''Gottle O'Geer'' (credited to "Fairport" and to "Fairport Featuring Dave Swarbrick" in the US) is the eleventh studio album by English

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 s ...

band Fairport Convention. The album was released through Island Records in May 1976. The departure of

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

following '' Rising for the Moon'' in 1975 left Fairport Convention reduced to

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 ...

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 ...

and Bruce Rowland, and contractually obliged to produce one more album for Island Records. This album was the result, and

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 ...

described it as "listless". The venture was originally intended to be a solo album for Swarbrick, who later said of it: "Gottle O'Geer, I would like to say once and for all was not ever supposed to be a Fairport album. It was to be my solo album, and I wish, along with most other people, that it had remained that way. Chris Blackwell, who to my mind is the richest, clueless, most unscrupulous pillock it was ever my misfortune to meet, had other ideas." As such, the basic line-up of Swarbrick and rhythm section was augmented by numerous guest performers.

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 ...

was asked to assist in sorting out the project: "... there was plenty on tape but it was a bit of a ragbag really. Peggy and Swarb asked me if I'd come in to engineer it for them. It was huge fun to be involved in. Island just gave us the keys and said 'turn out the lights when you leave' so there were a lot of all-night sessions in the studio." The album's title comes from the reputed inability of less skilled

ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...

s to pronounce "bottle of beer".

Track listing

;Side one # "When First into This Country" (

Traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

) – 2:30 # "Our Band" (

) – 2:04 # "Lay Me Down Easy" (Rowland, Swarbrick) – 5:15 # "Cropredy Capers" (Pegg, Rowland, Swarbrick) – 3:09 # "The Frog Up the Pump" (Jig Medley) (Traditional) – 3:16 ;Side two # "Don't Be Late" (Rowland, Swarbrick) – 3:24 # "Sandy's Song" (

) – 3:37Also titled "Take Away the Load", this was written by

for Swarbrick and his wife. Denny's demo later appeared on ''Who Knows Where the Time Goes?'' and '' A Boxful of Treasures'' # "Friendship Song" ( Benny Gallagher, Graham Lyle) – 3:01 # "Limey's Lament" (Rowland, Swarbrick) – 4:35 ;Bonus track on 2007 CD re-release # "Angles Brown" (Pegg, Swarbrick) – 4:00

Personnel

Fairport

– vocals, fiddle, viola, mandolin,

mandocello The mandocello ( it, mandoloncello, Liuto cantabile, liuto moderno) is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It is larger than the mandolin, and is the baritone instrument of the mandolin family. Its eight strings are in four paire ...

, acoustic guitar, autoharp, electric dulcimer; *

– bass guitar, mandolin, backing vocals; * Bruce Rowland – drums, percussion, piano, organ, backing vocals

Additional personnel

– electric guitar (9) * Martin Carthy – acoustic guitar (4) * Nick Judd – piano (2, 4) * Robert Palmer – harmonica, backing vocals (6) * Benny Gallagher – accordion (8), backing vocals (2, 6, 9) *

Graham Lyle Graham Hamilton Lyle (born 11 March 1944, in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Between 1970 and 1997, he co-wrote 18 British Top 40 hits, 9 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries, 4 US Country No ...

– dobro (8), backing vocals (2, 6, 8) * Jimmy Jewell – saxophone (6) * Henry Lowther – trumpet, flugelhorn (6) * Eric Johns – electric guitar (1, 7) * Ian Wilson – electric guitar (4) * Bob Brady – backing vocals (6) * Roger Burridge – backing vocals (6) *Engineering: Simon Nicol (assisted by

Dick Cuthell Dick Cuthell is a British musician and record producer. He plays flugelhorn, cornet, and trumpet, amongst a range of other brass instruments, including tenor horn and valve trombone. Cuthell is best known for his work with The SpecialsStrong, ...

at Island and Tony Cox at Sawmill)

Release history

* 1976, May : UK LP Island ILPS 9389 * 1999 : UK CD Island IMCD 262 * 2007, February : UK CD Island 984,587-6

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottle O'geer Fairport Convention albums Island Records albums 1976 albums