''The Wood and the Wire'' is the twenty-first studio album released in 1999 by

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

returned to Fairport on drums for his first appearance since 1973, but the album most strongly features

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 ...

, who alone and with

Nigel Stonier Nigel Stonier (born 10 December 1956) is an English rock, Folk music, roots and pop record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Biography He was born in Cheshire, but first relocated to London when, at the age of 17 he secured a pub ...

, composed and took lead parts on most of it. The result, according to

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 databas ...

, was that "Leslie seems to have been part of this "moveable feast" for much longer than three years.".

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 ...

would later comment "Nigel Stonier is a great producer, writer and musician. He has really been very beneficial in helping with Chris Leslie's songwriting. The two of them have written some great songs together which seem to fit the Fairport repertoire really well." The shop shown on the cover is in

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

, Oxfordshire, and the boy looking into the window is Chris Leslie's son, Sam.

Track listing

All tracks credited to

and

unless otherwise noted # "The Wood and the Wire" - 4:08 # "The Dancer" (Chris Leslie) - 4:23 # "Wandering Man" - 4:51 # "The Heart of the Song" (Peter Scrowther) - 3:41 # "A Year and a Day" (

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 professional ...

) - 4:14 # "The Game Pieces" - 4:13 # "Close to You" (Chris Leslie) - 4:21 # "Still a Mystery" - 2:40 # "Banbury Fair" (Chris Leslie) - 4:37 # "The Lady Vanishes" - 4:52 # "The Good Fortunes"(Coleraine Jig/Trip to Yorkshire/Bonny Breast Knot/Durham's Bull) (Traditional; arrangement by Sanders and Leslie) - 3:59 # "Western Wind" (Traditional; arrangement 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 ...

, Ric Sanders, Chris Leslie and

) - 5:07 # "Don't Leave Too Soon" - 4:26 # "Rocky Road" (

Steve Tilston Steve Tilston (born 26 March 1950) is an English folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. Early life Steve Tilston was born in Liverpool and brought up in Leicestershire. A graphic designer before taking up music in 1971, Tilston lived in Bristol ...

)/"The Quaker" (Traditional; arrangement by Nicol, Pegg, Sanders, Leslie and Conway) - 5:01 ;Bonus live tracks on 2005 release # "The Good Fortunes"(Traditional; arrangement by Ric Sanders and Chris Leslie) - 4:29 # "Now Be Thankful" ( Richard Thompson,

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 ...

) - 3:44

Personnel

;Fairport Convention *

- drums, percussion *

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, vocals,

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

- guitar, vocal *

- bass, bass guitar, vocals *

- violin ;Technical * Mark Tucker - production, engineering, mixing * John Dent - mastering * Mick Toole - design, cover photo * Bob Battersby - photography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood and the Wire Fairport Convention albums 2000 albums