TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Mine are-
1.Over The Next Hill
2.Liege And Lief
3.Full House
4.Sense Of Occasion
5.Tipplers Tales
6.Gladys' Leap
7.The Wood And The Wire
8.Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
9.XXXV
10.From Cropredy To Portmerion

well mine would have to be-

1- Nine
2- Over the Next Hill
3- Sense of occasion
4- Babbacomble Lee
5- Angel Delight
6- Jewel in the Crown
7- Bonny Bunch of Roses
8- Wood and the Wire
9- Unhalfbricking
10- Who Knows Where the Time goes

I think we've been here before but at the risk of repeating myself and in no set order beyond the top three mine are:

Full House
Angel Delight
Babbacombe Lee
What We Did On Our Holidays
Nine
Five Seasons
Who Knows Where The Time Goes
Liege & Lief
Tipplers Tales
Bonnie Bunch Of Roses

I've seen them live loads of times, but haven't got any albums.

In no particular order:

Live Convention
Nine
Rising For The Moon
Before The Moon
Unhalfbricking
Liege And Lief
Full House
Babbacombe Lee
AT2
The Cropredy Box

 :o :o :o :o

I'd excludd live albums from my list. I could make a whole seperate list of those!

Ignoring live stuff...the first 7 studio albums (to Babbacombe Lee) plus Nine, BBoR, and TT...those will do for me  :)

nine
l&l
full house
wkwtg
rising for the moon
unhalfbricking
bbor
5 seasons
red and gold
watw

Full House
Liege
Unhalfbricking
Rising
Nine
Bonny Bunch
Gladys
Gottle
Jewel in Crown
Who Knows Where Time Goes

I wondered how long that would take...respect  :)

With the best will in the world, Kaskadekid, if you think OTNH is Fairport's best, you just haven't been listening.

Sure, it's pretty good, but how youcan place it above L&L, Babbacombe Lee, unhalfbricking, full house, etc iw beyond my ken.

On the other hand, differing opinions are welcomed here. It's just that, upon this occasion, you are to the far side of incorrect ;D

I love OTNH!
Mainly because it was the first the first fairport album I heard, But I think it's some of the best work from both Ric and Chris.

god love you for your innocence

Liege and Lief
Full House
What We Did..
Nine
Bonny Bunch
Tippler's Tales
Jewel In The Crown
Over the Next Hill
Unhalfbricking
Who Knows Where..

This is a man thing, isn't it? I bet we won't see many female boardsters making this kind of list  ;)

joint first  = all those with the incomparable Sandy Denny

In no particular order today's top ten would be:

Fairport Convention
Unhalfbricking
Liege and Lief
Full House
Nine
Bonny Bunch of Roses
Jewel In The Crown
Old New Borrowed Blue
The Wood and the Wire
Babbacombe Lee

but ask me tomorrow and some of those would have changed

Well, because Full House is badly recorded with lackluster performances? The live "House Full" is awesome, though.

In no particular order:

Jewel in the Crown
The 5 Seasons
Red and Gold
Unhalfbricking
Nine
Tippler's Tales
Angel Delight
Who Knows Where the Time Goes
The Wood and the Wire
Rising for the Moon

I left out the live records...had I not, I would have included House Full. This is just what I would pick today.

In no particular order I think my top ten Fairport releases (at the moment) are

Unhalfbricking
What we did on our Holidays
Fairport Convention
Liege & Lief
Babbacombe Lee
Nine
Rising for the Moon
Full House
Glady's Leap
AT2

Angel Delight
Full House /House full
L&L
Expective deleted
Nine
Live in Finland 1971
Maidstone DVD
BBC box set
Bonny Bunch of roses
The one that has spanish main on it

1/ Full House
2/ Tipplers Tales
3/ Bonny Bunch of Roses
4/ Liege and Lief
5/ XXXV¹
6/ Babbacombe Lee
7/ Fairport Convention
8/ What We Did on Our Holidays
9/ Unhalfbricking
10/ Jewel in the Crown

¹Your honour, the case for the defense is that it was the first Fairport album I heard and I've always liked it.

