The Five 'Squared' Seasons

[Godzee]

A sudden realisation that one of my favourite albums, Fairport's 'The Five Seasons', turns twenty five next year set me thinking... are there any plans to celebrate this excellent album within the Fairport camp? As the album which helped me discover Fairport it has a really special place in my heart, and I know it's part of the much loved Maart era on this forum.

Total flight of fancy, but you never know - but would there be the material to produce a five CD deluxe box set to celebrate the 'five squared' years of 'The Five Seasons’? I was thinking something along the lines of the following:

CD1 - The original album as per the original release
CD2 - Demos / out-takes from the original sessions - don't know if sufficient would exist?
CD3 - Live recordings of songs from the original album from the time (ie 1990/91). I think most of the songs received live outings during this time?
CD4 - Re-recorded version of the album? I was thinking either the current line-up, or perhaps get the 'Maart' era line-up back together to re-record it using modern technology / instruments? Or perhaps (not for the purists!) get the Full House era line up to re-interpret the album
CD5 - Original versions of the songs by the original artist? Or maybe a DVD of a 1990's era concert? Or super remastered audio version of the original album on Blu-Ray? (I know the recent Floyd reissues have included stunning 5.1 versions on Blu-Ray... But I imagine that would depend on whether the master-tapes are still available?)

All of that combined with a book - with pictures of the recording, 1990s era interviews and perhaps contemporary discussion with the band members of the impact / legacy / memories of the album.

If there was sufficient interest perhaps they could include the full album on the upcoming 2015 Winter tour as was done with Babbacombe Lee a few years ago? Even better - how about either an additional tour or even just Cropredy performance of the full album from the original line-up, with Maart and DM back?

As I say, perhaps the five CD set would be expensive, but as a limited edition I'm sure it would fly off the shelves? I'm sure there would be the demand to make it work.

I'd love to know what others think? Particularly if you think its got legs to happen in some form? Also, if anyone knows who the best people would be to speak to about taking the idea forward? Would it be the Fairport camp direct, or a record label like Free-Reed?

[GubGub (Al)]

I suspect that is very wishful thinking indeed. It is not an especially loved album in the wider Airport community from what I can tell and the Woodwork era material tends to get repackaged pretty disdainfully.

It is, however, a favourite of mine, being the first studio album they released after I first saw them live. It was therefore the first studio album I owned, not counting the fake live In Real Time. Quickly followed by Liege and Lief. I still like it a lot.

[folkfreak (Alexander)]

You first 2 CDs would be very welcomed by me.
I have yet to hear an album with re-recorded songs that I like.

[David W]

I always think this was the start of a decline to "twee" singer songwriter stuff:

Put a Sock in It
All Your Beauty
Ginnie
Gold

Nothing wrong wioth them per se but all very safe and more in keeping with the solo stuff Simon did.

BUT - we did also get Wounded Whale which almost makes it better, but not quite.

[GubGub (Al)]

I suspect that is very wishful thinking indeed. It is not an especially loved album in the wider Airport community from what I can tell and the Woodwork era material tends to get repackaged pretty disdainfully.

It is, however, a favourite of mine, being the first studio album they released after I first saw them live. It was therefore the first studio album I owned, not counting the fake live In Real Time. Quickly followed by Liege and Lief. I still like it a lot.

Airport? Damn you autocorrect!   Fairport.

I always think this was the start of a decline to "twee" singer songwriter stuff:

Put a Sock in It
All Your Beauty
Ginnie
Gold

Surely that trend began with Red & Gold. I do love Put A Sock In It though. Widely described as Richard Thompson esque at the time.

[DarrenWilliams]

This was the first Fairport studio album released after I got into them. I quite liked it at the time of release, Wounded Whale is a stand out and the bass playing on Sock In It is fab, but All Your Beauty and Gold never did much for me. Always had a soft spot for Rhythm of the Time though- was this a CD only track? It's a better sounding album than Red and Gold, but R&G has a bit more charm and character, for me. I expect I'm in a minority here, but I prefer the current line-ups recorded output to the Maart era stuff. I did give it a (rare) listen only a few weeks ago and it's pleasant enough but hardly a classic.

[Jim]

God help us all.
No
Stop this madness now

[GubGub (Al)]

I suspect that is very wishful thinking indeed. It is not an especially loved album in the wider Airport community from what I can tell and the Woodwork era material tends to get repackaged pretty disdainfully.

Woodwork? Oh God, there's another one. Woodworm dammit!

[ColinB]

Airport? Damn you autocorrect!   Fairport.

Thought you were on about a tribute band there - Airport Connection?

I just found an old thread about such names with my favourite being Carport Extension.

http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?action=printpage;topic=22702.0

Sorry, going off-topic there. But re Five Seasons, it was one of the first FC albums I heard and I was none too impressed and thought all their music was like that. Then I discovered the RT era albums.  

[Malcolm]

Mock Morris and Claudy Banks are OK. Rest are padding IMO.

[bassline (Mike)]

The Wounded Whale, Sock In It and Ginnie are three of my favourite Maart era tunes.
Rhythm of the Time, Mock Morris, Cup of Tea/A Load of Bread/Miss Monahan's and Claudy Banks are good.
The Card Song/ Shuffle the Pack is OK and it's nice to see the Allcock, Mattacks, Nicol song writing credit.

If there was going to be a multi CD box set, I don't think The Five Seasons would be high on the list of albums that deserve the treatment.

I'd say the two Free Reed boxes are going to be the closest we get, along with the Cropredy To Portmeirion CD.

