Full House [Import, Original recording remastered]

Fairport Convention | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 15, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Island UK
• ASIN: B00005NILD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,465 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #39 in Music > Imports > Folk
  • #53 in Music > Folk > British & Celtic Folk > British Folk

Track Listings

1. Walk Awhile

2. Doctor Of Physik

3. Dirty Linen

4. Sloth

5. Sir Patrick Spens

6. Flatback Caper

7. Poor Will And The Jolly Hangman

8. Flowers Of The Forest

9. Now Be Thankful

10. Sir B McKenzies Daughters Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancer

11. Now Be Thankful (New Stereo Mix)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Placed in its early-'70s context, Full House finds Fairport Convention at what seemed a crucial test: its strongest singers, Sandy Denny and Ian (now Iain) Matthews had departed for new group and solo challenges, and coleader Ashley Hutchings had defected to found a rival ensemble, Steeleye Span, leaving guitarist Richard Thompson at Fairport's helm. Happily, the revamped quintet passed with flying colors, forging a leaner, more muscular sound that extended both ends of the folk-rock equation; the balance between spirited jigs and reels, and four-square rock back beats, is underlined by the fiery exchanges traded by guitarists Thompson and Simon Nicol and fiddler Dave Swarbrick, explaining why many regard this as Fairport's strongest instrumental lineup. And, on "Sloth," Thompson prefigures the dark, modal rock epics of future solo works on an antiwar dirge that evokes a British version of Neil Young & Crazy Horse. --Sam Sutherland

Product Description

UK digitally remastered reissue of the 1970 album for Hannibal. Includes four bonus tracks, 'Now Be Thankful' (mono & new stereo mix), 'Sir B. McKenzie's Daughter's Lament...' & 'Bonny Bunch Of Roses'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great post-Sandy Fairport work, April 30, 2003

By 

William M. Feagin "music dealer/geek" (Upstate New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Full House (Audio CD)

This is the first album Fairport recorded after Sandy Denny and Ashley Hutchings (co-founder member, who went on to form Steeleye Span and the Albion Country Band) departed, and the last studio album to feature Richard Thompson. In Sandy's absence (she had left to form Fotheringay, which would last but one album), the remaining group would have to pool their vocal talents the best they could to fill her void. Also, Dave Pegg had taken up bass chores in the group, and proved himself a fine replacement for Hutchings.
Admittedly, the vocals are a bit shaky--most of the lead vocal chores were handled by Dave Swarbrick, fiddler extraordinaire--but RT began to come into his own here as well; he and Swarbrick collaborated on several compositions here ("Walk Awhile," which features lead vocals from all except drummer Dave Mattacks; "Sloth," a powerful piece that also explored Fairport's improvisational talents; the ominous "Doctor of Physick"). It may not be immediately memorable, but it will grow on you.
Also, the original album programme is featured here, with "Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman," originally withdrawn at the last minute on RT's request, restored to its place as track 7 (originally track 3, side 2, on the first 5000 pressings); plus, four bonus tracks, in the form of mono and stereo mixes of the single A-side "Now Be Thankful," its long-windedly-titled B-side "Sir B. McKenzie..." and Fairport's first attempt at "The Bonny Bunch of Roses," recorded at Phil Spector's Gold Star Studios during a residency at the L.A. Troubadour in May, 1970. And I've always loved RT's rather odd liner notes, a sort of medieval games almanac.
This, then, was where Fairport proved they did indeed have a future after Sandy. Granted, it would be an awkward and uneven future, but this, at least, helped the band to cement their position as the first true English folk-rock band.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The album I've been waiting for for years, March 26, 2002

By 

woburnmusicfan (Woburn, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Full House (Audio CD)

The first album Fairport Convention made after singer Sandy Denny and bassist Ashley Hutchings left, and the last before guitarist Richard Thompson left, this album rocked harder than any other Fairport album. But the album has always been missing a little something in terms of pacing. And, knowing that a couple of classic songs from the sessions were left off the album (in British tradition, the single "Now Be Thankful" was left off the LP, while Thompson, in a fit of pique, wouldn't let producer Joe Boyd include "Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman"), I've been wanting for years to hear how this album would sound with the songs restored. And here it is. The album also includes "Sir B. McKenzie" (the full title once held the Guinness record for longest song title), the B-side of the "Now Be Thankful" single, and "The Bonny Bunch of Roses." The second half of the album is much stronger with these songs added. The songwriting team of Thompson and violinist Dave Swarbrick was at its peak, with the Fairport classics "Walk Awhile" and "Sloth", the eerie "Doctor of Physick", and the lovely "Now Be Thankful." Except for "Now Be Thankful", sung beautifully by Swarbrick, the vocals are mostly a group effort by Swarbrick, Thompson, rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol, and bassist Dave Pegg (whose bass playing is miles beyond Hutchings'). The traditional "Sir Patrick Spens" is great, and the medleys of jigs and reels "Dirty Linen" and "Flatback Caper" are excellent.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fairport Convention surives fine without Sandy Denny, March 10, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Full House (Audio CD)

"Full House" was the fifth album by Fairport Convention but represented a significant new chapter in the group's history because for the first time it was without a female singer. At this point Sandy Denny and Ashley Hutchings had left the group and you would have thought that losing the premier folk singer of her generation in Denny would have been a fatal blow. "Full House" disproves that without much problem as Fairport Convention continued to prove itself the premier folk-rock group in England. The new singers were Richard Thompson and Dave Swarbrick who wrote most of the songs on the album. Along with Dave Pegg and Simon Nicol they do some nice harmonies, especially on the trio of traditional songs, "Sir Patrick Spens," "Flatback Caper," and "The Flowers of the Forest." Granted, the vocal are a bit less, in terms of the leads, but the instrumentation is certainly superior with this incarnation of the group, which is clear with the opening track "Walk Awhile." The showpiece here is the nine-minute "Sloth," written by the entire group (including drummer Dave Mattacks) and allowing all of the group members to show off their musical abilities. Any borderline considerations with regards to ranking because of the shakeup in the group's composition are rendered moot by the four bonus tracks of Fairport Convention music added to this 1970 release, including mono and stereo version of "Now Be Thankful" and another pair of traditional tunes, including the wonderfully named "Sir B. McKenzie's Daughter's Lament for the 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat." Granted, "Full House" is still half-a-notch below "Unhalfbricking" and "Liege and Leif," but it is still a superb album of British folk rock.