Shuffle and Go

[paul bond 59]

I'm not averse to asking potentially silly questions, so here we go.  I admit I only have the album files as mp3s, not the full thing with lyrics, presumably.

So, regarding the title track.
What is it - "craving / playing / ? rock & roll on the old banjo..."

And what exactly does the phrase "shuffle and go" actually mean?

I thank you.

The line is  Craving Rock 'n'Roll on the old banjo,  but I've nom idea what shuffle & Go means unless it's a reference to dancing?

[Bridgwit (Bridget)]

I'm not averse to asking potentially silly questions, so here we go.  I admit I only have the album files as mp3s, not the full thing with lyrics, presumably.

So, regarding the title track.
What is it - "craving / playing / ? rock & roll on the old banjo..."

And what exactly does the phrase "shuffle and go" actually mean?

I thank you.

The line is  Craving Rock 'n'Roll on the old banjo,  but I've nom idea what shuffle & Go means unless it's a reference to dancing?

Or being old?

[paul bond 59]

I'm not averse to asking potentially silly questions, so here we go.  I admit I only have the album files as mp3s, not the full thing with lyrics, presumably.

So, regarding the title track.
What is it - "craving / playing / ? rock & roll on the old banjo..."

And what exactly does the phrase "shuffle and go" actually mean?

I thank you.

The line is  Craving Rock 'n'Roll on the old banjo,  but I've nom idea what shuffle & Go means unless it's a reference to dancing?

Or being old?

Or; how you move to the toilet the morning after drinking ten pints of strong ale followed by an ill-advised phall curry - as my mate so inelegantly puts it.  

[fstix (Michael)]

The theories so far are all equally plausible.  

[DarrenWilliams]

I'm not averse to asking potentially silly questions, so here we go.  I admit I only have the album files as mp3s, not the full thing with lyrics, presumably.

So, regarding the title track.
What is it - "craving / playing / ? rock & roll on the old banjo..."

And what exactly does the phrase "shuffle and go" actually mean?

I thank you.

Unlike Expletive Delighted, lyrics aren't included with the new album. However, there are lyrics on the Fairport site (but I can't seem to link directly). So,http:// www.fairportconvention.com, then click The Band, News and the relevant item is 'New Album Song Lyrics'

[hendo (Dave)]

I know that we have been down this road before, usually whenever Fairport put out a new record but their problem is, more than any other act I can think of, that they are not one band. They are a series of different bands, each with their own distinct flavour so the Fairport of the debut album sounds nothing like the Fairport of Liege & Leif, which sounds nothing like Nine, which sounds nothing like Gladys Leap, which sounds nothing like Jewel In The Crown which sounds nothing like anything thereafter.

People who first came to the current line up tend to love them. People who came to them before 1979 tend to think the new music is a fraudulent use of the name and a betrayal of the band's legacy. Some people who arrived with Liege & Leif heavily disliked Nine. All the band can do is plough their own furrow and the audience is free to pick and choose the eras that appeal to them with so much diversity of material available. At this point it is pointless to expect another Full House or to be disappointed by not getting one. The sort of music they make now is not solely about capability, it is largely a choice on the part of the band.

I haven't heard the new album yet. I expect to like bits of it and really dislike other bits in the same way as I have for the last couple of studio albums (not including 50:50@50 which was pretty much a disaster). In a career spanning Fairport playlist I shall enjoy listening to the bits I like alongside other Fairport songs but as an album it is unlikely to be amongst those I will reach for regularly and I wouldn't expect it to be at this point in their career.

Very well put and spot on....

[Jim]

I know that we have been down this road before, usually whenever Fairport put out a new record but their problem is, more than any other act I can think of, that they are not one band. They are a series of different bands, each with their own distinct flavour so the Fairport of the debut album sounds nothing like the Fairport of Liege & Leif, which sounds nothing like Nine, which sounds nothing like Gladys Leap, which sounds nothing like Jewel In The Crown which sounds nothing like anything thereafter.

People who first came to the current line up tend to love them. People who came to them before 1979 tend to think the new music is a fraudulent use of the name and a betrayal of the band's legacy. Some people who arrived with Liege & Leif heavily disliked Nine. All the band can do is plough their own furrow and the audience is free to pick and choose the eras that appeal to them with so much diversity of material available. At this point it is pointless to expect another Full House or to be disappointed by not getting one. The sort of music they make now is not solely about capability, it is largely a choice on the part of the band.