PS - Spanish Main is on WKWTTG

Liege & Lief
Full House (expanded version)
Angel Delight
Nine
'Babbacombe' Lee
Tipplers Tales
Unhalfbricking
Bonny Bunch Of Roses
What We Did On Our Holidays
Rising For The Moon

...or something like that!

Jules

A man with true insight. So far, "History" proved you were right.  ;)

I have ALWAYS, for the 3 years I've been listening to Fairport, prefered them as a male band.

::)

ok, I will bite. why?

I'll wade in here because to a large extent I agree. It is just the sound. I love Sandy but I tend to gravitate towards her solo records. Most of my favourite Fairport tracks and albums (notwithstanding One More Chance) are by the boy band line ups, maybe because they had only just fully developed their trademark sound and the style that I enjoy on Liege & Lief, after which Sandy left.

I really love Sandy's output with Fairport but apart from Liege and Lief I get the impression that when Sandy is singing it is HER and a band, rather than the more homogenuous vibe with Swarb, Richard, Simon, Chris or Trevor leading the vocal line.

David W

There is a quote in the No More Sad Refrains biog to the effect that part of Sandy's decision to re-join Fairport was that she wanted to "feel part of something" and not just a solo singer with a backing band and also something along the lines of feeling comfortable in being a member of a band.  
Sorry if that's a bit garbled but I have not got the book to hand.

Having seen them play several times with Sandy in the band, I couldn't agree less. The "Live Convention" line-up: now, that was band!

My 2p's worth:

Liege and Lief
Unhalfbricking
What We Did On Our Holidays
Full House
Rising for the Moon
Red and Gold
Nine
Cropredy Box
Live Convention
Farewell Farewell - first Fairport album I owned so that's my excuse!

I have to agree with you 100% there.

In no particular order

Babbacombe Lee
Unhalfbricking
Gladys' Leap
Liege and Lief
What we did on our Holidays
The Wood and the Wire
Angel Delight
Tipplers Tales
Full House
Rising for the Moon

I like The stuff with Jude and Sandy, don't get me wrong, but I think most of the songs they perform sound better with an all male line-up(apart from things like rising for the moon).I much prefer both Sandy and Jude's solo work.

What we did on our Holidays
Fairport Convention (1st Album)
Heyday
Chronicle of Sorts (bootleg)
Unhalfbricking

I can feel a poll coming on.....

you're not related to Jack o'diamonds sometimes of this board are you!! ;)

I tend to agree as well. For me it's mostly because over the year's Simon's voice has matured into one of the more expressive ones the band has ever had.

No I am not.  Why, does he share my love for early Fairport?

i think most of us share your love for early fairport, but, yes Jack does as well

Sounds like a plan ;) ;D

Fairport Convention
WWDFOH
Unhalfbricking
L&L
Full House
Nine
Rising for the Moon
Angel Delight
Bony Bunch of Roses
Gladys Leap
Jewel in the Crown

Avoiding Live albums, which would actually probably make up half the list otherwise.

(yes I know thats 11, but I refuse to leave WWDFOH of the list!).

Sorry but what is WWDFOH?

Presumably "What We Did...." although my copy is named "...On Our Holidays", so dunno about the F.

I guiessed so but you never know with Fairport - so many repackages of satuff could have been one that had slipped under my radar.

Yes, sorry,

WWDOOH

I was shouting at the AA on the phone whist typing, so was a bit distracted.....

What We Did On Our Holiday's
Unhalfbricking
Liege & Lief
Full House
Nine
Gladys' Leap
Jewel In The Crown
Over The Next Hill
In Real Time (my first)
Wood And The Wire

Liege and Lief
rising for the moon
Full House
What We Did..
Unhalfbricking
Angel delight
Babbacombe Lee
Full House
Rosie
Gottle

Gottle? Seriously?

Dammit, I forgot Heyday.  I may need a rethink....

Does the BBC box set count as an album?

Jules

Well I took it to read original studio albums.  Widen it out from there and we'd, well I'd, have about a 70% different list...., and anyway it changes everyday...about from those first 5 which are always there or thereabouts.

