All Time Favourite Fairport Songs or Albums

[Ollie]

This could be hard!! there are so many to choose from. It's probably been covered somewhere or other on TAW, but here it is again. Just to start you off, I have to say that I really like Matty Groves, Tam Lin, I'll Keep It With Mine and Percy's Song are just a few of mine. As for albums, has to Full House and XXXV

[Chris]

Would it be silly just to say 'all of them'?

[Ollie]

No, but there's got to be some that you don't like.

[Magic Fingers]

Would it be silly just to say 'all of them'?

All of them?  Chris, may I gently usher you back in time to those halcyon days of 1976 and the release of (whisper it).........Gottle O' Geer?  

[Albie]

Matty Groves, song -  L and L, album.

Not very original of me.  

[greglin (Gregg)]

Would it be silly just to say 'all of them'?

All of them?  Chris, may I gently usher you back in time to those halcyon days of 1976 and the release of (whisper it).........Gottle O' Geer?  

Which has just escaped - sorry, been re issued - and Classic Rock gave it the worst review I've ever sen them give - in just four or five lines too. ( And I agreed with every word...........it's Fairport's "Heaven's Gate", with nowt to recommend it from the cover in.........)

Anyway.favourite album would be a toss between Tipplers Tales and Full House.............

and despite my continual ranting about preferring the trad-rock stuff to originals.........would have to choose betwen two McTell songs, Hiring Fair and Run Johnny Run as favourite tracks.......or possibly Tam Lin....or maybe.......

[Jules Gray]

Todays' top fives....

SONGS
1 Now Be Thankful
2 Sir Patrick Spens (BBC version with Sandy)
3 Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
4 The Journeyman's Grace (BBC version with Richard)
5 Jack Orion

ALBUMS
1 Liege & Lief
2 Full House (CD version with Poor Will, Now Be Thankful and Bonny Bunch Of Roses)
3 Angel Delight
4 Nine
5 Tipplers Tales

Jules

[martin driver]

In no particular order my favourite songs are;  
1 Red & Gold
2 Jewel in the Crown                      
3 Banks of the Sweet Primroses
4 Naked Highwayman
5 John Gaudie
                                                                                   
Albums;
Full House
Bonny Bunch
Tipplers Tales
L&L
Red & Gold

           

[Anna]

Fave albums:
The Five Seasons
Sense of Occasion
Red & Gold
Closely followed by everything else in the 2nd half of their career

Fave songs?  Very tricky.  Today:
The Vision (possibly the best song CL has ever written, cliches and all)
Ginnie
Wounded Whale
The Lady Vanishes
Close to You
Virtually all of Ric's instrumentals
And all the other sad songs, especially the ones Simon sings

[davidmjs]

Fave albums:
The Five Seasons
Sense of Occasion
Red & Gold
Closely followed by everything else in the 2nd half of their career

Interesting choices!  I'm intrigued to know if you heard the first five albums and dismissed them, or do you only follow the post-85 band and have made no effort to delve backwards (so to speak)?

[Anna]

I have indeed acquired and listened to most of the "1st half" catalogue.  Don't know the exact order of release but I have (in alphabetical order as that's the way the MP3 lists them): Angel Delight, Babbacombe Lee, Full House, Liege & Lief, Nine,  Tipplers Tales and What We Did On Our Holidays - I think this probably counts as fairly representative of the early - pre-"split" catalogue - if not exhaustive.

While there are some good songs on these albums (and I like some other people's versions of some of these songs better), I just don't like these albums for some reason.  Haven't sussed why.  I know the production sounds "thin" to these relatively young ears - ears brought up on Metallica and Sisters of Mercy and other bass-thumping stuff.  I'm gonna get stuff thrown at me so I'm hiding this in the middle, I don't actually like Ms Denny's voice.  Sorry.  I find a lot of the songs too long for my concentration span and quite a lot of them are simply boring to listen to, ploddy somehow.

I do quite often like other people's versions of early Fairport songs though - Eva Cassidy did a lovely "Farewell Farewell" for instance.  And there are other examples.