I haven't heard the new album yet. I expect to like bits of it and really dislike other bits in the same way as I have for the last couple of studio albums (not including 50:50@50 which was pretty much a disaster). In a career spanning Fairport playlist I shall enjoy listening to the bits I like alongside other Fairport songs but as an album it is unlikely to be amongst those I will reach for regularly and I wouldn't expect it to be at this point in their career.

Very well put and spot on....

i have no problem with them ploughing their own furrow, but the plough has to actually break into the ground to be of any use.

[fstix (Michael)]

Unlike Expletive Delighted, lyrics aren't included with the new album. However, there are lyrics on the Fairport site (but I can't seem to link directly). So,http:// www.fairportconvention.com, then click The Band, News and the relevant item is 'New Album Song Lyrics'

Well, look at that.    Thanks for pointing that out.

[GubGub (Al)]

I know that we have been down this road before, usually whenever Fairport put out a new record but their problem is, more than any other act I can think of, that they are not one band. They are a series of different bands, each with their own distinct flavour so the Fairport of the debut album sounds nothing like the Fairport of Liege & Leif, which sounds nothing like Nine, which sounds nothing like Gladys Leap, which sounds nothing like Jewel In The Crown which sounds nothing like anything thereafter.

People who first came to the current line up tend to love them. People who came to them before 1979 tend to think the new music is a fraudulent use of the name and a betrayal of the band's legacy. Some people who arrived with Liege & Leif heavily disliked Nine. All the band can do is plough their own furrow and the audience is free to pick and choose the eras that appeal to them with so much diversity of material available. At this point it is pointless to expect another Full House or to be disappointed by not getting one. The sort of music they make now is not solely about capability, it is largely a choice on the part of the band.

I haven't heard the new album yet. I expect to like bits of it and really dislike other bits in the same way as I have for the last couple of studio albums (not including 50:50@50 which was pretty much a disaster). In a career spanning Fairport playlist I shall enjoy listening to the bits I like alongside other Fairport songs but as an album it is unlikely to be amongst those I will reach for regularly and I wouldn't expect it to be at this point in their career.

Very well put and spot on....

i have no problem with them ploughing their own furrow, but the plough has to actually break into the ground to be of any use.

With respect Jim, that is missing the entire point of the post. I am not a huge fan of the current line up's material either but many people are and they now have a sustained touring career based on that material which attracts an audience, many of whom never saw them in any other incarnation. The band are making the sort of music they now want to make. They are uninterested in competing with their past. They do what Fairport Convention 1998 have always done. That appendix should really be part of their name because it is the schizophrenic nature of the various different bands (and I do now definitely see them as different bands rather than different line ups of a single band) that causes the unrest. Even in performing Full House material as they will be this year, it is in the style of FC 1998, not FC 1970.

[paul bond 59]

I know that we have been down this road before, usually whenever Fairport put out a new record but their problem is, more than any other act I can think of, that they are not one band. They are a series of different bands, each with their own distinct flavour so the Fairport of the debut album sounds nothing like the Fairport of Liege & Leif, which sounds nothing like Nine, which sounds nothing like Gladys Leap, which sounds nothing like Jewel In The Crown which sounds nothing like anything thereafter.

People who first came to the current line up tend to love them. People who came to them before 1979 tend to think the new music is a fraudulent use of the name and a betrayal of the band's legacy. Some people who arrived with Liege & Leif heavily disliked Nine. All the band can do is plough their own furrow and the audience is free to pick and choose the eras that appeal to them with so much diversity of material available. At this point it is pointless to expect another Full House or to be disappointed by not getting one. The sort of music they make now is not solely about capability, it is largely a choice on the part of the band.

I haven't heard the new album yet. I expect to like bits of it and really dislike other bits in the same way as I have for the last couple of studio albums (not including 50:50@50 which was pretty much a disaster). In a career spanning Fairport playlist I shall enjoy listening to the bits I like alongside other Fairport songs but as an album it is unlikely to be amongst those I will reach for regularly and I wouldn't expect it to be at this point in their career.