Yes i'm in love with Swarb ;D

Hi All,
Just for the record

Full House
Nine
Babbacome Lee
Angel Delight
Rosie
Rising for the moon
live convention
live at LA Troubador
L&L
Gladys Leap

1. Holidays - The genuine bittersweet symphony.

2. L&L - Seminal blah blah blah.

3. Nine - The Folk Rock Institute of Farport Convention.

4. Full House - The double edge ax to Nine's broadsword!

5. Unhalfbricking - Unbalanced classic.

6. Jewel - The culmination to Gladys' promise.

7. Rising - Fairwood Mac....Denny style.

8. Angel - The brown ale of Fairport albums!

9. Gladys - Rebirth!

10. Occasion - Haven't heard it yet - throw the dice on this one!  ;D

Full of promise, but leaves a nasty after taste?

I'll have to avoid that one then.    ;)

Totally unsceintifically after a quick perusal it looks as if Nine is featuring very highly - a surprise possibly - first album with no original members, a repertoire largely ignored in recent years, the English folk rock band sound formed by an American / Australian axis.

Just what is it that makes it such a damn fine album - I haven't got a clue but love it anyway.

David W

Hexhamshire Lass & Polly On The Shore still get occasional outings. I'd like to see the electric band take on Bring Em Down at some point.

I like the album too. It (along with Live and Rising) for me are not Fairport.

Not Fairport? Sorry, do you mean Nine? Or am I misunderstanding you? Swarbrick, Mattacks, Pegg, Donahue and Lucas? That band? Not Fairport?

Off for a stiff drink and a lie down.

you or him?
nine not fairport!!!
silly boy

Silly, silly boy.

Very silly, eh Jim.

Me. He's young enough to drink standing up.

Let me explain. Nine is a good album; it's very good. Fairport are a very good band, in what ever guise (ok, not Gottle...). Fairport have always for me been a very English band, with a very English sound, and I don't think that Nine captures that Fairport 'sound'. Yes, I know that 'that sound' has changed drastically over the years, but on Nine, with the addition of Jerry, bringing his American blues/rock/country style to Fairport, and Trevor, bringing his very distinctive voice to the band, the overall sound isn't Fairport. I also find that Swarb's fiddle playing is vasty different in style to that on, say, Angel Delight, only two years previous.

It's also the choice of material, not just the way it was done, that doesn't really do it for me. Tracks like the Brilliancy Medley, Pleasure and Pain and, to an extent, Possibly Parson's Green, don't really fit with what Fairport are about for me, in that they are not the kind of tracks that an English Folk-Rock band would choose. As I say, it's a great album, enjoy it, but it's not that Fairport sound.

PS - after reading that through, it may seem that I am xenophobic or racist. Apologies if it comes across like that, but I assure you that I'm not  :)

What We Did On Our F****** Holidays?

That Fairport sound?  Which is that?  I guess what you mean by that is the Fairport you like best... FC is different to WWDOOH and UHB which is different to L&L which is different to....and on and on it goes.  I guess if I think of a 'Fairport sound' to me it is the sound of the 4-piece SN, DP, DM, DS lineup playing/interpreting (mostly) Fairports material from '69-'79... Personally I don't think anything Fairport have recorded in the last 23 years sounds like Fairport...but that's just me.  The simple truth is we like what we like.  I like Nine....although I prefer that lineup live to the studio album....there's a few good recordings about.

My live intro to the band was the Nine line-up plus Sandy Denny.

That, to me, is what everything else has to live up to.

Blimey! What am I doing talking about Fairport ******g Convention! It's your fault, Ollie, and I'll never forget that.

Well, I dunno. Maybe it's because there's no Simon. Just something about that album (and Live Convention too) just doesn't do it for me.

I'm with Cocker, Jim, PLW, davidmjs.  

But then, as we find time and time again, the Live Convention line up was the first band I ever saw live, and that was my introduction to Fairport (best 50p I ever spent).  

Many others have similar experiences and affinities for other line-ups.  

It usually seems to be down to the first line up we encountered.

I'm afraid I have to agree with Ollie on this one. Nine is a great album none-the-less, but songs from that period are certainly performed better by some line-ups. IMO of course, I'm not saying you have to think that way.

