Will and Now Be Thankful. But we got this line up playing a decent version of  Sloth which is something I never thought I'd see so I am happy, even if Simon did have the "wrong guitar". I need a recording of the latter now to dd to my collection.

???

Jules

See my posts on page 65 of the Fairport Chatter thread for details. Having introduced the wrong song whilst holding the "wrong guitar" e then proceeded to play the right song but didn't bother to change guitars.

The canterbury recording is far better than the Southport one and is actually listenable.
As to the content, i like some of it and some of you will like most of it i suppose.  It still doesnt make me want to go and see them again.

I hadn't seen them for some years and was only persuaded by the promise/prospect of Full House which turned out to be partly erroneous. I confess I was apprehensive when it became clear that the set would lean heavily on the new album and deliberately did not hear it in advance. However I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. It sort of reminded me of seeing them for the first time in 1990 when I knew nothing of the material and just enjoyed the energy, musicianship and bonhomie. The playing was muscular and adventurous and it felt much less cosy and middle of the road than many performances by this line up had seemed to me outside of Cropredy.

Available on Spotify today.

Enjoying the 1st track so far...

Purchased via Itunes (until I get a physical copy) and happily listened to this morning on the subway. I won't do a track by track take, but using Al's excellent point earlier in this thread about them being their own band right now-not the Nine lineup, not the late 70's 4 piece, but a band that does what they want to do, I find it very strong in places, and enjoyable throughout. Favorites so far are the title track, Don't Reveal My Name, Cider Rain, Moses Waits, and The Byfield Steeplechase. Also top marks for the first Fairport reference to my ancestral home (if you will) of Donegal. I think the thing that stands out for me so far has been the actual music. Lots of interesting phrases, the return of Peggy's slap bass style on Steampunkery, and some interesting percussion throughout. If I go further, to me there is a confident sound to this album of all cylinders firing and a cohesion of ideas. Can't wait to get home and listen to it sans headphones later.

Just had a listen on Spotify so the chaps now have my 0.003p or whatever it is.  Maybe I'm officially allowed to say it's not for me now?

My favourite track was Cider Rain which sounded a little like late period XTC filler.  That's a compliment.  I also 'quite like' The Byfield Steeplechase.

In the most part, I just can't get beyond thinking it is all 'twee' as hell, I'm afraid, and that one of my favourite bands on the planet has fallen to this just depresses me.  Sorry.

I think I would disagree that it is "all" twee. There are two or three twee tracks and this line up definitely have a weakness/inexplicable fondness for this sort of thing but I don't think most of the other tracks can be accused of tweeness irrespective of their other relative merits.

Your final comment precisely reflects what I was alluding to in my review. It is a question of mindset, of which yours is particularly and entirely understandably strong David. But the fact is that this is not one of your favourite bands. This is an entirely different band (featuring one or maybe two of the same personel as the band you loved but crucially not the key ones) using the same name.

Aye.  

The totally baffling thing to me is that whilst changing (so hugely) the band seemingly doesn't accept the above.  Or does it?  I mean I really don't think there is a single note of what I would describe as "folk-rock" on this new album...  

Tried to listen on Spotify, and simply got bored. Yes, it's twee as hell and MOR to the max, but that's just how FC is these days and that's not likely to change now.

I have to say, I actually started laughing at A Thousand Bars due to the sheer saccharine of the lyrics :) Couldn't help noticing that it mentions "The Pig and Poke" and the very next song's lyrics contain "pig in a poke", too.

I can't even bother using the tired old "musicianship" cliché in order to say something positive - pretty much *any* working band that's maintained a professional career even a quarter as long as FC will be able to boast excellent musicianship. It's a given.

I think we're of the same mind David. I was pleasantly surprised by Don't Reveal My Name and Cider Rain, two tracks in and I was almost thinking this may be my first Fairport album since Over the Next Hill, which was the one that finally broke my long-standing habit of buying every new release out of blind loyalty, just because it was Fairport. It took A Thousand Bars and the title track to bring me to my senses, I think I'll go and spend my well-earned on something with a little more fire in the belly.

I can imagine someone with a 'broken'/'lived in' singing voice singing DRMN and it really working.  Leslie's voice is just too that t-word for it... The song is a decent one though.

That's an interesting point. I guess Steampunkery perhaps qualifies but you may be right about the songs. I shall have to listen again and consider further. There is a CL song that was introduced live as having the same feel as John Gaudie (which is imho one of their finest and most authentic latter day works albeit it is now 23 years old) but it does not have an ounce of the firepower of that song.



I don't think Chris's voice is the t-word. That's a bit harsh. But it is sometimes too light or pure to deliver songs with the muscularity or authority they require so everything feels a little smoothed out.

After repeated listens on the weekend I think it does qualify. I'm guessing Good Time For A Fiddle & Bow is the song you allude to Al. I agree with you in comparison with John Gaudie, but it is a song built around a solid fiddle tune and regardless of that comparison is unquestionably folk rock. I do think your assessment of Chris's voice is spot on. Though Simon has sung some of Chris's compositions before, he seems to lean more towards covers that fit his vocals. So Fairport is left without that type of voice that might attack the songs with a bit more muscle. That being said, the balance of vocal duties is balanced more on this album than previous efforts, and I think that lessens the overabundance of his material. One thing I will add after hearing on the stereo is how beautiful the 'chime like' intro to Moses Waits is. Definitely better than I heard through my headphones.

