''Angel Delight'' is the sixth album by the

British folk rock British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...

band

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...

, released in June 1971. This was the first Fairport Convention album without guitarist Richard Thompson, and the lineup consisted of

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 t ...

(guitar, vocals) (the only original group member),

Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English traditional folk musician and songwriter and one of the greatest fiddlers in the world. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second Bri ...

(violin, vocals),

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, vocals), and

Dave Mattacks David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band Fairport Convention. Fairport Convention He replaced Martin Lamble, who had died on 12 May 1969 in a road ac ...

(drums).

Production

The title derives from "The Angel" in

Little Hadham Little Hadham is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England. At the census of 2001 it had a population of 1,081, increasing to 1,153 at the 2011 Census. It is bypassed by the A120 road, which connect ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, a former pub which the band were living in at the time, and the

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous track is autobiographical, referring to "John the Wood" (co-producer), "Dave the Drum" (Mattacks), and even details such as "peer through the haze watching ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''". The band moved out of The Angel shortly after the album's release, partly because a lorry had crashed into Dave Swarbrick's bedroom. The U.K. album cover included liner notes consisting of dialogue among band members and roadies preparing to leave "The Angel" for a gig, that was replaced on American and Canadian copies by a more straightforward, biographical liner essay. Musically, ''Angel Delight'' progressed little from its predecessors, although an appearance on ''

'' as a featured album contributed to its chart success; it reached number eight on the UK Album chart, making it the band's highest charting album in the UK.

Reception

''Angel Delight'' has received generally positive reviews from critics.

Track listing

Personnel

– lead vocals (2,5), vocals (1,4–7,9,10,11), guitar (1,2,4–8,10,11), bass guitar (9), electric

dulcimer The term dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

(1,9), violin (3) *

– lead vocals (1,4,5,10,11),

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

(2,6,8,9,10), vocals (2,6,7,9),

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

(1,5,7,8,11),

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

(9), cuckoo (8) *

– bass guitar (1–2,4–8,10,11), vocals (1,2,4–7,9,10,11), lead guitar (10), viola (9), violin (3) *

– drums (1,2,4–11), percussion (8,10), vocals (1,4–7,10–11),

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

and piano (4),

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

(6), bass guitar (3) on 11: * Richard Thompson – vocals, electric guitar

Title

The cover includes a photo of two

cherub A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...

s kissing. The title may also be a reference to the UK dessert,

Angel Delight Angel Delight is a powdered dessert mix produced in the United Kingdom. It is designed to be whisked with milk to create a sweet mousse-like dessert. Angel Delight was released in 1967 by the Bird's company, in a strawberries-and-cream flav ...

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums Fairport Convention albums Albums produced by John Wood (record producer) Island Records albums Albums produced by Dave Mattacks Albums produced by Dave Pegg Albums produced by Dave Swarbrick Albums produced by Simon Nicol