Wow. Just...wow.

I hear the complaint occasionally from over there that Jerry Donahue's guitar playing was "too American." I am not really sure what that means...but I will say that I can't think of a single American guitar player---anywhere!--- who sounds anything like him at all. Or even could if they tried.

Whatever. I LOVE the Nine album no matter what the nationality of the participants. Funny, though...I haven't heard anyone from Mary Chapin Carpenter's recent shows over here complaining that DM's drumming is "too English."

Children ,Children!
You've been amusing so far, but i'm afraid we've not been strict enough with you and now youre both talking rubbish in the company of your elders
  Off to bed with the pair of you

I thought that young Bean expressed his opinion with maturity and some flair  [;-)

doesnt make it right , though

I missed the fight :(

Nine is the most rounded Fairport album for me, a great mix of tunes trad and original songs, a band at the peak of it's abilities the Englishness is well represented and the rock is their in abundance, how can you not love a violin played through a wah pedal. It has everything a Fairport album should have, humour, tragedy and great playing, and Peggy wears some, very fetching boots on the album cover.

TBH, it doesn't really need to be right. Me and Ollie both agree that it's Simon that really keeps fairport alive as he's now, and was during angel delight/babbacombe lee, the only original member. After he left, they changed. It was in the folk rock genre, which starting out on liege and lief, and i love that. And even today, the songs from it are played brilliantly, but who is it that makes them so brilliant, Simon of course. That's what I think anyway.

very good young man
but in 1972 when simon took his sabbatical it was down to Dave's Swarbrick and Pegg to keep Fairport alive
due in the main to the shher brilliance of Swarb's playing

had they decided to go back playing the clubs solo or join jethro tull then there wouldnt have been  a fairport
for Simon to rejoin in '77 or for youngsters to enjoy in 2008

True.

Spot the deliberate mistake...I meant BR instead of DM of course...(although DM did sometimes fill the seat in those years, especially on the US tours)

BR joined in 76 after DM departed for the 2nd time so i guess your other deliberate mistake is 69-79?
what tours did DM fill for BR?

What about DM leaving?
Paul Warren, Tom Farnell?

He's talking about the second time - half way through Rising For The Moon, after which Bruce Rowland came in.

I agree absolutely. But is that because I first saw them in '78?  In fact I remember being rather pissed off when this Thompson bloke got up and joined them at Cropredy in 1979, and spoiled (I thought) their purer sound with a lot of incomprehensible guitar work. Young idiot that I was. (now an old idiot).

Having sparked off this - and having given Nine a damn good listen over the last couple of days - what I think sets it apart from previous Fc albums is the quality of production as much as anything. L&L, FH and especially AD are all great albums but there are some truly dreadul production values on them - at least to my ears - Nine on the other hand is fantastically balanced in production, and in content.

Of all the Fairport line ups that is the one which I now wish could reunite - having seen the L&L set at Cropredy - its interesting in Swrabs recent QandA he has such fondness for that time in Fairport.

David W

Still trying to decide on my top 10  ???

However I agree with whoever said that most people prefer the line-up as they first saw/heard it (bit like Doctor Who then).

In my case, I love Liege and Lief, but my favourite line-up is the 2nd longest ... SN, DP, RS, DM and Maaaaart.

At Cropredy, I love it when RT or JD come on, but it's when Maaaaart comes on, preferably with electric guitar in hand that does it for me.

With regard to my top 10, has anyone-else admitted to ONBB being in their top ten (also the compilation The Woodworm Years... just cos i LOVE Rubber Band)?

I must be an exception to that rule then, on both counts (first Doctor Who, Pertwee, favourites, Tom Baker & David Tennant tied)

My first "live" Fairport line up was SN, DP, RS, Maart & DM & I love Five Seasons & the live recordings from that period but my favourite run of albums is from Full House to Nine (excepting Rosie, some good songs but a bit of a mess). That does not exclude other periods from my top 10 as noted earlier. Both WWDOOH and WKWTTG are in there.

Oh, I know I am being thick here but ONBB?

