''Eight Frames a Second'' is the debut album by British

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

musician

Ralph McTell Ralph McTell (born Ralph May, 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (19 ...

. Released in the UK in 1968, it is notable for being the first record produced by

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, "Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US No ...

, and the first arranged by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

. Unusually for a new artist, the front of the album sleeve contained no reference to either McTell or the album title. The entire album cost £350 in total.

Track listing

All songs composed by Ralph McTell, except where noted. ;Side one #"Nanna's Song" - 3:05 #"The Mermaid and the Seagull" - 4:05 #"

Hesitation Blues "Hesitation Blues" is a popular song adapted from a traditional tune. One version was published by Billy Smythe, Scott Middleton, and Art Gillham. Another was published by W.C. Handy as "Hesitating Blues". Because the tune is traditional, man ...

" (Traditional; arranged by Ralph McTell) - 2:43 #"Are You Receiving Me?" - 3:37 #"

Morning Dew "Morning Dew," also known as "(Walk Me Out in the) Morning Dew," is a contemporary folk song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bonnie Dobson. The lyrics relate a fictional conversation in a post-nuclear holocaust world. Originally recorded live as a ...

" (

Bonnie Dobson Bonnie Dobson (born November 13, 1940, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)"Bonnie Dobson"< ...

; arranged by

Fred Neil Fred Neil (March 16, 1936 – July 7, 2001) was an American folk singer-songwriter active in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material&n ...

) - 3:10 #"Sleepytime Blues" - 3:50 ;Side two #"Eight Frames a Second" - 3:20 #"Willoughby's Farm" - 2:00 #"Louise" - 3:45 #"Blind Blake's Rag" (Traditional; arranged by Ralph McTell) 1:55 #"I'm Sorry - I Must Leave" - 2:15 #"Too Tight Drag" (

Blind Blake Arthur Blake (1896 – December 1, 1934), known as Blind Blake, was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He is known for recordings he made for Paramount Records between 1926 and 1932. Early life Little is known of Blake's life. ...

) - 2:29 #"Granny Takes a Trip" (Geoff Bowyer, Christopher Joe Beard) - 2:40

Personnel

*Ralph McTell - guitar, vocals *Mac McGann - double-neck guitar *Mick "Henry VIII" Bartlett - jug *"Whispering Mick" Bennett - washboard *Bob Strawbridge - mandolin *

- arrangements and musical direction ;Technical *Bobby Davidson - cover photography * Nickolas Venet - coordinator

Awards and accolades

Ralph McTell was presented with a

Gold Disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

of ''Eight Frames a Second'' during his 60th birthday concert at the Royal Festival Hall in November 2004.

Release history

Many of the tracks on this album also feature on the ''

Spiral Staircase - Classic Songs In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

Track variations

The LP released in South Africa in 1975 omits "Nanna's Song", "The Mermaid and the Seagull" and "Hesitation Blues", that are included on Record 1 of the 2-LP set. The UK 2007 CD release includes four bonus tracks:"Eight Frames a Second" CD inlay, 2007.
:14. " Suzanne" (

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

) ''(1)'' :15. "I Love My Baby" (Traditional; arranged by Ralph McTell) ''(2)'' :16. "Boodle Am Shake" (Traditional; arranged by Ralph McTell) ''(2)'' :17. "San Francisco Bay Blues" (

Jesse Fuller Jesse Fuller (March 12, 1896 – January 29, 1976) was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues". Early life Fuller was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, near Atlanta. He was sent by his mother to live with ...

) ''(3)'' ''(1) From the original album recording sessions''
''(2) Live concert recording from 1967''
''(3) Demo recording with

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

(piano).''

References

{{Authority control Ralph McTell albums 1968 debut albums Albums arranged by Tony Visconti Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon Capitol Records albums Transatlantic Records albums Logo Records albums