New Fairport CD 2014?

[Tony Pim]

Formulaic in that every song sounds as though written to a template that has been used for the last 15-20 years.

Well, I haven't heard the latest, so I can't comment on that one. But the others I have and quite like. I would argue they follow a definite style, rather than formula.

In answer the other question about how long has it been since I heard a newer Fairport CD, the answer is this morning. I really do prefer the post-1985 stuff over the '60s recordings. I don't expect many (any?) to agree with me, though. And that's OK.

Love L&L, Unhalfbricking, WWDOOH etc but with you 100% my favourite line up is the current one.....looking forward to Southport next week

[hendo (Dave)]

Mark , Tony, I have met many people for whom the current line up is their favourite,that's obviously completely fine
I suspect it depends on when you discover the band
.For me '69, when the line up was Simon, Ashley, DM, Sandy, RT and Swarb, they were only together for 6 months! but they are Fairport to me. WKWTTG, Sloth, Sailors Life, Matty, Tam Lin, Ledge, were the songs that influenced the next 45 yrs of my musical life.

[Jay Peter]

Sounds as if the argument might be that the band should have changed their name as soon as we stopped liking their output.

[MarkC]

Mark , Tony, I have met many people for whom the current line up is their favourite,that's obviously completely fine
I suspect it depends on when you discover the band
.For me '69, when the line up was Simon, Ashley, DM, Sandy, RT and Swarb, they were only together for 6 months! but they are Fairport to me. WKWTTG, Sloth, Sailors Life, Matty, Tam Lin, Ledge, were the songs that influenced the next 45 yrs of my musical life.

You could be right. I first heard them with "Nine" and was totally blown away; it had an immediate and permanent impact on my own playing (not that I'll ever be in the same universe as Jerry D!). It was probably two years later that I checked out L&L and, while I liked it, it certainly did not have the impact on me that Nine did. Loved Unhalfbricking, though. But for me, as I say, the stuff that REALLY speaks to me is post-1985. I guess part of the trouble for me is I don't care much for nostalgia. I can truthfully say my very favorite Fairport record is---the next one. I feel the same way about Little Feat and Steeleye, btw. I like also collecting shiny baubles, so there's that.

[davidmjs]

Is there anybody that can define what it is about the latest line-up's work that makes them prefer it to all that came before?  Intuitively I know we're all different and stating why one likes something is ludicrous and almost impossible to do.  I'm trying to be objective here, but whichever way I look at it, I just end up shaking my head with disbelief when I'm told the current lineup is where its at with this band (ditto Little Feat and Steeleye).

[GubGub (Al)]

Is there anybody that can define what it is about the latest line-up's work that makes them prefer it to all that came before?  Intuitively I know we're all different and stating why one likes something is ludicrous and almost impossible to do.  I'm trying to be objective here, but whichever way I look at it, I just end up shaking my head with disbelief when I'm told the current lineup is where its at with this band (ditto Little Feat and Steeleye).

Probably because you are coming at it with the context of all that went before whereas many fans of the current band came to them without that baggage. They like this particular style, this particular sound. That is what attracted to them. For many of us they have stepped away from what made them special but for those who have found them in the last 15 years, what makes them special is what they are now and the earlier work does not reflect that.

Personally, I came to the band in the Maart era and that therefore is the era I am nostalgic for, at least live. I had to bite my lip over Jim's rubbishing of 5 Seasons in favour of Jewel In The Crown as I feel precisely the opposite, 5 Seasons being the first album they put out after I first saw them live & I love it for all sorts of reasons not directly connected to the music. It is not an objective response. I don't much like Jewel at all, or Red & Gold for that matter. I bought L&L almost immediately and thought, "what the hell is this?" It took me a long time to get it. I did work backwards and my own personal favorite era is 70 - 78 (excluding, Rosie, Rising & Geer) because much of that music was still in the repertoire in the late 80s, early 90s.

[Jim]

Re - the 5 seasons, i just thought it was rather flat and JITC was an improvement.

[hendo (Dave)]

Re - the 5 seasons, i just thought it was rather flat and JITC was an improvement.

Still have Wounded Whale on my playlists Jim! I rarely, hardly ever not for yrs, listen to the rest of the album.
Said it before but the first time I heard Sailors Life, 1969, as a 17 yr old , was the watershed moment for me in my musical tastes.

[davidmjs]

Re - the 5 seasons, i just thought it was rather flat and JITC was an improvement.