I have tried to get into the early stuff but it just doesn't work for me.  I am looking forward to the Liege & Lief set at Cropredy though and I hope they introduce the songs rather than just playing through like it's an album on a turntable.  I often find I get more out of and like better the tracks that I know a bit more about.

I've even got various live recordings of later personnel doing earlier songs and still don't like them very much, so I don't know what that's all about!

I just prefer the later "rockier" - to my ears anyway - Fairport.  Maart-era and later.

[davidmjs]

I just prefer the later "rockier" - to my ears anyway - Fairport.  Maart-era and later.

Thanks for the explanation...it's interesting to see someone describe something you sort of knew existed, but had never come across in the flesh    It's fair to say that my views are almost diametrically opposed to yours, but I guess that just goes to prove what a broad church this is... and I guess that's a good thing!

[Anna]

A Good Thing, indeed.  I was probably just born 20 years too late.

[davidmjs]

A Good Thing, indeed.  I was probably just born 20 years too late.

Well I'm the same age as the band...although i didn't see them until their (and my) 15th year!

[Anna]

And anyway, where would we be if nobody liked the post-85 stuff?  Not looking forward to Cropredy, that's for sure!!

I didn't get into Fairport until the Wood & Wire tour, so as far as I'm concerned anything prior to that is "history"  

I've always had a theory that one's favourite incarnation of the band is the one first encountered.  Which is probably true, for a given value of "true".  I'd be very hard pressed indeed now to say whether my favourite incarnation is Maart/DM/Ric/Simon/Peggy or the current lineup.  Which makes me wonder.

(Can I have Maart/DM/Ric/Simon/Peggy/Chris??  That'd be ideal!)

[PLW (Peter)]

(Can I have Maart/DM/Ric/Simon/Peggy/Chris??  That'd be ideal!)

I expect you'll something close to that for some of Cropredy.

[Jules Gray]

I know the production sounds "thin"

I don't actually like Ms Denny's voice. 

a lot of them are simply boring to listen to, ploddy somehow.

Oh.  My.  God.  I think I need to go and lie down in a quiet room for a while.....



Jules

[GubGub (Al)]

(Can I have Maart/DM/Ric/Simon/Peggy/Chris??  That'd be ideal!)

Well, there was of course the Maart/DM/Simon/Peggy/Chris line up that played some gigs after Ric's interface with a window in 92. I saw them in a tent in Gosport. One of the best Fairport gigs I have ever been to but, peculiarly, with no explanation for Ric's absence so I think it left a lot of people wondering what was going on. Same day as Linford Christie won a gold medal at the Olympics as I recall. But I digress.....

Meanwhile... pretty obvious these & in no particular order:

Albums:

Full House
Angel Delight
What We Did On Our Holidays
Nine
Who Knows Where The Time Goes
Cropredy Box

Songs: Blimey, far too many but off the top of my head...

Sir Patrick Spens
Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman
Journeyman's Grace
Sloth
Polly On The Shore
Honour & Praise
Claudy Banks
The Wounded Whale
John Gaudie
and at the moment, Untouchable.

That'll do to be going on with!

[PLW (Peter)]

I I don't actually like Ms Denny's voice.  Sorry.  I find a lot of the songs too long for my concentration span and quite a lot of them are simply boring to listen to, ploddy somehow.

I think this may be a first on this board! Anna, you may have just committed a thought crime.

[davidmjs]

I I don't actually like Ms Denny's voice.  Sorry.  I find a lot of the songs too long for my concentration span and quite a lot of them are simply boring to listen to, ploddy somehow.

I think this may be a first on this board! Anna, you may have just committed a thought crime.

I have to admit to a 'close member of my family' (it's ok, the will has been amended) who shares a similar distorted world view (but then they do read the Telegraph as well, so are clearly beyond all forms of help).  They also like (the to me, thoroughly derivative and completely emotionally unengaging) Eva Cassady.  Horses for courses and all that...!