TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Over the years FC has had a whole range of singers taking on lead vocals, I wonder how people rate them? My thought based solely on their work with Fairport:

1. Sandy - of course must be in first place, sublime.
2. Ian - his work with Judy and Sandy puts him in second place for me - a wonderful singer of that early West Coast style stuff
3. Trevor - a bit left field but I love Nine as an album and his vocals just make it for me
4, Swarb - all about the attitude
5. Jude - should have had a longer shot but first album is just brilliant
6. Chris - maybe Swarb light but has really grown into the role
7. Simon - never seems a happy singer, for me a good ballad singer but not enough "grunt" for the rocky side, a bit too affected sometimes for me
8. Thommo - just in FC terms was only learning by the time he left
9. Maart / Peggy - occasional singers and we know why

DW

I love Richard's early vocals (Fairport and Henry).  Much better than you're giving them credit for imho.  Strangely, whilst listening to the latest album the other day I decided that his 21st century vocal style is one of the reasons why I don't gel with his material these days.  Is (over?)confidence attractive in a vocalist?  Personally, I like to hear the vulnerability and fragility - which is probably why I love Jude and early Richard etc.  But those qualities are also very present in Sandy as well.  It's why the vast majority of covers of WKWTTG etc. will always miss by a country mile...they over-sing it which just grates.  I'm also a big fan of Trevor and Swarb (and not the world's greatest fan of Simon or Chris's vocal work).

I think Simon's vocals are a lot better than you have rated them - I'd actually put him up as number 2 or 3.  I think he really grew into his singing from the 1980s restart onwards.

It should be said that Chris singing as Swarb in the Full House lineup (as he did in 2009 and at various Cropredy performances etc.) is definitely not Swarb-lite.  Great job. It's his singing of his own songs that doesn't really work for me...but then neither do the songs if I'm being honest.

I think I pretty much agree with everything that David has said in both his posts.

Jules

Not happy with Trevor being higher than both Swarb and Richard , I still see Full House as being part of the golden age , whereas Nine whilst it has it's moments....and Richard singing Matty Groves at breakneck speed at the Troubadour in 1970
Totally agree with Ian , who still sounds great in 2024

If we're talking rankings, then I'm going Sandy; Swarb; Richard; Trevor; etc... Never was a fan of Iain's voice. I find it kind of characterless. I actually quite like Peggy's singing, but then I'm fond of a bit of Brummie twang.

Jules

Sandy
Swarb (and I think of Swarb as 'the voice of Fairport' much more than I do Sandy, or anyone else)
can't separate Richard and Ia(i)n
Jude
Trevor
Peggy
Simon
Chris
Maart

Can I be a contrary arse and include Dave Rea?  No, ok then...  ;)

I am ware that Ashley does not figure but did he ever sing lead when he was with Fairport - if so he goes in at 9 on my initial list.

DW

He sang lead when they did Million Dollar Bash at Cropredy, but not during his initial stint with the group, I don't think.

Jules

Being the first Fairport singer I heard, Simon ranks very high on that list for me. I agree with Will’s comment. Swarb was the accidental vocalist if you will. Hired as the fiddle player who then became a vocalist. Sandy, Iain, and Jude  being pure singers I agree with the rankings. Trevor had a wonderful voice, and I too like Peggy’s occasional foray into lv. I only ever remember Maart doing North Country Girl as lead. As for Chris, love his singing, but agree that a percentage of his own songs don’t make him shine especially, but there are exceptions

As IMO Sandy and Iain are the best female and male vocalists ever, having taken the title from Grace and Marty in the sixties, the top two is easy, What is not so easy is to split them. I would ultimately have to go for Iain initially as he was the better and more confident live performer. He also has the great advantage of having lived so much longer and has been able to be produce a much greater and varied body of work. However , if we are talking purely about their time with Fairport then Sandy takes it easily.
Chris is a great singer and musician but I too dont enjoy his songs  so much although they do appear to be getting better. As an aside I thought his performance at Cropredy 1992 was the single most incredible music performance I have ever seen.
The rest of those named have all played their part over the years which is why most of us still listen to them.

