The History of Fairport Convention | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | 1972 | |||
Recorded | 1967–1972 | |||
Genre | British folk rock | |||
Label | Island ICD 4 | |||
Producer | Joe Boyd, Trevor Lucas, Simon Nicol, John Wood, Fairport Convention | |||
Fairport Convention chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
The History of Fairport Convention is the first compilation of tracks by Fairport Convention, released in 1972.
At the time it was released, it appeared that the band had folded. The cover had a "family tree" by Pete Frame on the front. Another unusual aspect of the album was that a piece of ribbon was glued to the sleeve, making it look as if a royal seal had been embossed on it. Different reissues had blue ribbons, or red or green. Later reissues of the album had no ribbon, but the central seal was shown in a larger size, and the family tree was missing.
One cassette version of the album had sides 1 and 2 in the same order on the "A" side, and side 3 and 4 on the "B" side. Another version had the tracks "Si Tu Dois Partir" and "The Hen's March Through The Midden / The Four Poster Bed" switched.
In 1988 a CD version was released. It omitted ""Crazy Man Michael" and "Medley". The family tree was not on the cover, but appeared on an insert. Although the album never reached the charts it was steadfastly in print.
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI) [2] | Silver | 60,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater. They started out influenced by American folk rock, with a set list dominated by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell songs and a sound that earned them the nickname "the British Jefferson Airplane". Vocalists Judy Dyble and Iain Matthews joined them before the recording of their self-titled debut in 1968; afterwards, Dyble was replaced by Sandy Denny, and Matthews later left during the recording of their third album.
Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer".
Track Record was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most successful artists whose work appeared on the Track label were The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Thunderclap Newman and Golden Earring. The label ceased operations in 1978 but was revived in 1999.
Full House is a 1970 album by British folk rock group Fairport Convention, their fifth since their debut, Fairport Convention in 1968, and their first without a female vocalist.
(guitar, vocal) is a 1976 album by Richard Thompson. It was released by Island Records as a career retrospective after he and his wife Linda had gone into semi-retirement from the business of making and performing music following the release of Pour Down Like Silver (1975).
Unhalfbricking is the third studio album by the English folk rock band Fairport Convention and their second album released in 1969. It is seen as a transitional album in their history and marked a further musical move away from American influences towards more traditional English folk songs that had begun on their previous album, What We Did on Our Holidays and reached its peak on the follow-up, Liege & Lief, released later the same year.
Liege & Lief is the fourth album by the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. It is the third album the group released in the UK during 1969, all of which prominently feature Sandy Denny as lead female vocalist, as well as the first to feature future long-serving personnel Dave Swarbrick and Dave Mattacks on violin/mandolin and drums, respectively, as full band members. It is also the first Fairport album on which all songs are either adapted (freely) from traditional British and Celtic folk material, or else are original compositions written and performed in a similar style. Although Denny and founding bass player Ashley Hutchings quit the band before the album's release, Fairport Convention has continued to the present day to make music strongly based within the British folk rock idiom, and are still the band most prominently associated with it.
Over the Next Hill is a 2004 album by the band Fairport Convention.
Judith Aileen Dyble was an English singer-songwriter, most notable for being a vocalist and a founding member of Fairport Convention and Trader Horne. In addition, she and Ian McDonald joined and recorded several tracks with Giles, Giles and Fripp, who later became King Crimson. These tracks surfaced on the Brondesbury Tapes CD and Metaphormosis vinyl LP.
Live at the L.A. Troubadour along with its reissued counterpart House Full are the only live Fairport Convention albums recorded while Richard Thompson was a full-time band member. It was recorded in 1970 on the Full House tour and was reissued in 1986 and again in 2007, with modifications. Seven of the eight tracks are available on the House Full album with one being found only on this album.
House Full: Live at the L.A. Troubadour not to be confused with its earlier counterpart Live at the L.A. Troubadour is the only currently available live Fairport Convention album to feature Richard Thompson as a band member.
"If You Gotta Go, Go Now" (sometimes subtitled "(Or Else You Got to Stay All Night)") is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1964. The first released version was as a single in the US by the UK group the Liverpool Five in July 1965, but this did not chart in the US despite receiving much airplay, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Another British band, Manfred Mann, then issued the song as a single in September 1965 and had a number 2 hit. Fairport Convention also had a chart hit, with a French version, in 1969.
Rosie is a 1973 album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, their eighth album since their debut in 1968.
The Guv'nor vol 4 is a compilation of recordings by Ashley Hutchings.
"Meet on the Ledge" is a song written by British singer-songwriter Richard Thompson and recorded by British folk rock band Fairport Convention in 1968 on Island Records. It was their second single.
Folk rock group Fairport Convention is usually credited as the first British folk rock band. Founded in 1967 and initially covering songs by artists such as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, they developed a devoted niche following by providing electrified and upbeat versions of traditional folk tunes alongside their own compositions. In a career spanning over 50 years, notable for numerous changes of line-up as well as continued success, Fairport Convention have issued over 50 albums.
Heyday: the BBC Radio Sessions 1968–69 is an album by the English folk rock band Fairport Convention first released in 1987. As its title suggests, it consists of live versions of songs recorded for John Peel's Top Gear radio programmes.
Farewell, Farewell is a live Fairport Convention album recorded on the band's farewell tour in 1979. It is the last Fairport album to feature fiddler/mandolinist Dave Swarbrick. Tracks are drawn from three performances of the Farewell Tour during Spring 1979: at Birmingham University, Southampton University and at Derby Assembly Rooms. Most of the songs are performances of already familiar tracks from previous studio albums. In 1997 to mark the 30th anniversary of Fairport Convention, the album was remastered, repackaged and re-released as "Encore Encore". This version included the 1980 studio single "Rubber Band" plus three additional tracks recorded on the 1979 tour: "The Hens March Through the Midden/Four Poster Bed", "Flatback Caper" and "Dirty Linen".
Expletive Delighted! is a 1986 album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, their fifteenth studio album since their debut in 1968. It is the band's only album consisting solely of instrumental tracks, despite the claim "Lyric sheet enclosed" on the album cover.
Live at the BBC is a 2007 compilation album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention. It consists of tracks recorded for the BBC for various radio programmes between 1968 and 1974 and comprises four CDs in a fold-out package with a fifty-page booklet including song lyrics and numerous contemporary photographs.