[Carl F]

Always had a soft spot for Rhythm of the Time though- was this a CD only track?

Indeed it was, and the CD also had a slightly different running order to the LP.

While I, like a surprising number of others it seems, am quite fond of the Five Seasons because it was one of the first new Fairport albums to be released after I became aware of them, a five CD boxset of the album would be excessively extravagant and would undoubtedly represent a huge financial loss to whomever produced it, as I just cannot see it selling in anything other than small quantities.

Looking objectively, I would suggest that the preceding "Red & Gold" is more of a "milestone" album in the Fairport canon, and we already have the "From Cropredy to Portmerion" CD and the accompanying tour video (Relatively recently repackaged on DVD under the title "Live Legends") from the 1990 Winter tour the year before this album's launch. Expect nothing in terms or revived live performances - Fairport have a brand new album to plug in the New Year. I certainly wouldn't say no to a revival of the "Wounded Whale" at Cropredy next year though.  

[Peter H-K]

 I expect I'm in a minority here, but I prefer the current line-ups recorded output to the Maart era stuff.

You may well be in a minority, but I'm in it with you!

[davidmjs]

I'm not sure if I'm right about this, but I'm pretty sure I've read that issues arising from Dave and Christine's divorce greatly affect anything to do with the Woodworm era recordings?

As for your suggestion itself, it's a nice concept, but I can't see it being economical unless it was a crowdfunded option (like Kickstarter).  How many people would be interested?  It's gonna be in the hundreds rather than thousands and my guess would be the very low hundreds....?  

Like most of the post '85 studio material I haven't listened to it in years and years.  Last time I did it sounded very dated to me.

[RobertD]

I'm not sure if I'm right about this, but I'm pretty sure I've read that issues arising from Dave and Christine's divorce greatly affect anything to do with the Woodworm era recordings?

As for your suggestion itself, it's a nice concept, but I can't see it being economical unless it was a crowdfunded option (like Kickstarter).  How many people would be interested?  It's gonna be in the hundreds rather than thousands and my guess would be the very low hundreds....?  

Like most of the post '85 studio material I haven't listened to it in years and years.  Last time I did it sounded very dated to me.

I don't often agree with David, but I definitely agree with him on all but the last two sentences. Plus if this were the case, we could go the whole hog and release these kind of sets for every album, merely because it is 20, 25, 30 years on. Next year would be 30 years for Glady's Leap, 20 or so for Jewel In The Crown, over 40 for Rising For The Moon, and nearing that for the late 70's 4 piece Fairport albums. The demand for all of them (if even only produced in the small scale) is not that high. I think Fairport wisely decided several years ago now itself, to cull through the archives of the various lineups to produce the two Free Reed sets (plus all the Fairport tracks that appeared on the sets by Peggy, Swarb, and Richard). That did make sense because it represented archival material by all the lineups that all but the most hardcore collector couldn't be bothered to look for (Manor Sessions, Gottle live material with Ar Braz, Brady & Burridge, that sort of thing). I am sure there is loads more archival material out there but I don't think of Fairport as having the level of rarities and alternates that they could get away with the sort of thing you are suggesting, a la Pink Floyd. In the entire Fairport canon, Liege & Lief, (definitely), Full House (would love it), Nine (also would love it) but the rest, arguably is for differing levels of fan after that. Now if there was a compromise of Fairport material exclusively from the years 85-present, that could be another route that might, I say might be somewhat viable, but again, to certain fans like myself.

I do wonder however if the Woodworm era music was affected by the divorce? Yes Woodworm was the label run by the Pegg's, but did that affect the music produced by the full band? In other words wouldn't Ric's or Maart's own compositions in those years, not to mention anything traditional be exempt from those sorts of complications? Just a guess, I am only curious.

In regards to the album, it is one of my favorites (and the only one I can claim to still have copies of on vinyl, cassette, and CD!) Claudy Banks IS my favorite trad song Simon has ever sung, and the instrumentals and a few of the other songs like Wounded Whale and Ginnie have remained favorites.

[Ollie]

A little off-topic, but I was in Fopp in Cambridge recently, and noticed that XXXV and From Cropredy to Portmeirion have been released on vinyl. Talk about niche market!

[RobertD]

A little off-topic, but I was in Fopp in Cambridge recently, and noticed that XXXV and From Cropredy to Portmeirion have been released on vinyl. Talk about niche market!

XXXV I could maybe see a small pressing of but From Cropredy.... Niche market indeed!

[bassline (Mike)]

A little off-topic, but I was in Fopp in Cambridge recently, and noticed that XXXV and From Cropredy to Portmeirion have been released on vinyl. Talk about niche market!

XXXV I could maybe see a small pressing of but From Cropredy.... Niche market indeed!

From Cropredy etc is essential to all Fairport Collections. I'm on it. Well.....I was in the audience. My second F.C concert, the first of three that year. The third of them being my first Cropredy, so an expanded version of that featuring the whole gig would be nice.  

It may be a niche market, but I'm sure my nephuche would like a copy too.

[David W]

I wonder how many outtakes of songs from this period there are that never made it on to the albums - I assume(maybe wrongly) that a whole raft of songs would have been considered, rough recorded and tested out and then discarded for whatever reason. Anyone know of any such or do Fc know more clearly what songs are to be recorded and just go with what ends up on the final album?

DW

[DarrenWilliams]

Typing 'From Cropredy to Portmeirion' into a well known search engine informs me that it would take 3 hours 43 minutes via the M40. Other routes are available.