It's certainly one of my faves.  Oh, what Fairport post-85 could have been...

Clearly he is not the best singer technically and does not have the strongest voice but Swarb is definitely my favourite Fairport singer. Totally agree with David's comment about him being the voice of the band.

I appreciate Sandy more when I hear other people sing her material. Some of them do it very well, Chris While, Vikki Clayton but there was an earthiness to Sandy's voice which is often missing from other folk rock singers.

And me. I really connect with RT's early vocal sound being light and full of melodic energy. Suited the songs brilliantly.

It's a very well put summary of an opinion I've held for a long time.
As for rankings - I'd put Simon Nicol unquestionably at number one. His journey from 'Breakfast in Mayfair' to (say) 'Home' shows the application and sheer hard work that can be it's own reward when there's a job to be done and someone needs to step up to do it, notwithstanding some odd pronunciations when there's an 'R' involved... ;D

Second, Dave Swarbrick - if only because when he sings about The Hexamshire Lass it really sounds like she's in for a fine time, and not being remarked upon like she's a portrait in the National Gallery.

Having said that, Chris Leslie has a fine tenor and is probably - technically - the best singer the band has employed for a long time.

As for the runners-up, I don't think RT had enough of a tenure to really evaluate his vocals within the scope of the band, although handily there are enough versions of Matty Groves to compare and contrast everyone who's ever sung it across not only the vocalists but over the different decades they themselves had a go at it.  ;D

I've got a lot of time for the work of Trevor Lucas, but what I will say is that he was the best singer in Fotheringay.  8)      

Speechless  ;) ;D (not that I don't love Trevor's singing in Fotheringay, of course - I can only ever hear The Way I Feel with his awesome vocals)

I don’t suppose anyone would put Peggy anywhere near the top, but I’ll say this for him, his backing vocals add a hell of a lot to the overall sound of Fairport.
I remember the gigs where Peggy had to drop out due to his hand injury, and the vocals were definitely missing something.

 ;D ;D ;D

Jules

I loved the comment years ago in the region that Swarb sounds like he's going round the back of the bike sheds for a fag and a fumble and Chris sounds like he's taking you home to meet his mum and have a cup of tea.

DW

Sandy (first stint in the band)for me if we’re talking pure beauty, emotion and tone, but Swarb for the natural swagger and ooomph! (I love the ‘Tom me boy!’ bit in Jack Orion.  Nothing against the other singers, who all have tracks on which they shine.

For me:

1. Simon
2. Chris
3. Swarb
4. Trevor
5. Sandy
6. Iain
7. Jude
8. RT
9. Peggy
10. Maart

Love the singing of the top seven within the band and without. The others are a few steps below for me although I agree that Peggy's vocals are an essential part of the mix.

Sandy Denny, the fifth best singer in Fairport?  A decent barrister would surely tear that argument apart in seconds...

My fifth favourite, at least. I think she's got a fabulous voice but I like the four above her a little more.

Wayne, I swear you get more batshit by the minute.  ;D

Jules

I think Sandy was best in the studio, especially when produced by Joe Boyd. Her instrument suffered as time went on. Iain Matthews has a managed to maintain his sweet, pure voice all these years. Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol have improved by leaps and bounds since their first tentative steps, developing rich tones and wide ranges. Trevor Lucas was fab from the start, with that deep baritone. Swarb had a fine folk vocal style that was utterly unique, and Chris Leslie's sweet tenor is exactly what they needed in recent years. I can't really compare them because they're all so different and uniquely suited to the songs they sang on the records.

John from Austin, how lovely it is to read this identification of all the individual strengths!

