Curtis Ensler's Collection
Fairport Convention 06/02/1968
Barn Barbecue, Whitlesey, England
| Media | CDR 1 disc |
| J-Card Comment | Fairport Convention "One Sweet Day" Live at Whittlesey Barn Barbecue Whit Sunday June 2nd. 1968 In memory of Sandy Denny January 6th 1947 - April 21st 1978 This is an upgrade of previous seeds of my tape - it´s been speed-corrected and divided into tracks /where possible/ Thanks Tambler for the reseed.... that was banned.... Set List: 01a. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (Bob Dylan) 01b. I Don't Know Where I Stand (Joni. Mitchell) 02a. You Never Wanted Me (Jackson C. Frank) 02b. Inpromptu Song (F.C.) 02c. Some Sweet Day (Felice & Boudleaux Bryant) 03. Close The Door Lightly (Eric Anderson) 04. Reno Nevada (Richard Farina) Musicians: Sandy Denny Ashley Hutchings Martin Lamble Simon Nicol Richard Thompson I(i)an Matthews Richard Thompson in the foreword to Pamela Murray Winter's unpublished biography of Sandy Denny: "Fairport Convention in 1968 was a repository of shy, retiring North London intellectuals. Teaming up with Sandy was like a Mini colliding with a lorry-load of bricks. She taught us to express our musical passions, gave us a real voice at the sharp end of our creativity, and we played our hearts out with little thought of anything else." I'm happy that this old tape survived all these years to give you an idea what RT is talking about. This tape was recorded only 2 1/2 weeks after Sandy joined Fairport. It was their 2nd live performance together, but still it sounds like they been together for ages. And they really played their hearts out. To label this folk is really wrong, but as most of the Fairport seeds on Dime is under that category I call it that anyway! This is Fairport Convention from the Heyday era with songs drawn almost entirely from contemporary American singer-songwriters. This is the first tape I recorded on my Telefunken cassette recorder nearly 39 years ago. WARNING: If you want a perfect sound don't download this!!! (Boombox wrote in a comment: " ... actually, it's not that bad at all!") I was short of tapes and batteries and had to switch the recorder off and on between songs. The cassettes were transferred to tape reels on low speed and the tapes were in my cold and damp attic for almost 30 years. Considering this I would say despite the cuts, flutter and tape-hiss this is really high class music! It is the first known live recording with Sandy and Fairport and truly a piece of history! Cover with my original photos included (jpg). In the info-file you can read a description of the tracks on tape made by Geoff Wall/Brian Hinton in Ashley Hutchings biography. From Brian Hinton's and Geoff Wall's Ashley Hutchings book. Buy it from Helter Skelter books!/ text edited/ As to the music, the twenty minutes or so that survive give a good indication of a typical Festival set. The material is far closer to Heyday than What We Did On Our Holidays, with the songs drawn almost entirely from contemporary American singer-songwriters. "Reno Nevada" cuts off just as Richard gets going on his marathon guitar solo. What survives is still massively exciting with pounding drums and truly vicious, intense lead guitar. Dylan's "It takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry" has Iian taking the lead vocal and Sandy singing harmonies, while Ashley clunks out the bass lines of this standard blues. The band have a total command of dynamics, adding tension when necessary, then relaxing back into the song. With Joni Mitchell's "I Don't Know Where I Stand", Sandy takes over a song previously sung by Judy and makes it her own, full voiced, with a heartbreaking sense of pleading. She gives way to a perfect and shivery lead break from Richard, and then the whole band join on a riff. Sudden silence, just guitar embroidery and Sandy singing, then the drums and bass come in thrillingly. The whole thing crests to a climax, then quietens down again with just electric guitar and Ashley's bass, playing a stately gavotte. The dance years start here. Next up is "You Never Wanted Me". Sandy brings a Jackson Frank song into the band¹s repertoire, and again her voice is chilling in its intensity and sense of hurt. Pounding tom-toms from Martin, and subdued backing from the rest, giving Denny full rein. It is as if she is communicating solely to each listener, then and now. Uncanny. There follows an unknown song which some thirty years on, Ashley simply can't remember. "It's probably one of those short-lived concoctions, written by Richard and myself in the style of "If It Feels Good", that we used to throw in to rock up the set". It starts off like Chuck Berry's "Nadine", with a shuffle beat, and Ashley answering Iian's opening vocal in his (then)trademark fake American accent. Simon too plays at being a deep voiced Statesider, and Sandy wails like a banshee. The music is a deliberate pastiche, more Lovin' Spoonful than Byrds. Good time music, delivered with as lightly superior North London smirk. It ends almost like cabaret, with a final vocal flourish. "Some Sweet Day" boasts country style guitar from Richard, and features Iian lead vocals. as does Eric Andersen's "Close The Door Lightly", a sad lyric, but the music which brings a smile to your eyes. "Reno Nevada" cuts off just as Richard gets going on his marathon guitar solo. What survives is still massively exciting with pounding drums and truly vicious, intense lead guitar. |
| Trades Allowed | Yes |
Owned by Curtis Ensler
· Last Updated May 23, 2023
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