Chris Leslie's best songs

[GS (Graham)]

I've been giving the new album quite a few plays over the last week & I reckon that two of Chris' songs on the album - Eleanor's Dream & (particularly for me) Step By Step - are as good as any he has contributed to the band's repertoire.

Eleanor's Dream is yet another (with I'm Already There & Mercy Bay) song about the ill fated Franklin expedition to find the North-West Passage which has been a rich vein for Chris - all three are fine songs.  As others have said above John Gaudie & My Love is in America are also right up there - not just as Chris' best songs but Fairport classics too.

He does take some stick for the 'tweeness' of his contribution & yes sometimes this criticism is justified but, in my view anyway, he's contributed some great songs to the band.

[GubGub (Al)]

He does take some stick for the 'tweeness' of his contribution & yes sometimes this criticism is justified but, in my view anyway, he's contributed some great songs to the band.

My own criticism of Chris's writing is that it can sound a bit samey but that may be more down to the arrangements and instrumentation than the songwriting.

The twee factor that I have complained about of Fairport albums over the last 20 years has more often been supplied by other writers and poor choices of outside material imo.

[RobertD]

My Love Is In America-a very well written song
John Gaudie-my mate Tony still loves the Whippersnapper version, I like that and the FC versions
Mercy Bay-strong writing, impact made even stronger by the music
Banbury Fair-probably not on most people's list, but what might pass for twee by some, is very evocative to me.
Close To You-also very evocative.

I think the goal was 5 only, which of course leaves out I'm Already There, Wandering Man, Grace & Favour, Myths & Heroes, and maybe a few more. In addition, although I know its not his song, I have come to think of I Wandered By A Brookside as his song.

[GubGub (Al)]

I have come to think of I Wandered By A Brookside as his song.

I remember just loving that when I first saw him perform it with Fairport in Gosport in 1992 and again a few weeks later at Cropredy. This was the post Ric broken window incident, temporary Chris & Maart line up.

I have never thought that the later studio recording really does it justice.

[RobertD]

Fair enough. It is a beautiful song and really fits his singing style. Another one he brought from Whippersnapper

[Staffan]

When thinking of my favourite CL songs, I found out that my top two are both collaborations and from his early years in the band. His collaborations with Maart have also been mentioned. Maybe these collaborations sharpen the writing tools?

1. The Wood and The Wire
2. Don' t leave too soon
3. I' m already there
4. Close to you
5. My Love is in America

[dooovall [Daniel]]

The Light of Day remains my favorite song from Chris Leslie's oeuvre thus far.  I've long been curious why that one little bit features Simon singing lead while Mr. Leslie belts out all the other vocals.  The rollicking instrumental outro of Light of Day is its own little masterpiece, and something about the lyrics building up to that point appeal to me -- the imagery of faces "reflected in the candle flames" and a path lit by the moon always fire up my imagination -- and how many tales have fiddler protagonists?

I'm also quite fond of I'm Already There and Over the Falls -- both feature mesmerizing vocal performances from Chris with the rest of the band doing what they do so very well - weaving breathtaking patterns of notes that gel into pleasing earworms.  Ric's violin in I'm Already There is especially "cosmic" and brilliant.  I've been a fan of the Pegg/Conway rhythm section ever since I enjoyed Jethro Tull's Broadsword & The Beast CD for the first time in the 1980s, and both Dave and Gerry propel I'm already There through its clever chord structure with the level of musicianship that some longtime Fairport fans might take for granted, having grown accustomed to the quality of this tight bass/drum duo.  Simon's singular guitar sound, unobtrusive but essential, keeps the music centered.  Over the Falls -- again, entrancing lyrics/vocals with the rest of the band making sonic waves that suit this particular song and sound innovative but somehow familiar... fresh but played with the current Fairport instrumentation, five chaps who know the styles of one another perhaps better than they know their own, infusing the recordings with surprising musical choices that somehow always work.

Eleanor's Dream struck me as an instant classic when I first heard it, and I've only grown more fond of it with repeat listens.  

Mercy Bay -- a masterpiece with Simon's voice better than ever, lyrics again dense with imagination-spurring imagery, and Ric & Gerry & Dave & Chris making marvelous noise behind the man who, when I first heard FC (via In Real Time on cassette and Gladys' Leap on CD), was pretty much THE vocalist of the band and famously the only original member in the fold.

So: Light of Day (my favorite) and in no particular order I'm Already There, Over the Falls, Eleanor's Dream, and Mercy Bay -- those are my "top 5" picks for examples of Chris Leslie's evolving and diverse skills as a songwriter.

[Dave.P]

I don't usually go in for fave song lists So here goes

Close to You
The Wood and the Wire
Banbury Fair
John Gaudie
Rui's Guitar

However tomorrow?? well they could change I am already recounting and adding in Chris's individual work ..  These are all from the Fairport range