''Fairport Chronicles'' is a 1976 compilation album of the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention, including songs from 1968 to the departure of the last original member in 1972. The double album is unique in that it was only released in the USA, features original material and American covers over the traditional material usually associated with Fairport, and includes songs from side projects. All of the material was originally issued in the USA on

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

, which explains the exclusion of songs taken from their first, pre-

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

album, which was only later released in the United States.

History

A mere two traditional songs are present: "Bridge Over The River Ash" from 1971's ''Angel Delight'', and "Tam Lin" from 1969's seminal British folk-rock recording, ''Liege and Lief''. Originals include Richard Thompson's "Tale in Hard Time", "Meet on the Ledge", "Genesis Hall", and "Farewell, Farewell" (all sung by Sandy Denny); Denny's "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" (a hit for Judy Collins and later covered by

Eva Cassidy Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first album ...

), "Come All Ye" (co-written with bassist Ashley "Tyger" Hutchings), "Listen, Listen" (from Denny's album, ''Sandy''), and "Fotheringay"; "Walk Awhile", "Now Be Thankful", and the anti-war statement "Sloth" by Richard Thompson and fiddle/mandolin player Dave Swarbrick; and the gentle instrumental, "End of a Holiday", by perhaps the must unsung individual in the band, second guitarist Simon Nicol. Although closely associated with the British folk movement, Fairport, from their formation in 1967, excelled at covering American folk and pop tunes, especially those of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and Joni Mitchell. Although no Mitchell songs made it onto this compilation, Bob Dylan is covered with "I'll Keep It With Mine", "Million Dollar Bash", and "Percy's Song". One of the album's highlights is Fotheringay's interpretation of

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

's "The Way I Feel" (Fotheringay was Denny's post-Fairport band). The other two covers –

Dion DiMucci Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known simply as Dion, is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues. Initially as the lead singer of Dion and t ...

's "My Girl The Month of May" and Buddy Holly's "Learning The Game" – are taken from the one-off album ''Rock On'' by an aggregation of Fairport members and friends collectively known as ''The Bunch''.

Track listing

;Side one # "Tale in Hard Time" ( Richard Thompson) –3:24 # "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" (Sandy Denny) –5:08 # "Walk Awhile" (Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick) –3:57 # "Come All Ye" (Sandy Denny, Ashley Hutchings) –4:55 # "Listen, Listen" (Sandy Denny) –3:56 ;Side two #

"Bridge Over the River Ash" (trad. arr. Fairport Convention) –2:10 # "I'll Keep It with Mine" (

) –5:50 # "My Girl the Month of May" (

) –2:12 # "Million Dollar Bash" (Bob Dylan) –2:55 # "The Way I Feel" (

) –4:44 # "Learning the Game" ( Buddy Holly) –2:05 ;Side three #

"Meet on the Ledge" (Richard Thompson) –2:29 # "Percy's Song" (Bob Dylan) –7:52 # "Now Be Thankful" (Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick) –2:22 # "Tam Lin" (trad. arr. Fairport Convention) –7:20 ;Side four #

"Genesis Hall" (Richard Thompson) –3:37 # "Fotheringay" (Sandy Denny) –3:03 # "Sloth" (Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick) –9:19 # "Farewell, Farewell" (Richard Thompson) –2:38 # "End of a Holiday" (Simon Nicol) –1:06

Personnel

* Richard Thompson: lead guitar (Side One, all tracks; Side Two, tracks 2, 3, 4, & 6; Side Three, all tracks; Side Four, tracks 1–4), vocals (Side One, track 3 & 4; Side Two, tracks 3 & 4; Side Three, tracks 1–3; Side Four, track 3), mandolin (Side One, track 5; Side two, track 4, Side Three, track 2) * Simon Nicol: guitar (Side One, tracks 1–4; Side two, tracks 2 & 4; Side Three, all tracks; Side Four, all tracks), dulcimer (Side Three, track 2), viola (Side two, track 1), vocals (Side One, tracks 3 & 4; Side Two, track 4; Side Three, tracks 1–3; Side Four, track 3) *

: vocals (Side One, tracks 1, 2, 4, 5; Side Two, tracks 2–5; Side Three, tracks 1, 2, 4; Side Four, tracks 1, 2, 4), guitar (Side One, tracks 2 & 5; Side Three, track 1; Side Four, track 1), piano (Side Two, track 2) *

Iain Matthews Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald, 16 June 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was an original member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1969 before leaving to form his own band, Matthew ...

: vocals (Side One, track 1; Side Two, track 2; Side Three, tracks 1 & 2) * Ashley Hutchings: bass guitar (Side One, tracks 1, 2, 4; Side Two, tracks 2 & 4; Side Three, tracks 1, 2, 4; Side Four, tracks 1 & 4), vocals (Side Two, track 3) *

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 (Side One, track 3; Side Three, track 3; Side Four, track 3), violin (Side two, track 1) *

Martin Lamble Martin Francis Lamble (28 August 1949 – 12 May 1969) was the drummer for British folk rock band Fairport Convention, from just after their formation in 1967, until his death in the band's van crash in 1969. He joined the band after attending ...

: drums (Side One, tracks 1 & 2; Side Two, tracks 2 & 4; Side Three, tracks 1 & 2; Side Four, tracks 1 & 4) *

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 (Side One, tracks 3 & 4; Side Two, tracks 1, 3, 6; Side Three, tracks 3 & 4; Side Four, tracks 3 & 4), bass guitar (Side Two, track 1) *

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 ...

: violin (Side One, tracks 3–5; Side Two, track 1; Side Three, tracks 3 & 4; Side Four, tracks, 3 & 4), vocals (Side One, track 3; Side Three, track 3; Side Four, track 3) *

Trevor Lucas Trevor George Lucas (25 December 1943 – 4 February 1989) was an Australian folk singer, a member of Fairport Convention and one of the founders of Fotheringay. He mainly worked as a singer-songwriter and guitarist but also produced many album ...

: guitar (Side Two, track 5), vocals (Side Two, tracks 3, 5, 6) * Jerry Donahue: lead guitar (Side Two, track 5) *

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 ...

: drums (Side Two, track 3, 5, 6) * Pat Donaldson: bass guitar (Side One, track 5; Side Two, tracks 3, 5, 6) * Linda Thompson: vocals (Side One, track 5; Side Two, tracks 3 & 6) * Tony Cox: piano (Side Two, tracks 3 & 6) * Ian Whiteman: piano (Side Two, tracks 3 & 6) * John Bundrick: keyboards (Side One, track 5) * Timi Donald: drums (Side One, track 5)

References

{{Authority control Fairport Convention albums 1976 compilation albums A&M Records compilation albums