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Adam L
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« on: December 14, 2007, 03:27:21 PM » |
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Hey y'all.
I'm new to the forum and (I hate to admit this) I've never heard any Fairport Convention.
Can someone suggest what the best album would be as a starter?
Best,
a
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gower flower (Shirl)
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« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2007, 03:28:53 PM » |
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What We did on Our Holidays, Unhalfbricking, Angel Delight, Full House. *gulp*  It'll do fer starters anyway.  |
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That's not dirt, it's patination!
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jude
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« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2007, 03:31:46 PM » |
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Hi Adam, glad you're finding your way around the board.... I expect the answers will come flooding in from all directions. Ummm, you might like to have a look at the signature bit under my name....not that I'm suggesting anything, oh dearie me, would I do that?   Jude |
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Jules Gray
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« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2007, 03:33:26 PM » |
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No, no, no (with respect, GF). Start with Liege & Lief. It's their benchmark album. The album all their others have to be measured against.
Fairport albums come in all different flavours, but Liege & Lief is the one album most of us would agree is a true masterpiece.
Jules
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Now be thankful for good things below
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Waterloo Wonderer
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« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2007, 03:36:36 PM » |
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Don't know where you live Adam L but I would strongly suggest going to the local record / cd library and seeing what they've got there. Then before you commit yourself you will have heard at least some. The style and content of the albums vary considerably.
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HA! That's so funny I forgot to laugh... excluding that first Ha.
Stewie Griffin.
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davidmjs
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« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2007, 03:39:08 PM » |
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You need the first five albums  Fairport Convention (featuring Jude of this Parish of course), What We Did on Our Holidays, Unhalfbricking, Liege and Lief, and Full House. An amazing journey over not much more than 3 years! The History of FC is a great compilation of the early stuff... House Full is the best live album of the best lineup (It's ok, I can hear the intake of breath from up in the Lakes...I'm immune to it!)... Another interesting place to start might be one of the CD sets from the anniversary years where they do a big run through of their material over the years...the 3-CD set The Cropredy Box from the 1997 30th anniversary show is probably the best (and best value) of this type...cheap as chips. I'll let others more qualified than myself make suggestions on the post-85 band.... Enjoy, you lucky thing... |
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Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
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Rory.
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« Reply #6 on: December 14, 2007, 03:40:17 PM » |
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Don't bother, Adam, they're all rubbish |
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davidmjs
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« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2007, 03:40:24 PM » |
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No, no, no (with respect, GF). Start with Liege & Lief. It's their benchmark album. The album all their others have to be measured against.
Fairport albums come in all different flavours, but Liege & Lief is the one album most of us would agree is a true masterpiece.
Jules
Yes and no... I listen to it less than the other 4 of the first 5 (if you see what I mean!).... |
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Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
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Nick Reg
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« Reply #8 on: December 14, 2007, 03:47:05 PM » |
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No, no, no (with respect, GF). Start with Liege & Lief. It's their benchmark album. The album all their others have to be measured against.
Fairport albums come in all different flavours, but Liege & Lief is the one album most of us would agree is a true masterpiece.
Jules
Yes and no... I listen to it less than the other 4 of the first 5 (if you see what I mean!).... Almost agree. L & L is of course outstanding and groundbreaking but WWDOOH and Unhalfbricking are even better. The other 2 are pretty damn good too. |
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There's a man with a mullet going mad with a mallet in Millets
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Nick Reg
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« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2007, 03:48:52 PM » |
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Welcome Adam but how come you're on the FC forum if you've never heard them??
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There's a man with a mullet going mad with a mallet in Millets
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ColinB
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« Reply #10 on: December 14, 2007, 04:15:27 PM » |
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The History of FC is a great compilation of the early stuff...
Agreed. But if you're wanting to know what the band sounds like nowadays I'd recommend Over The Next Hill. |
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PLW (Peter)
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« Reply #11 on: December 14, 2007, 04:45:28 PM » |
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Welcome Adam but how come you're on the FC forum if you've never heard them??
Er, Nick, it's the folk corporation forum - not just Fairport. |
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Adam L
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« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2007, 04:54:52 PM » |
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Thanks everyone - think I'm gonna go for Liege and Lief for now. NickReg, that's a fair enough question (why am I on the Fairport forum if I've never heard their music?). I'm besotted with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. I grew up on a diet of Garcia and Grisman. I've got a twisted infatuation with Harry Smith's Smithsonian folk anthologies. And (weirdly) I've just written a comedy show about the life and works of Charles Dickens as told by Californian folk musicians. So that's what drew me to this forum. Once I came to the forum it didn't take long for me to notice that Fairport Convention are all over it. So I looked at some clips on You Tube and then kicked myself several times saying, 'why hadn't I heard this music years ago?!?'