Very well put and spot on....

i have no problem with them ploughing their own furrow, but the plough has to actually break into the ground to be of any use.

With respect Jim, that is missing the entire point of the post. I am not a huge fan of the current line up's material either but many people are and they now have a sustained touring career based on that material which attracts an audience, many of whom never saw them in any other incarnation. The band are making the sort of music they now want to make. They are uninterested in competing with their past. They do what Fairport Convention 1998 have always done. That appendix should really be part of their name because it is the schizophrenic nature of the various different bands (and I do now definitely see them as different bands rather than different line ups of a single band) that causes the unrest. Even in performing Full House material as they will be this year, it is in the style of FC 1998, not FC 1970.

I'm fortunate that I've seen nearly every incarnation of FC apart from the  MK2v Dyble/Matthews/ Lamble,  Farnell/ Swarb/ Peggy v Rising For The Moon v  and the GOG Burridge / Brady/ Ar Bras permutation.
This line-up, the longest surviving, is not necessarily the best ever line up, but they are the best at what they do, or they can be.
However, their albums since 97'S WKWTTG are consistently patchy, where you can mine possibly 5 or 6 half decent tunes out of a 13/14 track CD, and that's not good.,  
Fairport is very comfortable in what it does,  both on stage and on record. I've been fortunate enough to have seen some excellent shows in the 23 years that this current line up has existed, my only wish would be that they'd find some fire, well as much fire as five pensioners can find.
I have them at Bridlington in two weeks time, let's see how they go.  
 

[davidmjs]

With respect Jim, that is missing the entire point of the post. I am not a huge fan of the current line up's material either but many people are and they now have a sustained touring career based on that material which attracts an audience, many of whom never saw them in any other incarnation. The band are making the sort of music they now want to make. They are uninterested in competing with their past. They do what Fairport Convention 1998 have always done. That appendix should really be part of their name because it is the schizophrenic nature of the various different bands (and I do now definitely see them as different bands rather than different line ups of a single band) that causes the unrest. Even in performing Full House material as they will be this year, it is in the style of FC 1998, not FC 1970.

What I find so weird is how the current 5-piece sound so markedly different to the previous lineup with Chris (but still with DM).  In fact I'd contend (at least live) the latest lineup didn't settle on this current sound until a few years into the new century.  It was about 2005 before I really twigged I was falling out of love with the (current) band....

Basically they just turned FC into FAC with a bigger drum kit didn't they?

[GubGub (Al)]

With respect Jim, that is missing the entire point of the post. I am not a huge fan of the current line up's material either but many people are and they now have a sustained touring career based on that material which attracts an audience, many of whom never saw them in any other incarnation. The band are making the sort of music they now want to make. They are uninterested in competing with their past. They do what Fairport Convention 1998 have always done. That appendix should really be part of their name because it is the schizophrenic nature of the various different bands (and I do now definitely see them as different bands rather than different line ups of a single band) that causes the unrest. Even in performing Full House material as they will be this year, it is in the style of FC 1998, not FC 1970.

What I find so weird is how the current 5-piece sound so markedly different to the previous lineup with Chris (but still with DM).  In fact I'd contend (at least live) the latest lineup didn't settle on this current sound until a few years into the new century.  It was about 2005 before I really twigged I was falling out of love with the (current) band....

Basically they just turned FC into FAC with a bigger drum kit didn't they?

Yes, I think that is a fair assessment. They tried to keep some electricity after Maart left by getting Chris to play instruments that he didn't really seem comfortable playing. As Chris's influence grew, so they became more acoustic. Not sure it took as long as 2005. The sound was largely in place by The Wood & The Wire in 1999. The previous album was all over the place stylistically but had energy and electricity in places. I love Gerry but maybe the loss of both Maart & DM in quick succession ultimately prompted the rethink.

[hendo (Dave)]

One question ....if the present incarnation of the band weren’t called Fairport would their music be garnering any interest at all. So if album had been created by a completely new band would it get Folk prog air plays and an audience?
Fairports are on in Leics on Winter Tour ....we intended to go down but if , as Ric says, they are playing 10 songs from this album.......