Old New Borrowed Blue

 ;D

Old New Borrowed, Blue, a FAC album in 1996 - I had to look it up too. One of the two albums I don't have, along with Bonny Bunch... mind you I currently don't have AT2 either... but I thought I did!

ONBB is a very fine album - a mix of live and studio acoutsic stuff including the brilliant Lalla Rookh - which has the distinction of being a Chris Leslie / Maartin Allcock composition.

David W

Doh! Silly me. I was thinking of studio albums and tend to think of ONBB as a live one though it is actually a mixture. I do have it. In fact my very favourite rendition of The Hiring Fair is from that album.

I have AT2 too.

 

My first live experience of Fairport was 1970 - the Full House line up. Blew me away.

I saw the Nine line up plus Sandy several times and they were absolutely breathtaking.

Then I saw the re-formed line up with Maart and Ric very shortly after they came together. To be honest I wasn't expecting anything much. I didn't think I could possibly enjoy a Fairport gig without Swarb. Well I was wrong - they were sensational.

That's the wonderful thing about this institution called Fairport. It keeps taking you by surprise and delighting you when you least expect it.

Which is partly why I think picking your Top Ten albums is a pointless exercise. You're comparing apples with bicycles.

Although there's a very fine line between a Cox's Pippin and a Rayleigh Challenger.

not to mention a Bramley and a Pashley

A simple, graceful, somewhat austere brew that is always better than you remember or expect!  I recommend either (album or ale) with food to avoid unpleasant breath.

IMO, its a damn fine album cause.......its a damn fine album!  

Cigar = Cigar

On a tangent however, because of its brilliance and absence of founding members, NINE represents the precise moment where Fairport ceased being a band and became an institution.  The picture of the band at everyone's favorite watering hole in Cropredy further nails the point!

Its importance cannot be ignored!    

Despite having seen the Full House lineup at Cropredy a half dozen times or so...I'm still just insanely jealous of you for this...  ;)

"Rubber Band" is on "..Unconventional" too.

Is it just me, or has this gone slightly off-topic ???

It's just you.  >:(

Well.....it is a very broad topic, so..........it can cover......lots of.......different..........you know.........things.

Yep!  I'm outta here!

Yes!

Did make me wonder!! Only just seen this and was sitting there admiring this chap's excellent taste, particularly ignoring the blandishment of ten titles... Me? I'd add Full House and Liege & Lief and slightly re-order thus:

1. What We Did On Our Holidays
2. Unhalfbricking
3. Heyday
4. Chronicle of Sorts (bootleg)
5. Liege & Lief
6. Full House
7. Fairport Convention (could have been better.... transitional and eclectic set)

Some of the Donahue/Lucas/Denny stuff was good but definitely post hoc...

(Exeunt Omnes)

Mine would be:

1 Full House
2 What We Did On Our Holidays
3 Liege & Lief
4 Nine
5 Babbacombe Lee
6 Angel Delight
7 Rosie
8 Unhalfbricking
9 Jewel In The Crown
10 Tippler's Tales

If I did the same tomorrow it would probably be totally different!!

Sorry, been away on me hols and missed the Nine debate.

I'd just like to add my two penneth.

Fairport Nine is one of the very best Fairport albums, and quite possibly their most underrated.  Swarb sings great, Trev sings great, Jerry plays like the God he is, the band fuses together really well, DM is as legendary as ever, and Trev's production is just the right blend of crystal clean and au naturel.

There, that's that one sorted out then!

 :)

Jules

I should have added that I saw the 1979 "Farewell" line up at Cropredy, but don't remember much about it, mainly due to being in a semi-conscious horizontal position. Mighty relieved when the reunions started.

Too much Old Peculiar, Peter?  ;) ;D

It was a good day's festival, that one.

Excellent taste, thanks! I agree the 1st FC could have been better but it is still a fine debut and has a certain period charm. (and Martin was on drums, one of my favourite drummers.)

Martin L was, indeed, a very fine, innovative drummer. Played mean swing on the rare occasion! Drumming on "A Sailor's Life" is exemplary. I cannot believe it is very nearly 39 years.......  :(