Fairport Convention:the Fairport/Sandy/Richard song by song thread*

Not a fan of Fairport/Denny/Lucas Dylan cover versions and given how good song writers they were, I felt they were completely unnecessary.

This is better than most but not a patch on Dylan's own version

 

Short, sweet and wonderful. Denny and Swarb were a thing of beauty together.

 

I love this track, but it does remind me more of a Richard and Linda Thompson song for some reason. Richards influence maybe a little too strong on this and could easily have been on I Want To See The Bright Lights with the brass section etc.

 

Yes...I hear the influence to.

 

I agree. Apart from Elvis, who copies Dylan's phasing, but with his own perfect voice, there are no cover versions of this song superior to Bob's original.

 

Track listing
All tracks credited to Sandy Denny unless otherwise stated

1. "It'll Take a Long Time" - 5:13
2. "Sweet Rosemary" - 2:29
3. "For Nobody to Hear" - 4:14
4. "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" (Bob Dylan) - 3:56
5. "The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood" (Music: Traditional; Lyrics: Richard Fariña) - 4:28
6. "Listen, Listen" - 3:58
7. "The Lady" - 4:01
8. "Bushes and Briars" - 3:53
9. "It Suits Me Well" - 5:05
10. "The Music Weaver" - 3:19

The remastered and reissued version included five bonus tracks:

1. "Here In Silence" (Peter Elford, Don Fraser) - 3:53[8]
2. "Man of Iron" (Peter Elford, Don Fraser) - 7:40[8]
3. "Sweet Rosemary" [Demo Version] - 3:00[9]
4. "Ecoute, Ecoute" - 3:59[10]
5. "It'll Take a Long Time" [Live Version] - 5:22[9]

Personnel

• Sandy Denny - lead vocals, acoustic guitar (2, 6, 8), piano (7, 9, 10)
• Richard Thompson - electric guitar (1-4, 8, 9), acoustic guitar (1, 4), mandolin (6)
• Trevor Lucas - acoustic guitar (4, 9)
• Sneaky Pete Kleinow - pedal steel guitar (1, 4)
• Dave Swarbrick - violin (2, 5, 10)
• John Bundrick - organ (1), piano (4)
• Pat Donaldson - bass (1-4, 6, 8, 9)
• Timi Donald - drums (1-4, 6, 8, 9)
• John Kirkpatrick - concertina (9)
• Linda Thompson - vocals (4)
• Harry Robinson - string arrangement (6, 7, 10)
• Allen Toussaint - brass arrangement (3)
• uncredited musicians - autoharp (2),[11] harmonica (9), flute organ (9)[12]

Production

• Producer: Trevor Lucas
• Recording Engineers: John Wood, Cy Frost

 

track 5) The Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood (Music: Traditional; Lyrics: Richard Fariña)

Showcasing the effortless quiet beauty of just Sandy's voice, unaccompanied by
instruments (but with Swarb on solo violin to close it beautifully).
Brilliantly backed...by Sandy herself on harmonies.
Stunning!

5/5, if we're into ratings!

 

track 6) Listen Listen (Denny)

God I love this one...brilliant backing by Richard on mandolin, Pat on bass and Timi in the pocket on the kit.
Beautiful string arrangement by Harry Robinson.

This one soars.

 

Linda Thompson on Sandy Denny

 

Richard Thompson on Fairport and Sandy Denny's "Gustav Mahler emotional see-saw"

 

This is one of the reasons I am a music fan. Music does not get any more perfect than this. Sandys vocals are incredible on this and that solo by Swarbrick is one of my favourite moments in music, full stop. Its not flash or fast - just perfect for the piece. Gives me goose bumps every time I listen to it.

 

This is one of Sandy's best.

 

two more favorites up today...

track 7) The Lady (Denny)

Damn...what a brilliant songwriter...and what an amazing talent!
Love the string arrangement...chills.

 

track 8) Bushes & Briars (Denny)

Wow wow wow....amazingly beautiful. A true fave!!
Time to pull out my vinyl......always love this one.

Legendary Sneaky Pete adds his pedal steel making for such a sweet sweet element.

 

BTW, @Kiss73 ...love your Swarb avatar...

 

This is the only Swarb vinyl I have...still in the (opened) shrink...sweet.

 

Why, thank you.