People’s personal,likes are personal likes…..
I think it’s about time in your life
I fell in love with the line up,of the band that only really lasted for 6 months, so it has to be Sandy…….

 ;D

Ah well. I can only go where my ears take me.  :)

I agree that timing is important.

I discovered Fairport around the time of The Five Seasons at a time in life when I was become jaded by chart music and was looking for something different. Bought a concert ticket pretty much on a whim (it was the tour with Kieran Halpin in support) and was bowled over by how good the were. Simon's singing was a major part of that and he remains one of my favourite vocalists regardless of genre.

That pretty much sums it up. They all have their own strengths and music is so subjective....thats why we love it

Come on, name and shame.  Proof, man, I want proof  ;D  Fwiw, I don't like RltM but I'm not sure that's much to do with her voice.

To my ears, Sandy's voice became breathier and she lost her upper range after a time. I am a huge fan of her pre-Fairport recordings (e.g., Strawbs, Alex Campbell) and everything through Liege and Lief, and Fotheringay. Absolute favorites include: Fhir A' Bhata, She Moves Through the Fair, Crazy Man Michael, and Banks of the Nile. Listen to her range!!!! I like her singing on The Bunch album, as well.

Something changed around the time of North Star Grassman and things got progressively worse. I love Blackwaterside, but it feels like she's reaching for notes without getting them. Her producers included RT, Trevor and Glyn Johns, and I just don't think they got her very best. I've read accounts of the Trevor-produced recordings, in which she was singing live in studio surrounded by other musicians, meaning you're stuck with what you get. Why not put her in a vocal booth and have her sing over the backing tracks? Why not edit together the best performances?

I thought bats worked on radar!  ;D ;)

Mostly because they had a very limited number of tracks in those days. 4 track tape was still largely in use then, so they'd play and sing together to leave a couple of spare tracks for overdubs.

That's my guess, anyhow.

Is anyone going to correct the title, the missing r is diving me cazy!

Brilliant.  I literally believe almost the exact opposite of everything you say...horses for courses and all that!

I'd have to go through and change the title of every reply. I just don't have the time.

So cazy you will have to be! ;)

 ;D

Fixed:

Starting with North Star Grassman, things got progressively better. I can do without Blackwaterside, but she really nails the high notes. Her producers included RT, Trevor and Glyn Johns, and I just think they got her very best. I've read accounts of the Trevor-produced recordings, in which she was singing live in studio surrounded by other musicians. The results were consistently astounding. For heavens sake, don't isolate her in a vocal booth and have her sing over the backing tracks. You'd have to edit together the best performances.

;)

Ha ha ;D  Fwiw, I certainly think Grassman is her finest solo album... I also think of most of her pre-Fairport work as juvenilia...of interest, decent, but of nothing like the quality she produced from the off with Fairport.

Didn't Ashley sing lead on  Million Dollar Bash on Unhalfbricking with the cod American accent?

No, that was a guest vocal by Marc Ellington

Ah, i knew Marc sang on it, but I thought Ashley did too. All these years I've been living a lie!

He did sing it on the 25th and 30th anniversary live albums.
Marc sang it on the 35th anniversary one.
I believe so, at least, I'm going on memory.
One or more may have different lyrics.

I like all of Sandy's solo stuff.  North Star Grassman is a beautiful album but the production lets it down, I think.
I know it's not solo material, but I've grown to love her work with the Strawbs. She didn't exactly emerge fully formed as a singer, but so much of the Strawbs material  shows her as fully developed and confident.  

 

I agree. My original comments were directed specifically toward the quality of her singing voice, not the quality of the songs. I think she wrote amazing songs all the way to the end (including I'm a Dreamer, At the End of the Day, Stranger to Himself, It Suits Me Well, The Music Weaver). I wish 20-year old Sandy had sung them.

I thought it was verse 1 Marc, 2 Ashley, 3 Sandy, 4. Richard, 5. Simon

At least I'm not the only one.....😂