[David W]

it will be interesting to see how much / little of the new album stays in the live set as time moves on - if you check set lists little of the past three studio albums is included which suggests people go to gigs to listen to the old favourites rather than the new stuff once the initial pushing of the album ceases.

DW

[hendo (Dave)]

it will be interesting to see how much / little of the new album stays in the live set as time moves on - if you check set lists little of the past three studio albums is included which suggests people go to gigs to listen to the old favourites rather than the new stuff once the initial pushing of the album ceases.

DW

Absolutely.
......and I have no probs with a band making an album to sell to fans at gigs.....

[GubGub (Al)]

One question ....if the present incarnation of the band weren’t called Fairport would their music be garnering any interest at all. So if album had been created by a completely new band would it get Folk prog air plays and an audience?
Fairports are on in Leics on Winter Tour ....we intended to go down but if , as Ric says, they are playing 10 songs from this album.......

I think this question would have to be approached retrospectively so that name change would have had to take place in 1998 when this band was formed. i think there would always have been residual interest in music being made by a band featuring Messrs Nicol & Pegg at that point and the name change could have been subtle. The Convention or such like (though Simon more than anyone is entitled to the Fairport title of course).

[DarrenWilliams]

One question ....if the present incarnation of the band weren’t called Fairport would their music be garnering any interest at all. So if album had been created by a completely new band would it get Folk prog air plays and an audience?
Fairports are on in Leics on Winter Tour ....we intended to go down but if , as Ric says, they are playing 10 songs from this album.......

I think this question would have to be approached retrospectively so that name change would have had to take place in 1998 when this band was formed. i think there would always have been residual interest in music being made by a band featuring Messrs Nicol & Pegg at that point and the name change could have been subtle. The Convention or such like (though Simon more than anyone is entitled to the Fairport title of course).

As you say, there would still be some continuation and therefore legacy which would entice Fairport fans to buy the albums. I read hendo's question differently : hypothetically, if some anonymous band were releasing the same records, would they get any airplay or attention? ie, in the case of everything from TWATW to S&G, what proportion of sales are out of loyalty to Fairport, and what is due to the musical content alone (I assume there is some intersect between the two!)

[hendo (Dave)]

One question ....if the present incarnation of the band weren’t called Fairport would their music be garnering any interest at all. So if album had been created by a completely new band would it get Folk prog air plays and an audience?
Fairports are on in Leics on Winter Tour ....we intended to go down but if , as Ric says, they are playing 10 songs from this album.......

I think this question would have to be approached retrospectively so that name change would have had to take place in 1998 when this band was formed. i think there would always have been residual interest in music being made by a band featuring Messrs Nicol & Pegg at that point and the name change could have been subtle. The Convention or such like (though Simon more than anyone is entitled to the Fairport title of course).

As you say, there would still be some continuation and therefore legacy which would entice Fairport fans to buy the albums. I read hendo's question differently : hypothetically, if some anonymous band were releasing the same records, would they get any airplay or attention? ie, in the case of everything from TWATW to S&G, what proportion of sales are out of loyalty to Fairport, and what is due to the musical content alone (I assume there is some intersect between the two!)

Darren , that is exactly what I was trying to say.

[fstix (Michael)]

I guess at least it's been a natural enough progression to get from Fairport in 1967 to Fairport in 2020. Not like some bands who splinter into various parts along the way, where you have 'Gerry Conway's Fabulous Fairport Show' playing in one market, and 'Dave Pegg's Fairport' in others.  

Even if there is sometimes marginal musical similarity between line-ups, there's the quote from Ashley Hutchings in the It All Comes Round Again video, along the lines of Fairport standing for a way of doing things, which I think still applies.

[Adam]

After a couple of spins, I really enjoy it. Don’t reveal my name is a very strong opening song, Cider Rain and Shuffle and Go move along nicely. Linseed Memories has a real charm, and the Byfield Steeplechase could almost be from Tipplers Tales (albeit with a different arrangement). No trad songs, but Jolly Springtime comes close. I personally think A Thousand Bars is about two minutes too long, but will listen a few more times.

Overall, it feels less MOR than some recent releases, and (thankfully) doesn’t have any Summer by the Cherwell clunkers. Good songs, looking forward to hearing them live on the Wintour.