''The Full English'' is the fourth solo album by

Judge Smith Christopher John Judge Smith (born 1 July 1948), is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been kno ...

. Because of the mainly acoustic instrumentation the album has an "

unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means * "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 * "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums and EPs * ''Unplugged'' (5'nizza album), 2002 * '' ...

" feel to it, and is one of the more accessible albums by Judge Smith. Three of the songs on ''The Full English'' had been released before, but were now re-recorded, "Carpet Tiles" and "Tell Me You Love Me" on ''Dome Of Discovery'' (1994), and "It's The Silence That Kills You" as part of the songstory ''

Curly's Airships ''Curly's Airships'' is a double CD by Judge Smith, released in October 2000. Smith regards the album as a new form of narrative rock music, which he calls "songstory". ''Curly's Airships'' tells about the R101 airship, crashing in France durin ...

'' (2000). Musically, the album is very diverse, incorporating Eastern European Gypsy-flavoured numbers, songs in the retro-rock tradition, narrative chansons, full-on café

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, and even Hip-Hop beats.

Production

''The Full English'' was recorded between October 2004 and March 2005, mainly in Smith's own recording studio in Sussex. Because Smith was invited by René van Commenée to give a lecture in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

on the subject of "Recording major projects with no money", he was able to record Van Commenée's drum and percussion playing in the Netherlands. Only when a considerable amount of recording had already been done, Marco Olivotto offered to mix and release the album, which was done at the Labour Of Love studio in

Rovereto Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River. History Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier b ...

, Italy, in March 2005.

Release

The album was released 6 May 2005, the same day

Van der Graaf Generator Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...

(a band co-founded by Judge Smith) did a reunion concert in the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

in London. In the afternoon of that day Judge Smith did one of his scarce live-performances, in the

Cobden Club The Cobden Club was a society and publishing imprint, based in London, run along the lines of a gentlemen's club of the Victorian era, but without permanent club premises of its own. Founded in 1866 by Thomas Bayley Potter for believers in Free ...

in London. The same four musicians that appear on the album also performed the concert, and all songs from the album (and some more) were played.

Cover art

The art work shows a

full English breakfast A full breakfast is a substantial cooked breakfast meal, often served in the United Kingdom and Ireland, that typically includes back bacon, sausages, eggs, black pudding, baked beans, some form of potato, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast, and ...

, and the four musicians about to eat various parts of it.

Track listing

All songs written by Judge Smith. # "Take It Away" – 5:00 # "Carpet Tiles" – 5:30 # "I Want Some Of It" – 4:01 # "Chris Does It Better" – 3:35 # "Not Drowning But Waving" – 4:25 # "Seemed Such A Nice Boy" – 4:52 # "Advance The Spark" – 4:36 # "Like A Rock" – 6:04 # "Tell Me You Love Me" – 3:58 # "We'll Always Have Paris" – 3:18 # "It's The Silence That Kills You" – 3:20 # "But Is It Art?" – 5:54 There is an extra, hidden video-track in avi-format on the CD. #

"being judge(d)" – 10:44

Personnel

– voice * John Ellis – guitar, bass * Michael Ward-Bergeman – accordion, organ, piano * René van Commenée – percussion

References

External links

Section about ''The Full English'' on Judge Smith's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Full English 2005 albums Judge Smith albums