Nine or Rosie?

[Shane (Skirky)]

And why? There's a fiver on this.

[Sir Martin]

Nine, by a very long way.

Packed with great choons, I love trevors voice and in terms of the greats of the Fairport Canon;

Nine
Hexamshire Lass
Polly on the Shore
Bring Em Down
Possibly Parsons Green


Rosie
Rosie
Knights of the Road


Germany V's England really.

[Nigel no longer of Lysander]

Nine every time................Rosie, sentimental schmaltz

Cheers Nigel

[davidmjs]

Nine every time................Rosie, sentimental schmaltz

Cheers Nigel

I wouldn't have put it QUITE like that myself  ...but ultimately, that's my view too.

Nine is a milimetre away from being a truly classic album.  Rosie has a couple of great songs on it.  Not even close in my book...

[GubGub (Al)]

Also, Nine holds together as a coherent and consistent album. Rosie feels like a random collection of songs somewhat thrown together, which, given the circumstances of its recording, it basically was. Love Hungarian Rhapsody though.  

[Shane (Skirky)]

I can already see where this is going...    Keep 'em coming though, are there no Rosie champions among us?

[Big Dave]

C'mon my Rosie and rosin up bow, for the more I learn, the less I seem of to know my Rosie (Anna........)

[Ollie]

Also, Nine holds together as a coherent and consistent album.

Hmm... in places, yes, but as has been mentioned elsewhere before, the second half is pretty weak; quite what the thinking behind Big William and Pleasure & Pain was I'm not sure. Other than that, it is a good album, and generally better than Rosie.

[Dan O.]

Nine is one of my favourites in the whole Fairport canon. As mentioned previously, there are a couple of weaker tracks on it, but even they are listenable. I've said before in a different thread here some time ago that the current FC lineup should revive Bring 'Em Down, or if the trend for "another anniversary, another album recreation" catches on, then a Nine recreation would be most welcome. (Simon or R**** M***** as Trevor, Chris L as Swarb if Swarb doesn't want to do it, the others present and correct).

[Maart]

As much as I really love Rosie album, it's more of a Swarb record. Nine is a very strong FC album.

[ddratb]

Wow !  This was a lot tougher for me than I thought. I had both side by side and acted as if I had to buy/choose just one to keep..... after MUCH deliberation, the Rosie album wins ---(in a squeaker)  I think the Hen's March  does it for me.

[hendo (Dave)]

I can never hear Rosie without seeing the opening credits to the sitcom which the music was used for. Young nieve policeman walks down road etc Never really think of it as a fairport song.
 

[YaBB Master (Colin)]

Having paid out for both records as they were released, Rosie wasn't disappointment, but Nine was a joy.

I put Nine in my Fairport top three (with L&L and Jewel in the Crown).
The sound quality of Nine on vinyl was also outstanding.

[Geetee (Gareth)]

Has to Nine. One of their best albums in my view and agree with Maart. Rosie has the feel of a Swarb outing more than an FC offering.Still a great album though.

[koho (Koen)]

Nine, despite one or two duds - having said that, my soft spot for especially The Plainsman on Rosie remains firm. I don't consider Rosie to be a bad album. Could have done with less syrup though ...

[Andy]

Both these albums come from a time when I was away from Fairport, my teenage years being more taken up with girls, Rory Gallagher, girls, Hawkwind and girls.

However, as I understand it, Rosie was a partial retread of an unreleased album ("At The Manor"), the remnants being "Rosie", "Matthew Mark Luke & John", "Me With You" and "My Girl", all credited to Dave Swarbrick or in conjuction with Dave Pegg. Nine has "Big William" (credited to Swarbrick/Lucas) from those sessions, although it's (unclear to me) if any were re-recorded or just transferred over. I've read that "Big William" differs significantly between the two, but haven't heard the former version, so can't comment directly.

Perhaps those who have heard the aborted album tracks may care to comment?

As such, both albums are patchy, Rosie's commonly acknowledged nadir being "Hungarian Rhapsody" which smacks of desperation to fill the album with another track, to me  Mind you, "Me with you" isn't half as twee as it thinks it is.

Then again, Nine has "Possibly Parsons Green"!  

So, Skirks, in answer to your question, on balance, "Nine", as a more coherent offering, at least in retrrospect, 37 years later.

[Jules Gray]

I like Possibly Parsons Green!  Jerry plays a blinder on it for starters.  Good Trev vocal too.

But yeah, Nine is far far better to Rosie.  Rosie sounds like what it is - a patchwork from different sessions.  It also sounds like Swarb is running low on ideas.  He'd written well before, and would again, but some of his songs on Rosie are unremarkable.  Trev's songs are the best things on there for my money.  The album is by far the weakest album released under the Fairport Convention name up until that point, and indeed only Gottle O' Geer would rob it of that title before the decade was out.  Rosie doesn't suck, but it's for fans only.

Nine on the other hand is the work of a newly galvenised band firing on all cylinders.  Swarb's back on form, Trevor's on form, Jerry's on form, DM's back full time in the drum chair.  That lineup could have gone on to make other great records I think, and much as I love Sandy, I think her return to Fairport upset the chemistry of the Nine band.  Maybe later would have been better for everyone.  I dunno, just speculation.

But, before I ramble on and on and on, the answer is Nine.  For Polly On The Shore, Althea, Hexhamshire Lass, Bring 'Em Down, and, yes, Possibly Parsons Green.  Quality.

Jules

[GubGub (Al)]

Rosie's commonly acknowledged nadir being "Hungarian Rhapsody"

I genuinely do love that track. I appreciate that it is a complete throwaway but it is a rare Dave Pegg writing credit and it makes me laugh!

While we're at at it, I like Big William, Pleasure & Pain and Possibly Parsons Green from Nine too.  

[Jules Gray]

I do think Big William was a mistake.  It lets the side down for Nine.

Jules

[Shane (Skirky)]

Thank you everybody, erudite and insightful in the finest TAW tradition!  
I appear to have been going in from each end of the Fairport canon and am about to finally meet in the middle...