It not only happens to be a great image, however I am a big fan of Swarbrick and this album in particular. Its a fully instrumental album of Scottish and Irish tunes, Jigs and Reels. I became aware of Fairport first through What We Did On Our Holidays - which Swarb doesn't even appear on - but through reading about the band, bought this one day in a shop - and to be honest it wasn't what I was expecting it to be - in my naivety at that point I was expecting something more akin to Fairport I recall first listening to it - and to be frank I am not much of a traditional folk music fan and wsnt sure initially if I was enjoying it- but I sat blown away at the level of playing (not unlike the first time I heard Charlie Parker) and played the album over and over thereafter.

From there it opened the associated world of artists Swarb played with, including Fairport, Martin Carthy, Ian Campbell Folk Group, A.L Lloyd amongst many more.

 

Great album.....

So leading on from my tale above.....as I started collecting Swarbrick albums, of course I picked up albums by Martin Carthy and Swarbrick.....I would sit late at night listening to them with my headphones on and loved Swarbrick, but was less sure about this Carthy bloke. The voice is an acquired taste - but he sure could play guitar. My first album was Prince Heathen and then I picked up another, then another...and before long had acquired the taste required to appreciate Carthy and that set me off buying his solo albums.

Luckily I have seen Swarb and Carthy live as well as Martin on his own .

Its a testament to their skills that their last studio album together - Straws In The Wind - in 2006, is as good as their first from 1965

 

track 9) It Suits Me Well (Denny)

What a perfectly beautiful track and arrangement. Such a fine production too
with Sandy up front, center. Perfect. Just another example of what a great ambience Sound Techniques had.

• Producer: Trevor Lucas
• Recording Engineers: John Wood, Cy Frost

 

track 10) The Music Weaver (Denny)

This closing track says it all...Sandy: The Music Weaver indeed.
Brilliant! Lovely...chills. The violin...chills.

 

Up there with my favourite Sandy Denny tracks. Love the story of Jan The Gypsy - simply a great piece of writing.

Dave Swarbrick did a version of this on his Smiddyburn album following Sandys death as a tribute.



You may recognise a few of the musicians that played on Smiddyburn - a Full House reunion.

• Dave Swarbrick - violin, mandolin, vocals
• Simon Nicol - guitar
• Dave Pegg - bass, mandolin
• Dave Mattacks - drums, percussion
• Richard Thompson - guitar, mandolin, mandocello
• Beryl Marriott - piano, piano accordion, clavichord
• John McCormack - double bass
• Bruce Rowland - drums
• Roger Marriott - harmonica

 

The next round...two by Richard, one by Sandy before Fairport resumes.



Fairport....

1. Rising for the Moon (1975)
2. Gottle O'Geer (1976)
3. The Bonny Bunch of Roses (1977)
4. Tipplers Tales (1978)
5. Gladys' Leap (1985)
6. Expletive Delighted! (1986)

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Sandy...

• Like an Old Fashioned Waltz (June 1974)
• Rendezvous (1977)

Solo live albums

• The BBC Sessions 1971–1973 (1997)
• Gold Dust (1998) (live recording from final tour, 1977)
• Live at the BBC (2007 4-disc compilation)
• Sandy – Deluxe edition, 2012 – includes "Live at Ebbetts Field" (previously unreleased concert on disc 2)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Richard...

May 1974 - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight Richard and Linda Thompson
September 1974 - Hokey Pokey Richard and Linda Thompson — —
1975 Pour Down Like Silver Richard and Linda Thompson

 

So the next three in order of release:

1) Richard & Linda -- I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight -- released May 1974
2) Sandy -- Like An Old fashioned Waltz -- May 1974
3) Richard & Linda -- Hokey Pokey September 1974

 

The twofer of “Smiddyburn/Flittin’” has long been a favorite of mine. Beryl Marriott is so great!

 

I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
is the second album released by Richard Thompson, and his first to include his then wife, Linda Thompson, the pair being credited as Richard and Linda Thompson. It was issued by Island Records in the UK in 1974. Although the album did not sell and was critically ignored (and not released outside of the UK until by Hannibal Records in 1983), it has been descried as "a timeless masterpiece" and considered one of the finest releases by the two singers, whether working singly or together. -wiki

• John Wood – producer and engineer...another classic from the soundboard of Mr. Wood!

Background
After the marked lack of success achieved by his first album, Henry the Human Fly, British singer-songwriter/guitarist Richard Thompson started a personal and professional relationship with Linda Peters, a session singer. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight was the first album by the duo of Richard and Linda Thompson.

