''The Cropredy Box'' is an album by Fairport Convention recorded at their annual live concert in

Cropredy Cropredy ( ) is a village and civil parish on the River Cherwell, north of Banbury in Oxfordshire. History The village has Anglo-Saxon origins and is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The toponym comes from the Old English words ''cropp'' ...

, Oxfordshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to celebrate the band's thirtieth anniversary in 1997. Featuring many songs for which the band had become noted, the set also features performances from many former members including violinist

Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was ...

, original vocalist

Judy Dyble Judith Aileen Dyble (pronounced ''Die-bull''; 13 February 1949 – 12 July 2020) 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 McDona ...

, and

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 ...

. Commentary is provided by their first manager,

Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked on recordings of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Ba ...

, and Ashley Hutchings. The album was packaged as three- CD boxed set including a booklet which featured a description of the compilation by

Simon Nicol Simon John Breckenridge Nicol (born 13 October 1950) is an English guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founding member of British folk rock group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the ...

, track listings, and photographs from the concert itself. Extras were a track recorded for a Ken Russell documentary film about traditional music, and a prank phone call to

which had circulated on tape amongst the band's fans for many years.

Track listing

Disc one

# "Intro" - Rory McLeod introduces

(4:56) # "Wings" (Hutchings, Nicol) (4:30) # "

Jack O'Diamonds ''Jack O'Diamonds'' is a musical play with music by Noel Gay and book and lyrics by Clifford Grey and H.F. Maltby. It opened at London's Gaiety Theatre on 25 February 1935. The ''New York Times'' reported that it opened to good notices and tha ...

" (vocals-

) (Carruthers, Dylan) (3:37) # "Time Will Show the Wiser" (

Emitt Rhodes Emitt Lynn Rhodes (February 25, 1950 – July 19, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer. At 14 years, Rhodes began his career in musical ensembles the Palace Guard as the group's drummer before jo ...

) (3:14) # " Mr. Lacey" (vocals - Vikki Clayton) (Hutchings) (3:11) # " Suzanne" ( Cohen) (7:05) # "Genesis Hall" (

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

) (3:51) # "Million Dollar Bash" (Dylan, Hutchings) (4:27) # "Come all Ye" ( Denny, Hutchings) (5:23) # "

Reynardine Reynardine is a traditional English ballad (Roud 397). In the versions most commonly sung and recorded today, Reynardine is a werefox who attracts beautiful women so that he can take them away to his castle. What fate meets them there is usually l ...

" (Traditional) (3:57) # "

Matty Groves "Matty Groves", also known as "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard" or "Little Musgrave", is a ballad probably originating in Northern England that describes an adulterous tryst between a young man and a noblewoman that is ended when the woman's ...

" (Traditional) (7:38)

Disc two

# " Danny Boy" (Traditional arr. spontaneously) (3:11) # "Intro" - Ashley Hutchings (8:24) # "Walk Awhile" (Thompson, Swarbrick) (4:29) # " Now Be Thankful" (Thompson, Swarbrick) (3:49) # "Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman" (Thompson, Swarbrick) (7:32) # "Angel Delight" (Swarbrick, Pegg, Nicol, Mattacks) (4:38) # "

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

" (

Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

, McCartney) (vocals -

Dan Ar Braz Dan Ar Braz (; born Daniel Le Bras on 15 January 1949 in Quimper) is a Breton guitarist-singer-composer and the founder of L'Héritage des Celtes, a 50-piece Pan-Celt band. Leading guitarist in Celtic music, Dan Ar Braz has recorded as a solo ...

) (7:30) # " Cut Across Shorty" ( Wilkin, Walker) (5:41) # "Sloth" (Thompson, Swarbrick) (13:06) # "Rosie" (Swarbrick) (6:02) # "Solo" ( Denny) (vocals - Cathy LeSurf) (5:23)

Disc three

# "

John Barleycorn "John Barleycorn" is an English and Scottish folk song listed as number 164 in the Roud Folk Song Index. John Barleycorn, the song's protagonist, is a personification of barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it: beer and whisky. ...

