Full House (Fairport Convention album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Full House
Type = Album
Artist = Fairport Convention


Released = July 1970
Recorded = February - April 1970
Genre = Rock
Length = 35:08
Label = Island Records ILPS 9130 (original UK)
A&M (original US) Hannibal (1991 rerelease)
Producer = Joe Boyd
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:82d7gjvrj6im link]
Last album = "Liege & Lief"
(1969)
This album = "Full House"
(1970)
Next album = "Angel Delight"
(1971)

"Full House", released in 1970, is the fifth album by folk rock group Fairport Convention and was their first album without a female vocalist, as Sandy Denny had left to form Fotheringay. Founder member Ashley Hutchings had also left for Steeleye Span, and Dave Pegg had joined on bass. Richard Thompson was also to leave the band for a solo career shortly after its release. cite web | url = http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3ifyxqy5ld6e | title = Full House | accessdate = 2008-05-17]

As their previous album, "Liege & Lief", had reinterpreted a number of traditional folk tunes, so did "Full House". Many were sewn into two medleys, "Dirty Linen" and "Flatback Caper". The album also featured the nine-minute track "Sloth", which remained part of the group's live set for many years and has been described as "haunting, moody, dazzling".

Allmusic described the album as "actually more viscerally exciting than its predecessor, Liege and Lief, if not quite as important as that record". and "Full House" entered the British album charts on July 18 1970, where it stayed for 11 weeks, peaking at number 13. [UKChartHits|2106] Rolling Stone magazine's reviewer was also enthusiastic, describing the album as "... an English equivalent to The Band ... they have soaked up enough of the tradition of their countryfolk that it begins to show all over, while they still maintain their roots in rock". [ cite web | url = http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/fairportconvention/albums/album/126568/review/5942290/full_house_uk_bonus_tracks| title = Fairport Convention: Full House | date = November 12 1970| accessdate = 2008-05-19]

The album cover was a non-laminated gatefold sleeve featuring notes by Richard Thompson; these take the form of descriptions of spoof folk-games in which various characters participate, completed by a round-up of eventual scores. For example quote|AT MAIDS MONEY: Some of the hottest dice-throwing for years. The Doctor's Druids egg stood him in good stead. Later protests by 11,000 Virgins of Cologne against cruel sports. Wandering Jew killed in brawl with Hangman, hacked in two with a ploughshare. [original sleeve notes]

Track listing

The original issue of "Full House" was intended to comprise the following tracks:

Side One:
# "Walk Awhile" (Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick) - 3:57 [based on the traditional "Bonaparte's Retreat"]
# "Doctor of Physick" (Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick) - 3:37
# "Dirty Linen" (Trad. Arr. Dave Swarbrick) - 4:17 [medley of "Last Night's Fun," "The Merry Blacksmith," "Drops Of Brandy," and "Poll Ha'penny" cite web | url = http://www.fcfansite.fsnet.co.uk/ | title = Expletive Delighted fansite | accessdate = 2008-05-19]
# "Sloth" (Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick) - 9:19

Side Two:
# "Sir Patrick Spens" (Trad. Arr. Fairport Convention) - 3:30
# "Flatback Caper" (Ronald Cooper, Trad. Arr. Fairport Convention, O'Carolan) - 6:24 [medley of "Miss Susan Cooper" by Ronald Cooper, "The Friar's Britches," "The Sport Of The Chase," and "Carolan's Concerto" cite web | url = http://www.fcfansite.fsnet.co.uk/ | title = Expletive Delighted fansite | accessdate = 2008-05-19]
# "Poor Will And The Jolly Hangman" (Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick)
# "Flowers of the Forest" (Trad. Arr. Fairport Convention) - 4:04

Test pressings were made following this sequence, but before the album was officially released, Richard Thompson requested that "Poor Will And The Jolly Hangman" be removed; this removal was done at such a late stage that the first LP sleeves had already been printed with the song shown on the track listing. A black block had to be printed over the original list with the revised track listing overprinted in gold, but a few sleeves were issued to the public without the overprinting and with the incorrect track listing. All subsequent printings had the corrected track listing despite the fact that the sleeve notes still referred to the missing track. [cite web | url = http://www.musikfolk.co.uk/expletive-delighted/album-full-house.htm | title = Full House | accessdate = 2008-05-17]

Actual release

The track ordering of the original release was [cite web | url = http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/fairport/records/fullhouse.html | title = Full House | accessdate = 2008-05-17]
# Walk Awhile
# Dirty Linen
# Sloth
# Sir Patrick Spens
# Flatback Caper
# Doctor of Physick
# Flowers of the Forest

2001 reissue

In 2001, Island Records re-issued an expanded edition of "Full House" that followed the original track ordering and included four additional tracks:

* "Now Be Thankful" (the original mono mix)
* "Sir B. McKenzie's Daughter's Lament for the 77th Mounted Lancer's Retreat from the Straits of Loch Knombe, in the Year of Our Lord 1727, on the Occasion of the Announcement of Her Marriage to the Laird of Kinleakie"
* "Bonny Bunch of Roses"
* "Now Be Thankful" (a new stereo mix)

"Now Be Thankful" and "Sir B. McKenzie’s..." were originally released as a 1970 Island, UK single, WIP-6089. Both songs were recorded on July 22 1970 at Sound Techniques, London.

Fairport Convention's studio recording of "Sir B. McKenzie's.." consisted of "Biff, Bang, Crash" (Trad.), "The Kilfenora" (Trad.), and "Boston Tea Party" (Dave Swarbrick)". By the time the single was issued, the band was playing the medley as "Bonny Kate" (Trad.), "The Kilfenora," "Boston Tea Party," and "Biff, Bang, Crash." Within a few years, "Sir B. McKenzie's..." consisted of the amended medley followed by "Tail Toddle" (Trad.). By the late 1970s, the medley also included the traditional tune "Up The Chimney."

The title "Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For the 77th Mounted Lancer's Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie" was the band's attempt to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the longest song title.

"Bonny Bunch Of Roses," an outtake from the "Full House" sessions, was previously released on the Fairport Convention compilation "Meet On The Ledge: The Classic Years (1967–1975)", issued on A&M Records in 1999.

The stereo mix of "Now Be Thankful" (an entirely different mix from the one that appears on Richard Thompson's "Watching The Dark" compilation) was created by Lee Hamblin and Frank Kornelussen and previously released on "Island Life, 25 Years Of Island Records" in 1988.

Production

* Produced by Joe Boyd for Witchseason Productions, Ltd.
* Recorded at Sound Techniques (studio), London, February – March, 1970
* vocals recorded at Vanguard Studios, New York City, April, 1970
* Engineered by John Wood
* Sleeve notes by Richard Thompson

Personnel

* Dave Swarbrick - vocals, Fiddle, Viola, Mandolin
* Richard Thompson - vocals, Electric Guitar
* Dave Pegg - vocals, Bass Guitar, Mandolin
* Dave Mattacks - drums, percussion, Harmonium, Bodhran
* Simon Nicol - vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitar, Electric Dulcimer (often referred to by Simon Nicol as the 'electric cricket bat'!)

References

External links

* [http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6364380/a/Full+House.htm cduniverse.com]
* [http://www.fairportconvention.com/history_of_fairport.php Official History]