Sessions for the album took place at the Sound Techniques studio in Chelsea, London, over a few weeks during spring 1973, with house engineer John Wood co-producing with Thompson. The album, provisionally titled Hokey Pokey, was recorded on a shoestring budget of £2,500; owing to vinyl shortages, it was not released until 1974.[2]

Where his first album was treated harshly by the critics, the second was eventually hailed as a masterpiece. It is now regarded as a classic of English folk rock and one of the Thompsons' finest achievements.

In the sleeve notes for the 2004 CD re-release, David Suff writes: "Throughout the album Richard's sombre, dark songs are driven by his masterful understated guitar and Linda's haunting spiritual vocals. The songs detail a beautiful yet desolate world of life before the fall, the lives of the homeless, the thief and the inebriate. The songs are thoroughly English in their mood and responsibility, wry observations of the hopelessness of the human condition."[2] Considering the song "End of the Rainbow", Suff writes:

Richard denies that the song is totally pessimistic, "there's always hope in the third verse of my songs" yet the overall effect is a magnificent evocation of disillusionment. Thompson's songs are despairing but not self-pitying, leaving the listener with an abiding sense of peace and, paradoxically hope.[2]



Reception

Initially ignored by reviewers, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight later came to be highly regarded. Robert Christgau rated it highly when it was re-released as one-half of Live! (More or Less) noting that "[they] don't sentimentalize about time gone—they simply encompass it in an endless present."[6] When it was re-released in 1984, along with other albums in the Thompsons' catalogue, Kurt Loder writing in Rolling Stone described it as a "timeless masterpiece" with "not a single track that's less than luminous".[8]

More recent reviews are equally complimentary. AllMusic notes that the album is "nothing short of a masterpiece" and calls it "music of striking and unmistakable beauty".[3] Q (May 2007, p. 135): "After his 1971 departure from Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson found his ideal foil in recent bride Linda. A hugely inventive guitarist, he gives full vent to his talent on this dark, brooding album. Indeed, he never quite recaptured the murky demons inside the likes of 'Withered and Died' ever again." In the 2004 CD re-release, Chris Jones at the BBC noted that "Bright Lights...performs the most perfect balancing act between hard-bitten cynicism and honest humanism."[11]

It was voted number 814 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[12] In 2003 the album was placed at number 479 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and was placed at number 485 in the 2020 edition.[13][14] The album also appeared in the Mojo "100 Greatest Albums Ever Made".[2]

Writing for Something Else! in 2018, Preston Frazier said, "'The Great Valerio' is just one gem among gems. Richard Thompson's writing is masterful, painting in broad, vivid strokes. Time indeed stands still as Linda Thompson tells the vivid tale, with a hint of detached anxiety... Featuring only Linda's voice and Richard Thompson's Kensington-style picked acoustic, 'The Great Valerio' is dark, yet vivid as it leads the listener to imagine the great fall. Linda Thompson never oversells the proposition, using her voice like the fine instrument it is."[15]

Track listing
All tracks are written by Richard Thompson (except "Together Again" by Buck Owens)

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "When I Get to the Border" 3:26
2. "The Calvary Cross" 3:51
3. "Withered and Died" 3:24
4. "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" 3:07
5. "Down Where the Drunkards Roll" 4:05
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "We Sing Hallelujah" 2:49
7. "Has He Got a Friend for Me" 3:32
8. "The Little Beggar Girl" 3:24
9. "The End of the Rainbow" 3:55
10. "The Great Valerio" 5:22
2004 CD bonus tracks (previously unreleased)
No. Title Length
11. "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" (live) 3:04
12. "Together Again" (live) 2:46
13. "Calvary Cross" (live) 9:54
Bonus tracks were recorded at the Roundhouse, London, on 7 September 1975.

Personnel
Musicians

• Richard Thompson – guitar, vocals, Hammered dulcimer (10), mandolin (1,8), tin whistle (1,7), piano (2), electric piano (5), harmonium (7)
• Linda Thompson – vocals
• Timi Donald – drums
• Pat Donaldson – bass guitar
• John Kirkpatrick – accordion, concertina (1,3,7)
• Simon Nicol – dulcimer (5)
• Brian Gulland – krummhorn (1,6)
• Richard Harvey – krummhorn (1,6)
• Royston Wood – harmony bass vocals (6, possibly 2)
• Trevor Lucas – harmony vocals (5, possibly 2)
• The CWS (Manchester) Silver Band (4,7)

Bonus tracks: Richard and Linda Thompson with John Kirkpatrick, Dave Pegg (bass guitar) and Dave Mattacks (drums).

Technical

• John Wood – producer and engineer...another classic from the soundboard of Mr. Wood!
• Richard Thompson – producer