Fairport Convention - What We Did On Our Holidays
Original Released : 1969
Reissued (Expanded Remastered) : 2003
Label: Island
Format : [email protected]
Sandy Denny's haunting, ethereal vocals gave Fairport a big boost on her debut with the group. A more folk-based album than their initial effort, What We Did on Our Holidays was divided between original material and a few well-chosen covers. This contains several of their greatest moments: Denny's "Fotheringay," Richard Thompson's "Meet on the Ledge," the obscure Joni Mitchell composition "Eastern Rain," the traditional "She Moves Through the Fair," and their version of Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine." And more than simply being a collection of good songs (with one or two pedestrian ones), it allowed Fairport to achieve its greatest internal balance, and indeed one of the finest balances of any major folk-rock group. The strong original material, covers of little-known songs by major contemporary songwriters such as Dylan and Mitchell, and updates of traditional material were reminiscent of the blend achieved by the Byrds on their early albums, with Fairport Convention giving a British slant to the idiom. The slant would become much more British by the end of the 1960s, though, both gaining and losing something in the process. Confusingly, What We Did on Our Holidays was titled Fairport Convention in its initial U.S. release, with a different cover from the U.K. edition[/size]
US Release
[size=4]Tracklist :
01. Fotheringay (03:04)
02. Mr. Lacey (02:52)
03. Book Song (03:13)
04. 'The Lord Is In This Place, How Dreadful Is This Place?' (01:58)
05. No Man's Land (02:29)
06. I'll Keep It With Mine (05:53)
07. Eastern Rain (03:35)
08. Nottamun Town (03:10)
09. Tale In Hard Time (03:26)
10. She Moves Through The Fair (04:11)
11. Meet On The Ledge (02:49)
12. End Of A Holiday (01:08 )
13. Throwaway Street Puzzle (Bonus Track) (03:26)
14. You're Gonna Need My Help (Bonus Track) (04:07)
15. Some Sweet Day (Bonus Track) (02:32)
Personnel
Sandy Denny – vocals, acoustic & 12-string acoustic guitars, organ, piano, harpsichord
Iain Matthews – vocals, congas
Richard Thompson – electric, acoustic & 12-string acoustic guitars, piano accordion, sitar on "Book Song"
Ashley Hutchings – bass, backing vocals
Simon Nicol – electric & acoustic guitars, electric autoharp, electric dulcimer, backing vocals
Martin Lamble – drums, percussion, violin, tabla & footsteps
Addiditional Personnel
Bruce Lacey & his robots on "Mr. Lacey"
Claire Lowther – cello on "Book Song"
Kingsley Abbott – coins on "The Lord Is in This Place...," backing vocals on "Meet on the Ledge"
Paul Ghosh, Andrew Horvitch & Marc Ellington – backing vocals on "Meet on the Ledge"
Peter Ross – harmonica on "Throwaway Street Puzzle"