Of the 1985- albums... I 'quite like' Gladys Leap.  A few strong songs but sounds unbelievably dated now.  The only other normal studio one I have any affection for at all is Jewel in the Crown.  I've got some friends who, though fans of the early band, try and convince me OTNH is a decent album.  I can't see it although it's a darn sight better than what's followed it.  Bizarrely, I really quite enjoy By Popular Request, which shouldn't work, but sort of does.

And, Al, I think, by and large, you're right about my contextualisation.  Having said all that 'my' first Fairport was the Simon, Swarb, Peggy, Bruce foursome.

[YaBB Master (Colin)]

You're all wrong, the best album of that era was 'Old, New, Borrowed, Blue'.  

[Jay Peter]

Having said all that 'my' first Fairport was the Simon, Swarb, Peggy, Bruce foursome.

 Mine too. They were pretty good live. I only really enjoy Fairport live these days when they have a lot of former members guesting.

[bassline (Mike)]

You're all wrong, the best album of that era was 'Old, New, Borrowed, Blue'.  

It's my favourite anyway....strange that I never saw the Acoustic FC line up, considering.

[davidmjs]

I only really enjoy Fairport live these days when they have a lot of former members guesting.

I'm afraid that (apart from one appalling gig in Chester the following year) is why I gave up after the awesome Barbican show in 2009.  The juxtaposition between the two was just too vast to bridge for me......

[GubGub (Al)]

Re - the 5 seasons, i just thought it was rather flat and JITC was an improvement.

Of the 1985- albums... I 'quite like' Gladys Leap.  A few strong songs but sounds unbelievably dated now.  The only other normal studio one I have any affection for at all is Jewel in the Crown.  I've got some friends who, though fans of the early band, try and convince me OTNH is a decent album.  I can't see it although it's a darn sight better than what's followed it.  Bizarrely, I really quite enjoy By Popular Request, which shouldn't work, but sort of does.

And, Al, I think, by and large, you're right about my contextualisation.  Having said all that 'my' first Fairport was the Simon, Swarb, Peggy, Bruce foursome.

Of the post 85 albums there is the odd track on all of them that I like but those tracks tend to be the exception rather than the rule. The only complete albums that I go back to (less frequently than earlier works) are 5 Seasons, Who Knows Where The Time Goes & two thirds of Festival Bell. It occurs to me that in the case of the last of these I like it almost inspite of it being by Fairport rather than because of it. It barely resembles what my idea of a Fairport album would be but setting that aside, it is still a collection of songs, most of which I enjoy irrespective of who might be performing them (if you see what I mean).

[hendo (Dave)]

Re - the 5 seasons, i just thought it was rather flat and JITC was an improvement.

Of the 1985- albums... I 'quite like' Gladys Leap.  A few strong songs but sounds unbelievably dated now.  The only other normal studio one I have any affection for at all is Jewel in the Crown.  I've got some friends who, though fans of the early band, try and convince me OTNH is a decent album.  I can't see it although it's a darn sight better than what's followed it.  Bizarrely, I really quite enjoy By Popular Request, which shouldn't work, but sort of does.

And, Al, I think, by and large, you're right about my contextualisation.  Having said all that 'my' first Fairport was the Simon, Swarb, Peggy, Bruce foursome.

Of the post 85 albums there is the odd track on all of them that I like but those tracks tend to be the exception rather than the rule. The only complete albums that I go back to (less frequently than earlier works) are 5 Seasons, Who Knows Where The Time Goes & two thirds of Festival Bell. It occurs to me that in the case of the last of these I like it almost inspite of it being by Fairport rather than because of it. It barely resembles what my idea of a Fairport album would be but setting that aside, it is still a collection of songs, most of which I enjoy irrespective of who might be performing them (if you see what I mean).

Are you saying that if the Chris Leslie songs on albums since 1997 had been solo albums they would have been viewed differntly, without the baggage of Fairports history? I'm with you about individual songs, still like 'the wood n the wire', 'my love is in America' and perversely i like the present lineups version of Fotheringay.

[GubGub (Al)]

Re - the 5 seasons, i just thought it was rather flat and JITC was an improvement.

Of the 1985- albums... I 'quite like' Gladys Leap.  A few strong songs but sounds unbelievably dated now.  The only other normal studio one I have any affection for at all is Jewel in the Crown.  I've got some friends who, though fans of the early band, try and convince me OTNH is a decent album.  I can't see it although it's a darn sight better than what's followed it.  Bizarrely, I really quite enjoy By Popular Request, which shouldn't work, but sort of does.