" (Traditional) (11:29) # "Wat Tyler" ( McTell, Nicol) (6:37) # "Red and Gold" (McTell) (6:56) # "Jewel in the Crown" (Julie Matthews) (4:13) # "Woodworm Swing" ( Sanders) (5:10) # "John Gaudie" (incl. "John Gaudie", "Jack Brook Da Prison Door", "Donald Blue" & "The Bonnie Isle O'Whalsay") (Trad. arr Chris Leslie) (5:38) # "Fiddlestix" (Trad. arr Swarbrick) (3:09) # "Dirty Linen" (Trad. arr Swarbrick) (6:36) # "

Si Tu Dois Partir The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. E ...

" (Dylan) (4:10) # "

Meet on the Ledge "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. Background The song was taken from the albu ...

" (Thompson) (7:31)

Bonus tracks

:# "

Seventeen Come Sunday "Seventeen Come Sunday", also known as "As I Roved Out", is an English folk song (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud 277, George Malcolm Laws, Laws O17) which was arranged by Percy Grainger for choir and brass accompaniment in 1912 and used in the first ...

" (Trad. arr Nicol, Pegg, Mattacks, Sanders, Leslie Westbury, Woodworm) (3:07) :# "The April Fool Tape" (5:23) ::* participants: Sergeant McLeod played by Simon Nicol, Mrs Gloria Swarbrick, David Swarbrick

Personnel

- Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars * Richard Thompson - Vocals, Electric Guitar * Ashley Hutchings - Vocals, Bass Guitar *

Dave Mattacks David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician and as a performing artist. Apart from playing the drums, he ...

- Drums *

- Vocals, Recorder *

- Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals *

Dave Pegg Dave Pegg (born 2 November 1947) is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk ...

- Bass Guitar, Vocals *

- Electric Guitar, Vocals *

Chris Leslie Christopher Michael Leslie (born 28 June 1972) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley from 1997 to 2005 and Nottingham East from 2010 to 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he defected to form ...

- Vocals, Batocaster!, Bouzouki, Mandolin *

Maartin Allcock Maartin Allcock (born Martin Allcock; 5 January 1957 – 16 September 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer. Biography Born in Middleton, Greater Manchester, Middleton, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester), E ...

- Keyboards, Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar *

Jerry Donahue Jerry Donahue (born September 24, 1946, Manhattan, New York City) is an American guitarist and producer primarily known for his work in the British folk rock scene as a member of Fotheringay and Fairport Convention as well as being a member of t ...

- Electric Guitar * Bruce Rowland - Tambourine *

Ric Sanders Richard Sanders (born 8 December 1952) is an English violinist who has played in jazz-rock, folk rock, British folk rock and folk groups, including Soft Machine and Fairport Convention. Biography Sanders' first experience with a professiona ...

- Violin, Keyboards

Additional vocals

* Vikki Clayton *

* Cathy Lesurf * Martin Carthy *

Norma Waterson Norma Christine Waterson (15 August 1939 – 30 January 2022) was an English singer and songwriter, best known as one of the original members of The Watersons, a celebrated English traditional folk group. Other members of the group included ...

Chris While Chris While (born 1956) is an English songwriter, singer and musician, known particularly for her vocals and live performances. She has worked as a solo artist, a songwriter and as a member of a number of duos and groups. Her music is often cla ...

* Julie Matthews *

Heather Wood Heather may refer to: Plants *The heather family, or Ericaceae, particularly: **Common heather or ling, ''Calluna'' **Various species of the genus ''Cassiope'' **Various species of the genus '' Erica'' Name * Heather (given name) * Heather (s ...

* Gill Allcock *

Jacqui McShee Jacqueline 'Jacqui' McShee (born 25 December 1943) is an English singer. Since 1966 she has performed with Pentangle, a jazz-influenced folk rock band. Biography McShee was born in Catford, South London. Her musical career began as a soloist ...

* Danny Thompson Jnr

References

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

*
Fairport Convention fansite description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cropredy Box, The Fairport Convention albums 1999 live albums