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it...
a
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Mindwarper
Embrace your inner geeky prog freak
Folkcorp Guru
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Posts: 570
Loc: S.F. Ca. USA
Friendly Drunkard
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« Reply #13 on: December 14, 2007, 05:59:30 PM » |
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They have so many cds. I can tell you my four favorite studio cds from a few different eras.
1969 -Liege and Leif
1971- Angel delight
1978- Tipplers tales (the double cd is even better but it is out of print)
1986 - Expetitive deleted (All instrumental post Swarb era, Maart era FC)
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Stop the violens, Visualise whirled peas
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koho (Koen)
Can be! Not will be!
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Loc: Zaandam, The Netherlands
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« Reply #14 on: December 14, 2007, 09:27:55 PM » |
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For a newbie, I'd recommend
Meet On The Ledge - The Classic Years, the 2CD set. Forget any other compilation album, this is the definite one as far as I am concerned, even though it only goes to 1975. But it covers excellently what FC is about. A huge variety of music. Yes you can get Liege And Lief, or Unhalfbricking or any of the classic albums but in this period the band changed so often that none truly "represent" what makes Fairport Fairport. Get L&L and you're in for a surprise when you get the next album, etc etc. But this is a fab overview. If you don't like it, don't bother further. If you do, well, better warn your wallet.
also, if you like the former-
The Cropredy Box. Cropredy 1997 on 3 CD's and as davidmjs said, can be found very cheaply but don't be fooled by the price. Wonderful live album, maybe made more special when you were there (this was my favourite Cropredy I think). Very emotional event, or that's what I remember of it anyway; the CD takes me right back. Yes you do have to wade through rather lengthy introductions by Joe Boyd and Ashley Hutchings, but I for one am glad they are on the album - again maybe because I was there, I don't know how it would translate into newbie ears.
To start with, these 2 I would recommend to any newcomer.
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Jules Gray
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« Reply #15 on: December 16, 2007, 02:57:59 PM » |
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L & L is of course outstanding and groundbreaking but WWDOOH and Unhalfbricking are even better.
I can't agree there. I think that Holidays is great, but its highpointss don't soar quite so high for me compared to other albums. Unhalfbricking on the other hand does indeed soar high in places, but overall it's a patchy affair. Liege & Lief is beyond compare to my ears. The expanded Full House would be my second suggestion. Jules |
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Now be thankful for good things below
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David W
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« Reply #16 on: December 16, 2007, 03:35:34 PM » |
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Hi there,
If you're interested in FC and live in the UK get along to one of their gigs - that will tell you wo they are and what they do better than anything,
David W
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Waterloo Wonderer
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« Reply #17 on: December 16, 2007, 09:56:17 PM » |
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If you're interested in FC and live in the UK get along to one of their gigs - that will tell you wo they are and what they do better than anything, Perhaps. |
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HA! That's so funny I forgot to laugh... excluding that first Ha.
Stewie Griffin.
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Mindwarper
Embrace your inner geeky prog freak
Folkcorp Guru
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Posts: 570
Loc: S.F. Ca. USA
Friendly Drunkard
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« Reply #18 on: December 17, 2007, 06:49:18 PM » |
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I would not recommend that. The new line up is not the same as the past. They are more adult contemporary then folk rock now. They no longer have a lead guitarist. I'm not as fond of the post Maart era material and it would not be a starting point for anyone I would know. I consider it "meh" material. But someone else might love it. But the new line up is quite different then the past. So it does not reflect on the past FC that well. I don't think it is a good starting point.
Hi there,
If you're interested in FC and live in the UK get along to one of their gigs - that will tell you wo they are and what they do better than anything,
David W
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Stop the violens, Visualise whirled peas
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Dr Monk
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« Reply #19 on: December 17, 2007, 09:43:26 PM » |
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I would not recommend that. The new line up is not the same as the past. They are more adult contemporary then folk rock now. They no longer have a lead guitarist. I'm not as fond of the post Maart era material and it would not be a starting point for anyone I would know. I consider it "meh" material. But someone else might love it. But the new line up is quite different then the past. So it does not reflect on the past FC that well. I don't think it is a good starting point.
Half agree with you Mindwarper - the recent albums do have a lot less bite to them,and I would still reccommend the earlly albums as a starting point - but live they still play a good deal of material from the early days, and in some good tight arrangements, plus the better stuff from the past few years. They are still a very good live act. My ex only really caught the fairport bug after seeing them live. |
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