Customer Reviews

In Real Time: Live 87

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Real Time was produced by the band for Release in 1987 so they could have something to peddle to the masses that would be seeing them as the opening act for a certain Jethro Tull during the "Crest Of A Knave" tour.
It was recorded live in the studio (at the band's own Woodworm Records) with pre-recorded audience sounds tacked on, pictures from the Cropredy Festival were included to lead all to believe it was recorded there.
That said even if it is "The Phony Live Album" it is a most excellent one and also one of the best recordings in the band's history.
It begins with "Reynard The Fox", and the playing is stellar, Ric Sanders is way on top of this one, taking is fiddle where no one has gone before or since. "Widow of Westmorland's Daughter" has about a million words in it and vocalist Simon Nicol sings em' all in just over three minutes, best version of this ditty on record. Next up is the "Hiring Fair", first heard on a Swarbrick/ Nicol record in the early 80's, this version is way better because Simon's voice had matured to a fine instrument by 1987, and the fantastic "Cosmic" solo by Ric is just amazing...on seeing the band play this in 89, my friend called it "Soul Fiddlin" and I tend to agree with that.
"Crazy Man Michael", sounds really pretty, some reviewers really hate this version because it's a lot different from the original...well even without Richard's guitar, it's still worth a listen.
Side Two starts up with "Close To The Wind" and it's my favorite on this Disk, quite simply put it's a GREAT song and and the band's performance is fantastic. Next is the show closer "Matty Groves" in it's late 80's arrangement and it's my favorite of the dozens of versions out there on other CD's, but that said, I do wonder how it's gonna sound the next time the boy's are at the Palms Playhouse in Winters, Ca. Tacked on at the end of the disk is the 87 version of "Meet On The Ledge", lot's of folks do not like this version for some reason or another, I don't get it, can't understand why it ticks off these people, like "Mattty" it's my favorite version of this classic (along with Iain Matthews solo rendering live in concert).
If I were to have a complaint about "In Real Time"... I'd wish it was twice it's current length...... FIVE STARS.

Ever been to Cropredy?, If you have, buy this. Turn down the lights, wind up the volume. Now drink a few glasses of Wadsworth 6X., This is what its all about. The only thing missing is the feeling of being amongst 15,000 or so others who keep coming back year after year.

if i remember well, this was the last lp released for the Island label, to get to the end of the deal with it. so the group decided to release it together with the VHS of the same title. but be careful: the tracks were not the same. anyway, both products are very recommendable: the tracks are very famous, but these versions are among the best ever. a curiosity, the recordings are presented like they were live, but it isn't true, they are studio with the audience noise overdubbed. a long time fan like me had to buy both, the cd and the video (filmed in Cropredy, with special guests Richard Thompson, Swarb and June Tabor).

In my opinion this is Fairport's best live album. They are very well rehersed and tight and the version of Matty Groves contained herein is nothing short of incredable.

I am introduced to this band by listening to this brilliant live effort. I am led to contribute my 2/100.
It is alway exciting to listen to a new band and get hooked on them. I passed these guys up or just didn't cross paths. Now, a new fan can wholeheartedly uphold two thumbs.
If you haven't heard the band, hear this first. I don't have all the adjectives to describe them. Talented, tight, diverse yet integrated... they've got it going on, every song immediately grabbed me, damn near throttled me mesmerized... so original, non-commercial, unique. Nicol's voice is right up with the best I've heard... and the musicianship words cannot capture, so very impressed. This is at least an outstanding show.

While this album is commonly assumed to be recorded live at Fairport's annual Cropredy Festival, the reality is that this is NOT a concert recording but the chaps playing some old and not so old favorites to an empty room! The "live" audience was added on in post production, thus fooling the listener. Reportedly this was an Island Records decision, which is one of the reasons that Fairport have shied from major labels (not that they were sought out by them!) and prefer to record and release throught bassist Dave Pegg's Woodworm label.

Phony concert aside, the songs and performances themselves are of Fairport's usual outstanding quality. The album starts with the chaps in fine harmony for "Reynard the Fox". "The Widow of Westmorland's Daughter", though ostensibly a tale of a silly maiden/ex-maiden/re-maiden, unintentionally conjures up the modern silliness of the "born-again virgin" phenomenon. "The Hiring Fair" "Crazy Man Michael" and "Close To The Wind" are nice but a bit subdued; if Island really wanted to fake a live recording, better selections than these should have been considered. The best parts come at the end, however: the "Big Three Trio" starts with Peggy's great instrumental "The Swirling Pit", which segues nicely into the Fairport fave "Matty Groves" and ends with a some fiery fiddling by Ric Sanders and "The Rutland Reel/Sack the Juggler". The "live" pretense ends on the closing track, the anthemic "Meet on the Ledge". A reworking of the 1968 classic features fine singing by Simon Nicol and sweet violin by Sanders.

Overall,Pegg, Sanders, Nicol, Dave Matacks (drums) and Maaartin Allcock (everything) are all at their usual unparalleled selves musically. However, for a genuine live recording representing this time period, try to find "The Other Boot/The Third Leg"; a limited edition official bootleg from Woodworm. "In Real Time", however, is not a bad album at all; it just should have been more sincere in presenting these outstanding songs as they were-great remakes recorded WITHOUT an audience!

Another reviewer has said this "live" album was actually recorded in a studio, with audience noise added later. If so, it had me fooled. Based on the '87 Cropredy live songs on the "It All Comes 'Round Again" video, this is a good representation of how Fairport sounded live at the time. At latest count, I have 7 live versions of "Matty Groves" and this is easily the best, with a revised arrangement that suggests the violence of the lyrics. After Fairport reunited in the mid-80s, Simon Nicol was the only lead singer for a decade -- this album captures his odd re-birth as a romantic ballad singer, with "Close to the Wind" and the lovely "The Hiring Fair." There are also strong versions of old Fairport songs "Crazy Man Michael" and "The Widow of Westmorland's Daughter". The album ends with an unnecessary studio remake of "Meet on the Ledge."

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

There is a common misconception regarding this album. That is that it wasn't actually recorded live. It was live but some parts were re-recorded in the studio. Mostly what was fixed were things like not being close enough to the mic for the vocals to be picked up, etc. There is nothing wrong with the remake of Meet on the Ledge but it seems a bit unnecessary. If you can find the 12" single version of it , it has an extra live song not on the album, although it should have been. If you want a live album that isn't actually live check out the Black sabbath live where they started fixing parts until there was nothing left of the live album but the applase

I really enjoy the modern approach to antique sounding British folk music represented by this album. The musicianship seems high but for one problem. The vocals are distant, often muddled and indistinct, and the vocalist is fairly lackluster. He is no Richard Thompson, (band member from a long time ago) that's for sure. If it's true that this is an artifically "lived" version of studio recordings, as is rumored in another review - well you think they could have gotten the mix right. I can't imagine a band allowing this to happen, what a bizarre idea. Good band, lousy album. However the songs Hiring Fair and Close to the Wind are worth having - maybe they exist elsewhere in better recorded sound.