Heyday: BBC Radio Sessions, 1968-1969 [Live] [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Heyday: BBC Radio Sessions, 1968-1969 [Live] [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Track Listings

1. Close the Door Lightly When You Go

2. I Don't Know Where I Stand

3. Some Sweet Day

4. Reno, Nevada

5. Suzanne

6. If It Feels Good, You Know It Can't Be Wrong

7. I Still Miss Someone

8. Bird on a Wire

9. Gone, Gone, Gone

10. Tried So Hard

11. Shattering Live Experience

12. Percy's Song

13. You Never Wanted Me [*]

14. Nottamun Town [*]

15. Fotheringay [*]

16. Si Tu Dois Partir [*]

17. Cajun Woman [*]

18. Autopsy [*]

19. Reynardine [*]

20. Tam Lin [*]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
When a dozen of these songs were released on the first (1987) issue of Heyday, Fairport's original producer, Joe Boyd, revealed that almost 20 years earlier he'd vetoed numbers like Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone," and the Everly Brothers' "Gone, Gone, Gone" from consideration for the LPs Unhalfbricking and Liege And Lief on the grounds that "Americans did these sorts of songs in their sleep better than any English band could hope to." Any view from 30-odd years later is likely to be obscured by rosy clouds of nostalgia, but Boyd's opinion seems vindicated, especially now that the album has been extended with tracks from the British tradition--such as "Nottamun Town," "Reynardine," and "Tam Lin"--that demonstrate what Fairport really did well. Also added to the '87 album are a couple of touching originals by Sandy Denny performed as solos, "Fotheringay" and "Autopsy," and an appealingly ramshackle go at Richard Thompson's bayou-blues "Cajun Woman." --Tony Russell

Product Description
Full title, 'Heyday BBC Radio Sessions 1968-69. UK compilation captures the classic line-up in sessions for John Peel's Top Gear program. The band cover some of their favorite songs by Bob Dylan ('Percy's Song'), Joni Mitchell ('Don't Know Where I Stand'), Leonard Cohen ('Suzanne'), Johnny Cash ('I Still Miss Someone') & The Everly Brothers ('Gone, Gone, Gone') amongst others. Digitally remastered with eight bonus tracks from the same sessions, 'You Never Wanted Me', 'Nottamun Town', 'Fotheringay', 'Si Tu Dois Partir', 'Cajun Woman', 'Autopsy', 'Reynardine' & 'Tam Lin'. 2002.

Tracks:

Close the Door Lightly When You Go
I Don't Know Where I Stand
Some Sweet Day
Reno, Nevada
Suzanne
If It Feels Good, You Know It Can't Be Wrong
I Still Miss Someone
Bird on a Wire
Gone, Gone, Gone
Tried So Hard
Shattering Live Experience
Percy's Song
You Never Wanted Me [*]
Nottamun Town [*]
Fotheringay [*]
Si Tu Dois Partir [*]
Cajun Woman [*]
Autopsy [*]
Reynardine [*]
Tam Lin [*]

Amazon.com

When a dozen of these songs were released on the first (1987) issue of Heyday, Fairport's original producer, Joe Boyd, revealed that almost 20 years earlier he'd vetoed numbers like Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone," and the Everly Brothers' "Gone, Gone, Gone" from consideration for the LPs Unhalfbricking and Liege And Lief on the grounds that "Americans did these sorts of songs in their sleep better than any English band could hope to." Any view from 30-odd years later is likely to be obscured by rosy clouds of nostalgia, but Boyd's opinion seems vindicated, especially now that the album has been extended with tracks from the British tradition--such as "Nottamun Town," "Reynardine," and "Tam Lin"--that demonstrate what Fairport really did well. Also added to the '87 album are a couple of touching originals by Sandy Denny performed as solos, "Fotheringay" and "Autopsy," and an appealingly ramshackle go at Richard Thompson's bayou-blues "Cajun Woman." --Tony Russell

