''Rising for the Moon'' is the tenth studio album by the British

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, released in 1975. It reached number 52 in the UK albums charts. This was the last Fairport album to feature vocalist

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 ...

Historical perspective

During this period, the band was dubbed by some fans—in a

tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scot ...

manner—as "Fotheringay Convention" and "Fotheringport Confusion", as the core of

Fotheringay Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer-songwriter and musician Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition " Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay ...

(Denny, her husband Trevor Lucas, and Jerry Donahue) joined the remaining members of the early 1970s version of Fairport (

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

) for this version of the band. Lucas, an Australian, and Donahue, an American, joined Pegg, Swarbrick, and drummer Mattacks in 1973 for the recording of the album Rosie. Denny travelled with the band while they toured in 1974 and began performing with them on stage. This was the first Fairport Convention album not to involve John Wood in the production, and the only one not to feature any traditional material. With a number of solid songs penned, they entered the studio for recording sessions. Although still firmly rooted in the folk-rock vein, producer

Glyn Johns Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer. Biography Early history Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...

brought a more polished and pop-influenced sound to the recording. Mattacks left midway through the sessions and was replaced by drummer Bruce Rowland. This was the last Fairport record to reach the UK charts prior to '' Red & Gold'' in 1989; it entered the chart on 12 July 1975, and stayed just one week, reaching no. 52. The band (especially Denny) pinned their hopes on ''Rising For The Moon'' to finally be their breakthrough album; that level of popularity never materialized and, in December 1975, after touring in support of the album, Donahue left the band, followed shortly by Denny and Lucas. Carrying on as Fairport Convention, Pegg, Swarbrick and Rowland recruited several short-term replacements before persuading founder member Simon Nicol to return.

Track listing

Bonus reissue tracks

# "Tears" (Lucas) – 4:09 # "Rising for the Moon"Sandy Denny's original demo (Denny) – 3:06 # "Stranger to Himself" (Denny) – 2:17 # "One More Chance" (Denny) – 3:46

Personnel

;Fairport Convention *

– vocals, piano (1, 10), electric piano (3, 6, 9) *

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 ...

– vocals, rhythm guitar (1-8, 10-11) *

– vocals, violin (1-3, 7-8, 10-11), viola (3, 9), mandolin (3), dulcimer (5), autoharp (3), acoustic guitar (6, 9) *

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 ...

– lead guitar *

– bass, electric guitar (8), backing vocals (1-2, 7-8, 10) *

– drums (1-3, 8, 11) * Bruce Rowland – drums (4-7, 9-10)

Notes

References

* * {{Authority control 1975 albums Island Records albums Fairport Convention albums Sandy Denny albums Albums produced by Glyn Johns Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios