Plainsong

Plainsong | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 2, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Water
• ASIN: B0007YXPWO
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,177 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. For The Second Time

2. Yo Yo Man

3. Louise

4. Call The Tune

5. Diesel On My Tail

6. Amelia Earhart's Last Flight

7. I'll Fly Away

8. True Story Of Amelia Earhart

9. Even The Guiding Light

10. Side Roads

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Old Man At The Mill

2. Urban Cowboy

3. The Fault

4. Swinging Doors

5. Keep On Sailing

6. Miss The Mississippi

7. Home

8. First Girl I Loved

9. Save Your Sorrows

10. Nobody Eats At Linebaugh's Any More

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

The original line-up of Plainsong featuring former Fairport Convention lead singer Iain Matthews and guitarist Andy Roberts was only together for about 18 months in the early 1970's - but in that brief period - they recorded the classic album In Search of Amelia Earhart and a second previously unreleased album now seeing the light of the day for the first time. This set collects both of their studio albums as well as various rare live recordings - nearly 40 songs in total. British folk rock at its best, along with their versions of songs by Gene Clark, Chris Hillman, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, and other greats. Many rare photos and detailed liner notes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forgotten But Not Lost.............., May 25, 2005

By 

M. Gaines (Alabama, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Plainsong (Audio CD)

Lost to the ages,Ian Matthews Plainsong is the bridge between the west coast folk of CSNY,Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds and their contempories of the time (68-72) in the U.K. Fairport Convention,the Incredible String Band and sensitive intuitive writers such as Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny,etc.

Water has rewarded the faithfull with restored covers, informative liner notes, and a whole extra disc of the unreleased 2nd album, demos and live material.

Preaching to the faithfull is unfullfilling, Informing those who have not a clue is enlightening. Simplified, Plainsong is one of the most important reissues of recent memory, an important piece of work by Ian Matthews and company that should have made them a standard by which all future efforts by others would have been measured.

Eternally warm and transcendental, Plainsong is as fresh sounding today as it was when I unwraped the cover and placed it on my record player in 1972.

Get it now while you still can.....................

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing and Important, December 9, 2005

By 

Todd and In Charge (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Plainsong (Audio CD)

I apologize for the seeming hyperbole, but this is truly an important and special release: WOW! Ian Matthews joined this group briefly before launching a full-fledged solo career in the early 70s, but what a mark they left! This is intelligent, inspired, music for the soul -- as vital as if they recorded it last week rather than 30 or so years ago.

The entire song cycle regarding Amelia Earhart is simply brilliant, as are the pitch-perfect and tight versions of "Yo-Yo Man," "Old Man at the Mill," "I'll Fly Away," "Save Your Sorrows," or the many other fantastic tunes on this disk. Marrying thoughtful, sweet lead vocals over tight harmonies, surrounded by inspired rock, folk, country, bluegrass, and cosmic-cowboy stylings, this was music way ahead of time. We've finally caught up.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Combination Of The Three, December 13, 2007

By 

PHILIP S WOLF (SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA. USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plainsong (Audio CD)

This deluxe edition Of the classic 1972 record: "Plainsong" is in fact three releases on these two CD's offered here.

The original release is as the other reviewers have already posted, one of the finest documents of acoustic music, well...ever! And, that record's merits and beauty are of little equal by any other artists of 1972, or since.

But, things have indeed gotten better as this edition features tracks from two Other CD's: "Plainsong, And That's That", a 1992 Taxim Records release of demos intended for the second Plainsong record that didn't see completion. "And That's That" also included four vintage live Plainsong tracks from 1972. The second disc {also from 1992} was entitled: "Plainsong ~ On Air, The BBC Recordings" This one was on Band of Joy Records. Both of these CD's are long out-of-print. But now, right here, they have been brought forth, once again.

Iain Matthews, Andy Roberts, Bobby Ronga and David Richards were the center of this acoustic world, and this unique and timeless music is now all together on these two discs sounding better than ever. This is a bargain.

Four Stars !!!