Album Description

Full title, 'Heyday BBC Radio Sessions 1968-69. UK compilation captures the classic line-up in sessions for John Peel's Top Gear program. The band cover some of their favorite songs by Bob Dylan ('Percy's Song'), Joni Mitchell ('Don't Know Where I Stand'), Leonard Cohen ('Suzanne'), Johnny Cash ('I Still Miss Someone') & The Everly Brothers ('Gone, Gone, Gone') amongst others. Digitally remastered with eight bonus tracks from the same sessions, 'You Never Wanted Me', 'Nottamun Town', 'Fotheringay', 'Si Tu Dois Partir', 'Cajun Woman', 'Autopsy', 'Reynardine' & 'Tam Lin'. 2002.

Album Details

Features the Classic Fairport Convention Line-up in Session for John Peel's Top Gear Program on BBC Radio One in 1968 and 1969. Members Included Richard Thompson, the Late Sandy Denny, Iain Matthews, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Swarbrick and Simon Nicol. The Band Cover Some of their Favorite Songs by Artists Such as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash and the Everly Brothers.

Customer Reviews:

Fresh Air from Long Ago. Very Nice Listening.......2005-06-23

`Heydey' by the original Fairport Convention (thus the title) is a CD of recordings done by the group on the BBC in 1968 and 1969, about the time the group released their attention-grabbing album `Unhalfbricking'.

My first impression on hearing the album is that even with the great original members, especially Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, this is a very lightweight album. Of the two heaviest numbers, one `Percy's Song' is available on `Unhalfbricking' and Leonard Cohen's `Suzanne' has almost become a cliché, as it has been recorded so many times since Judy Collins brought it to light on one of her albums around 1967. Most of the other numbers are pretty light, some recalling the style of `The Fifth Dimension'.

But then I listened to it a bit more. My opinion on `Percy's Song' and `Suzanne' does not change, but my take on the rest of the album mellows to the point where I really like this artifact from my beloved / hated 1960s. Instead of `The Fifth Dimension', I start to get wiffs of `The Byrds' and Richard and Mimi Farina.

As I happen to be listening to a CD of Fairport Convention which comes 30 years later, with but one original band member (Simon Nicol) in place, I get no sense that I am listening to `Fairport Convention' until they do their old chestnut `Matty Groves' for the 3000th time.

Recommended, if you can get it at a good discount!

No American band can do these songs equal justice.......2003-03-13

The Amazon reviewer neglected to mention what else producer Joe Boyd said in his liner notes: "And of course, now I am forced to admit it is hard to find an American band who can do these songs equal justice."

Indeed. Anything Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson did during their brief association is worth hearing, particularly their work together in Fairport--they really did have a kind of Billie Holiday/Lester Young sympatico thing going. Fairport was famous in it's early days for it's eclectic taste in covers, and this CD was released partly to show that off. Lots of highligts, among them the slightly bizarre acid-rock version of Joni Mitchell's I Don't Know Where I Stand; Denny singing Leonard Cohen, although she only gets to sing half of each song, sharing the lead vocal with Ian Matthews-- her contribution to Bird on a Wire is especially great, she really has a feel for Cohen's sensibility; Denny's gorgeous a cappella intro to Percy's Song; the beautiful harmony singing of Matthews and Denny on Cash's I Still Miss Someone, the Everly Brothers Gone Gone Gone, and ex-Byrd Gene Clark's Tried So Hard, to name but a few. Reno, Nevada shoulda been a Top of the Pops hit.

This "Extended" version includes material from the entire span of the Denny-Thompson edition of Fairport, including--in addition to songs that never appeared on an official Fariport release--live versions of two songs from What We Did on Our Holidays, four songs from Unhalfbricking and two songs from Liege and Lief. The latter were a bit of a disappointment to me--Raynardine is good, although very much like the version on Leige and Lief, but on Tam Lin they sound a little stiff compared to the record version, that is up until the very end, when they start jamming (Ashley Hutchings warns in the liner notes that these were "very early outings for these traditional songs"). Still, well worth having if you like this sort of thing.