And, Al, I think, by and large, you're right about my contextualisation.  Having said all that 'my' first Fairport was the Simon, Swarb, Peggy, Bruce foursome.

Of the post 85 albums there is the odd track on all of them that I like but those tracks tend to be the exception rather than the rule. The only complete albums that I go back to (less frequently than earlier works) are 5 Seasons, Who Knows Where The Time Goes & two thirds of Festival Bell. It occurs to me that in the case of the last of these I like it almost inspite of it being by Fairport rather than because of it. It barely resembles what my idea of a Fairport album would be but setting that aside, it is still a collection of songs, most of which I enjoy irrespective of who might be performing them (if you see what I mean).

Are you saying that if the Chris Leslie songs on albums since 1997 had been solo albums they would have been viewed differntly, without the baggage of Fairports history? I'm with you about individual songs, still like 'the wood n the wire', 'my love is in America' and perversely i like the present lineups version of Fotheringay.

Yes, I think that is right, though it is not quite that simple as there are some of Chris's songs that do sound absolutely like Fairport songs, John Gaudie being the perfect example. I also think that what the band desperately needed when CL joined was a writer. The constant reliance on outside material was definitely diluting their legacy and turning them into a sort of folk rock Cliff Richard.

[Neil]

I think it's about the type of music you enjoy.

If you like more exploratory improvisational music you feel comfortable with the earlier lineups, including the Maart era when they more frequently cut loose. The Maart era sometimes is split by the Swarb team v the Ric team, because of the jazz or "cosmic" elements.  If you don't like that type of music is all seems a little chaotic.

The current lineup are more song based with little improvisation, and the occasional dance tune. It is too "safe" for some and because of that seems a little staid. At that point it seems to depend on whether you like the songs.

I think inside the majority of the band there is an improvisational core that wants to take off but they are too busy trying to please their fans rather than themselves and therefore you get a compromise which once you know the history can seem a little dull, but only if you like that playing on the edge type of feel.

So if you want to drink too much  jig about and singalong you are more than happy, if you want to wonder what is going to happen next you look back in wonder.

Those are my thoughts on the matter.

Neil

[quodlibet (Ian)]

I think it's about the type of music you enjoy.

If you like more exploratory improvisational music you feel comfortable with the earlier lineups, including the Maart era when they more frequently cut loose. The Maart era sometimes is split by the Swarb team v the Ric team, because of the jazz or "cosmic" elements.  If you don't like that type of music is all seems a little chaotic.

The current lineup are more song based with little improvisation, and the occasional dance tune. It is too "safe" for some and because of that seems a little staid. At that point it seems to depend on whether you like the songs.

I think inside the majority of the band there is an improvisational core that wants to take off but they are too busy trying to please their fans rather than themselves and therefore you get a compromise which once you know the history can seem a little dull, but only if you like that playing on the edge type of feel.

So if you want to drink too much  jig about and singalong you are more than happy, if you want to wonder what is going to happen next you look back in wonder.

Those are my thoughts on the matter.

Neil

Interesting perspective. I for one would dearly like to hear them cut loose & indulge in some extended improvisation. There's no doubt the ability is there, it's just a matter of having the will to go off piste for a while. I'm sure a couple of extended non-jiggy/reely instrumental passages wouldn't offend the average audience.  

[Henry Tompkins (Pete)]

Formulaic in that every song sounds as though written to a template that has been used for the last 15-20 years.

Well, I haven't heard the latest, so I can't comment on that one. But the others I have and quite like. I would argue they follow a definite style, rather than formula.

In answer the other question about how long has it been since I heard a newer Fairport CD, the answer is this morning. I really do prefer the post-1985 stuff over the '60s recordings. I don't expect many (any?) to agree with me, though. And that's OK.

You're right, there can't be many would agree with you on that point. Did you not like Sandy, Thommo and McDonald etc?

[Ronald]

Reading that there are several people who like a certain time of Fairport I do not think one can say there is a definitive Fairport. I was a fan right from the first album and then did  not follow them for a while, my latest cd was Jewel in the crown. I was also of the opinion that the earlier albums were the best but over the years my taste has changed, when I now listen to Liege and lief I skip the long instrumental parts of Tam Lin and Matty Groves and I also skip Come all ye, there are also songs on the earlier albums I never liked, like Sloth, Cajun woman, Million dollar bash to name a couple. I think it is only a matter of taste and I am quite happy with their recent output but again do not like all the songs. They are (to me) still an electric Folk band (which I do like)  and have not turned into an unexceptional Rock one.