My two pennoth
   Having now head it all the way through I can say that I think it’s a better album than anything they have released in many years.   I’m glad they have ditched the formula and gone for all new material.
    That said, it is very one paced with nothing to frighten the horses and most of the tunes sound similar to old ones.  I don’t think it will benefit from repeated plays.
     The musicianship is fine, nothing stunning which when you have the likes of Saunders and Pegg is a bit disappointing
     I’m glad I didn’t buy it but got it from Amazon music.

With respect Jim, from you that’s high praise indeed!  :) [;-)

Saunders???

Who he??

Made me think of Winnie the Pooh but that was Mr Sanders he had over his front door. I'll leave you to make your own comparisons of band members with characters from the AA Milne books.  :)

The title track is sticking in my head just now though for some reason I'm getting the words Cotton-Eyed Joe instead of Shuffle and Go. I think that's from a Michelle Shocked song.

I was typing on my phone rather than the tablet and misspelt a few things largely due to a combination of fat fingers, poor eyesight and downright sloppiness.

The album isnt going to win any new fans but maybe thats just how they want it.
My sister and the youngest brother are going to see the chaps in Carlisle in a month or two.  She has never seen them, he went with me to see them at Reghed, near Penrith a few years ago, he wasnt overly impressed but that could have been down to the unsuitabilty of the building as a  live music venue.  It'll be interesting to see what they think.

Hi Jim.....I come on here rarely now but saw your post.....
You sum up the new album well......
There is so much good , vibrant ‘ folk inspired’ music out there now that gets little exposure.
Have a listen to Jon Palmer Acoustic Band. Yes you can hear the influences , including Fairport but Jon writes with passion and the band, including Wendy Ross from Magna Carta and Edwina Hayes on backing vocals , have real energy.

Howdo Dave lad,
  On further reflection FC suffer from the way they put albums together, separately recording their various bits doesnt lend itself to any semblance of spontaneity or even a happy accident which might give a bit of life to the music if they got together in the studio to knock the material into shape.  It almost sounds like one long piece.  I dont know if they think their core audience are becoming more MOR as we age and they dont want to frighten us with something exciting.  Its horlicks for the ears, it isnt folk rock by anyones standards, but it hasnt been for a long, long, time.  And thats why im out.

I think the last two albums were recorded communally at Woodworm. Only Ric's bits seem to have been done separately. Certainly the sleevenotes for S&G say as much, even confirming that Gerry was unavailable for the last session so a rhythm track was created from his previously recorded performances for one track, the point being that they had to do it that way for one song but they were all present for the rest of it.

After listening again this morning, my favourite track has unexpectedly emerged to be The Byfield Steeplechase, possibly because it is the one that sounds most like Fairport Convention.

I find it rather sad that five chaps can't get their diaries coordinated well in advance for a whole album. It is not as if half of them lived all over the USA.

He could've had a cold or something?

The chaps are a bit more geographically spread out these days, though, aren't they ?
Ric (Bloxham) and Chris (Adderbury) are the only ones living in the environs of Banbury ; Simon's in Canterbury, Peggy's in Brittany and Gerry's in Redhill.
Shouldn't be too difficult to sync diaries, though.

I've listened to the album today and found it pretty enjoyable. It has to be said that the engineering / production is excellent too, good job John Gale!

I've just noticed that the Fairport shield /escutcheon/coat of arms they used some years ago appears on the back cover of the Album... on the shelf (Ledge?) above the clock in the bar...

Let's be honest, it's a 21st century Fairport Convention album.  Most people will have decided if they were going to like it or not before the band recorded it!  It is really no better or worse than anything else they're released of late, although thankfully it avoids the total clunkers like the DIY one.....  I like it, I won't play it as much as albums from any of the "classic" eras, but it will get an airing from time to time.  We should be grateful that the band still make and release new material, and I'm sure they know how many copies to press to satisfy "demand!!"

Having finally picked this up - at the Harpenden concert - I feel moved to add to the positive comments on this "recent" CD - i thoroughly enjoyed it. For what it's worth, my view on the "Chris Leslie FC albums" is that they did reach a bit of a low point round about the "Over the Next Hill / Sense of Occasion" era, but have put in a spirited revival since. Having said that, I think I'll listen to those two again - so many years have passed that I might have aged into them !!

 

I'm definitely not the right person to ask, but OtNH is just about the only post-Maart album I can listen to.

Glad you're enjoying Shuffle & Go!

It certainly might be worth giving Over The Next Hill and Sense Of Occasion another go. They both have plenty of fine songs and the latter has become one of the most regular Fairport visitors to my music system. As a caveat, however, I will add that I find the Chris Leslie era of the band as enjoyable as the "classic" years.

I'd also recommend a reappraisal of Over The Next Hill. I enjoy the Chris Leslie era albums as much at the Maart era. The CL era albums I don't really rate are those released in big anniversary years, so XXXV, Sense Of Occasion and 50/50@50. I'll make an exception for By Popular Request as it does what is says on the tin. I think OtNH and Myths and Heroes are the best two, but Shuffle and Go and Festival Bell aren't far behind. I'm not sure about Wood and The Wire, there are some good tracks and it sounds a lot more cohesive than Who Knows Where The Time Goes, but there are a handful of tracks that I regularly skip.

I haven't bought any of the recent Fairport albums , but I'm glad they still produce new stuff, makes gigs much more interesting. Quite a few acts of similar vintage haven't produced anything new for years, maybe this isn't surprising in the Spotify age when breaking even on a new album is quite an achievement

Completely agree , even though they're not for me I'm glad they are still creating new albums