If FAIRPORT CONVENTION were the foremost folk-rock ensemble in England in the ’70s, the next decade found them at a loss, August 4th, 1979 marking the band’s farewell performance – staged at the village of Cropredy where they promised to reunite every summer afterwards and followed up on that promise, thus establishing an annual festival which would pull a lot of punters. Except for this Convention, the first few years of the ’80s felt rather lean for the musicians and they seemed happy to reform in 1985 and reshape the line-up familiar to fans from 1971’s “Angel Delight” by replacing Dave Swarbrick with Ric Sanders who joined Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg and Dave Mattacks, and thus the collective’s current cast came to exist. As a result, underestimating the deceptively paltry period should be a great mistake – one to be corrected on July 26th with the issue of a new box set, although 11 CDs and DVD comprising “It All Came Round Again: Onstage & On Air – 1982-1990″ are aimed at the faithful, so there’s a case of preaching to the choir.
The collection is as comprehensive as it gets – and as is usual for Madfish Records’ releases – with a lot of interesting pieces, of which 57 have never seen the light of day, from Cropredy, where such guests as Ralph McTell and Ian Anderson appeared alongside FAIRPORTS, and from the BBC sessions, plus more than 100 minutes of TV treasures, some from the ’70s. Packaged within a slipcase with the discs will be reproduction memorabilia signed by Pegg, Nicol, Dave Mattacks and Richard Thompson, a 60-page book – in other words, here’s a bonanza for those who like to meet on the ledge.
It All Came Round Again:
Onstage & On Air –
1982-1990
CD 1 – Live at Cropredy Festival – August 14th, 1982:
1. The Lark In The Morning
2. Angel Delight
3. Marijuana Australiana
4. The Beak / The Claw
5. Here Come The Cowboys
6. Polly On The Shore
7. The Hexhamshire Lass
8. Bring ‘Em Down
9. Sloth
10. Dirty Linen
11. Lucky Old Sun
12. Love Me Tomorrow (Dan’s Blues)
CD 2 – Live at Cropredy Festival – August 13th, 1983 – Part 1:
1. Adieu, Adieu
2. The Hen’s March / The Four Poster Bed
3. John Barleycorn
4. Flowers Of The Forest
5. The Eynsham Poacher
6. Jack Orion
7. The Widow Of Westmorland’s Daughter / Random Jig
8. The Poor Ditching Boy
9. Bottom Of The Punchbowl / East Nuke Of Fyfe / Ye Mariners All
10. Royal Seleccion No. 13
CD 3 – Live at Cropredy Festival – August 13th, 1983 – Part 2:
1. Come All Ye
2. Reynardine
3. Crazy Man Michael
4. Farewell, Farewell
5. The Lark In The Morning
6. Genesis Hall
7. Learning The Gam
8. Tam Lin
9. Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
10. Walk Awhile
11. Dirty Linen
12. Sloth
CD 4 – Live at Cropredy Festival – August 13th, 1983 – Part 3:
1. Rosie
2. Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament
3. Rising For The Moon
4. Percy’s Song
5. Nadine
6. Million Dollar Bash
7. Matty Groves
8. Si Tu Dois Partir
9. Meet On The Ledge
Encore from Cropredy Festival – August 14th, 1982:
10. Forever Young
CD 5 – Live on the BBC
Cropredy Festival – August 11th, 1984:
1. John Barleycorn
2. The Lark In The Morning / Toss The Feathers
3. John The Gun
4. Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman
5. Day Trip To Bangor
6. Dirty Linen
7. To Althea From Prison
8. I’m Nearly In Love
9. Matty Groves
Birmingham University – December 7th, 1985:
10. Instrumental Medley ’85
11. Wat Tyler
12. The Lark In The Morning
13. The Swirling Pit / The Rutland Reel / Sack The Juggler
14. Jams O’donnell’s Jig
15. Dirty Linen
CD 6 – Live at Cropredy Festival – August 9th, 1986 – Part 1:
1. Reno, Nevada
2. Keep On Sailing
3. Tried So Hard
4. Suzanne
5. The Lark In The Morning
6. Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