For fans of Fairport's singer-songwriter period.......2002-11-10

This is a pleasant but non-essential souvenir of Fairport Convention's early days, when a large part of their repertoire was covers of American singer-songwriter material. The recordings were made for BBC radio broadcasts. Ten of the twelve songs are cover tunes, of which two (Dylan's "Percy's Song" and Joni Mitchell's "I Don't Know Where I Stand") have previously appeared on Fairport albums. There's some Leonard Cohen, some Everly Brothers, a little Byrds... A highlight is "Some Sweet Day". Of all the Fairport albums, this one has the least connection to the band's later folk-rock sound.

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

An absolute must for all Fairport fans.......2002-07-05

I have just traded my original copy of Heyday in now that I have this one.

The value of this album is the live versions of the songs that the band recorded on their studio albums and which have not been generally available.

Fairport Convention in performance have often been an entirely different animal to the studio band and I can testify to that having seen them in such disparate venues as Fusion, Sunderland and Newcastle Poly.

Tracks 1 through 12 sound good but the style does not suit the band in retrospect. Importing new and upcoming songwriters' songs certainly brought a breath of fresh air to the British scene and served an important purpose in reawakening our own roots but despite the beauty of the singer's voices, the approach is still borrowed and although sounding authentic does not really gel. Please don't mistake me, I love those songs and the performance but I prefer the later material.

My greatest joy in owning this CD comes from having a live version of Tam Lin which I have always preferred to the crowd favourite of Matty Groves. It is a little different to the studio version but is awesome. Other standout tracks are Autopsy and Reynardine. Later period Fairport with probably their most powerful lineup is a joy to listen to even when they are playing their Top of the Pops Si Tu Dois Partir. The playing is a delight, the singing amazing and the tightness of the band and their empathy with the other band members is clearly evident.

Tracks:

Close The Door Lightly When You Go
I Don't Know Where I Stand
Some Sweet Day
Reno, Nevada
Suzanne
If It Feels Good, You Know It Can't Be Wrong
I Still Miss Someone
Bird On A Wire
Gone, Gone, Gone
Tried So Hard
Shattering Live Experience
Percy's Song

Customer Reviews:

For fans of Fairport's singer-songwriter period.......2002-03-27

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

Fine Companion to Unhalfbricking.......2000-09-19

Joe Boyd's sleevenotes explain how most of these excellent songs never made it onto albums at the time: he was keen for Fairport to explore their Englishness, and so they did on "Leige and Lief" and subsequent albums. But before developing as pioneers of British folk-rock, Fairport showed an uncanny knack for infusing their own individual style into songs by the likes of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen - and of course Bob Dylan. Throw in some Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash and Gene Clark, along with a couple of Fairport originals, and you have some wonderful songwriting talent here. Add to this the lovely singing of Sandy Denny and Ian Matthews, both great individually but together, sublime - and you have a brilliant album which bears comparison to "Unhalfbicking" and "What We Did on Our Holidays". Highly recommended.

Incredible album; incredible it hasn't been reviewed.......2000-04-18

If you've somehow found this listing and this review, please don't overlook this album. A lost gem from the best-ever Fairport lineup: Sandy Denny, Ian Matthews, Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Ashly Hutchings and Martin Lamble. Matthews' contribution to this band has always been underrated, he has an absolutely beautiful voice which blends so well with Sandy Denny's. As a lover of Unhalfbricking, which was the only album top feature this lineup, I was understandably very excited with this release, as all were recorded for the BBC with the above lineup.

It is futile to try to highlight, because gems and surprises abound. Much of this is the material they cut their teeth on, brilliant interpertations of songwriters they admired: Cohen, Mitchell, Dylan, etc. It doesn't matter what song they cover, they truly make it their own.

This is not for fanatics only. Though the sound is not up to the quality of Unhalfbricking, it is surprisingly good and the material and performances have to be heard to be appreciated. If you like breathtaking harmony and great ensemble playing, you'll love this record.

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