7. Woodstock
8. Sloth
CD 7 – Live at Cropredy Festival – August 9th, 1986 – Part 2:
1. Bird From The Mountain
2. The Gas Almost Works / The Cat On The Mixer / Three Left Feet
3. Wat Tyler
4. The Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood
5. Time Will Show The Wiser
6. The Swirling Pit / Matty Groves / The Rutland Reel / Sack The Juggler
7. Mr Lacey
8. Meet On The Ledge
Live at Canberra Workers’ Club – March 12th, 1986:
9. Sloth
CD 8 – Live at Cropredy Festival – August 15th, 1987:
1. The Gas Almost Works / The Cat On The Mixer / Three Left Feet
2. John Barleycorn
3. The Hiring Fair
4. Bridge Of Sighs
5. John The Gun
6. The Lark In The Morning
7. Tomorrow Is A Long Time
8. For Shame Of Doing Wrong
9. Hand Of Kindness
10. Saturday Rolling Around
11. Rosie
12. Serenade To A Cuckoo
13. Matty Groves / The Rutland Reel / Sack The Juggler
CD 9 – Live on the BBC
Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa – January, 17th, 1987:
1. John Barleycorn
2. Medley : The Gas Almost Works / The Cat On The Mixer / Three Left Feet
3. Matty Groves
4. The Lark In The Morning
5. Close To The Wind
6. Head In A Sack
Simon Nicol & Ric Sanders In Session – November 1987:
7. The Sherriff’s Ride / The Upton-upon-Severn Stick Dance
8. Rosemary’s Sister
9. Molly On The Jetty (aka The Cotswold Tune)
10. Close To The Wind
Cropredy Festival – August 15th, 1987:
11. Fiddlestix
12. Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
CD 10 – Live on the BBC
Octagon Theatre, Yeovil – January 14th, 1989:
1. The Widow Of Westmoreland’s Daughter
2. Dark Eyed Molly
3. Set Me Up
4. The Lark In The Morning
5. London River
6. Rose Hip
7. Red & Gold
8. Meet On The Ledge
Pebble Mill, 1990:
9. Ginnie
10. Portmeirion
11. All Your Beauty
12. The Summer Before The War
13. Dirty Linen
14. The Beggar’s Song
CD 11 – In Session at the BBC
Richard Skinner Show – April 13th, 1989:
1. Matty Groves / The Rutland Reel / Sack The Juggler
2. Red & Gold
3. Set Me Up
4. The Noise Club
Nightride, W/C – April 30th, 1988:
5. The Hiring Fair
6. Matty Groves
7. Meet On The Ledge
8. Cat On The Mixer / Three Left Feet
9. Portmeirion
10. Head In A Sack
Nightride, W/C – March 10th, 1989:
11. London River
12. Walk Awhile
13. The Beggar’s Song
Alan Titchmarsh – September 23rd, 1988 – Simon Nicol:
14. The Whim / Lord Inchiquin
15. Interview with Simon Nicol
16. The Summer Before The War
Lone Star Cafe, New York, USA – July 22nd, 1984:
17. Meet On The Ledge
DVD – Live at the BBC
Six Fifty-Five Special – August 9th, 1982:
1. Walk Awhile
2. Simon Nicol Interview
3. Dirty Linen
4. Martin Carthy Interview
5. Lovely Joan
6. Iron Lion
7. Meet On The Ledge
Summer Festivals – July 8th, 1982:
8. The Widow Of Westmoreland’s Daughter
Six Fifty-Five – August 20th, 1982:
9. The Humours Of Cappa / The Swallowtail Reel
10. Interview with Simon Nicol
11. The 79th Farewell To Gibraltar / The Atholl Highlanders / The Devil Amongst The Tailors
Six Fifty-Five – August 4th, 1983:
12. The Royal Seleccion No. 13
13. Interview with Simon Nicol
14. Adieu, Adieu
Pebble Mill at One – December 12th, 1983:
15. Rosie
16. Eynsham Poacher
The Old Grey Whistle Test – January 11th, 1972:
17. Time Is Near (take 1)
18. The Hanging Song (take 1)
19. The Hanging Song (take 2)
20. Time Is Near (take 2)
21. The Hanging Song (take 3)
The Old Grey Whistle Test – April 17th, 1973:
22. Matthew, Mark, Luke & John
23. Brilliancy Medley / Cherokee Shuffle
A World of Music – Anne Lorne Gillies – November 26th, 1976:
24. Royal Seleccion No. 13
25. Interview
26. Adieu, Adieu
Pebble Mill at One – 1981:
27. The Hen’s March Through The Midden / The Four Poster Bed
28. Time To Ring Some Changes
29. The Merry Boys Of Greenhill
30. Three Drunken Maidens
