Before Your Time/Consonant Please Carol [Import]

Before Your Time/Consonant Please Carol [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
1998 Folkprint release, a reissue featuring Fairport Convention founder Nicol's solo albums 'Before Your Time...'(1987) and 'Consonant Please Carol' (1992) together in a double slimline jewel case. A combined total of 21 tracks. Full lyrics included.

Tracks:

Over The Lancashire Hills
Caught A Whisper
The Deserter
Insult To Injury
From A Distance
I Live Not Where I Love
Before Your Time/Merry Sherwood Rangers
Rosemary's Sister

Tracks:

How Do You Sleep?
Struck It Right This Time
I Can Jump Puddles
Evidence
I Am
The Moon And Saint Christopher
Maiden Voyage
Some People Cry
Bloomsbury Blue
The False Knight On The Road
Middle Ground
Danny's Song
Rhapsoblue In D/Telstar

Album Description

1998 Folkprint release, a reissue featuring Fairport Convention founder Nicol's solo albums 'Before Your Time...'(1987) and 'Consonant Please Carol' (1992) together in a double slimline jewel case. A combined total of 21 tracks. Full lyrics included.

Album Details

Founding and Current Member of Fairport Convention. Two on One CD.

Customer Reviews:

Good one.......2003-01-07

Though I enjoy bits of Fairport and Steeleye span, and love such classics as I want to see the bright lights tonight or Hokey Pokey, I am not insanely knowledgeable about British folk music, so I cannot really comment about this version of a song being better than another .. What I can say, on the other hand, is that most songs on this 2 CDs set sound rather good, even if there are some unremarkable ones too.
The funny thing is that M. Reilly and L. Thompson may well be my two favourite singers (though they have very different musical backgrounds), and you find both on them on the records, so that's really nice for me. L. Thompson's version of I live not where I love will for sure sends shivers all through your spine. It is very tense, really great, a terrific effort from a singer who at the time was plagued with dysphonia (if you want to hear it , and cannot find Before your time .., it is also on Dreams fly away, the 1996 Linda Thompson compilation).
When compared with the original version, The Moon and St Christopher sounds far more emotional .. a great one too.
My other favorites are the Huw Williams songs such as I am, the eminently danceable Evidence, the moving Some People cry, Maiden Voyage (it may not be the best one, but it's the first track I have in mind when I think of the record) and the good instrumental Before your time. Sheryl and Sheila Parker provide us with really good backing vocals (I'll have to check their other stuff, if there is some)
The weaker tracks include the cover of Linda Thompson's Insult to injury - it lacks something, some depth of emotion I think. Speaking of that, it would be my main quibble about the record - it does tend to get a bit monotonous if you listen to all the tracks one after another. The songs are good but his voice may not be the deepest or richest I've ever heard.
Having said that, I think this is on the whole a very nice box set, a good addition to any Fairport collection, and maybe a nice place to start with classic British folk songs.
But why isn't it more well known ????

Before Your Time - Excellent.......2000-01-04

Since this is actually two solo albums each should be considered on its own merits. Either way, it is well worth getting on the strengths of Before Your Time alone.

If only BYT had been released on a label with more distribution capabilities than Woodworm when it first came out it may have earned the classic status it so richly deserves. As it is, I consider myself fortunate to have been in England at the time. This is an outstanding, mature effort. The material and arrangements suit Simon's mellowing barritone perfectly and the quality is top notch. In fact the one quality that stands out above the rest is good taste, even on the more aggressive tracks. It strikes a perfect balance between the traditional and the contemporary and has a consistant mood throughout. Every track could be considered a standout, but even at that Rosemary's Sister manages to be the show stopper. Wow, what a song! Huw Williams has become a favorite source of material for both SN and Fairport, but this is where it all started.

Consonant Please Carol is less than stellar, but the way I see it it is essentially free. Plus it does indeed have its moments (most contributed by Mr. Williams). At one point I probably would have paid money to hear SN sing the phone book, but even that would be better than some of the stuff on CPC. I'm sorry Simon, you came way too close to the line of being overly sentimental and sappy and crossed it a few times here. And I'm not refering to I Can Jump Puddles or Danny's Song either, those are great tracks. But Maiden Voyage? - way too adolescent for me. The main issue is that the things that made BYT great are missing here, there's no consistancy or traditional elements here. But there are some excellent tracks and that voice, and that's not half bad.

Fairport Founder In Fine Fettle.......1999-11-30

Resurgence (UK) have rereleased "Before Your Time" and "Consonant Please Carol", the two solo albums by Fairport Convention's Simon Nicol (the only original member still with the group)in a single package.

This is great stuff. Fairport fans will be interested to hear the original versions of "The Deserter" and "Stuck It Right This Time", both of which appeared on Fairport Convention's live CD "OLD NEW BORROWED BLUE" and are standards in Fairport's set lists. Simon's comfy voice provides one of the better versions of Julie Gold's oft-covered "From A Distance" as well as Linda Thompson's "Insult to Injury". Speaking of Linda Thompson, this collection includes the amazing "I Live Not Where I Love" which Simon recorded in Linda's living room, featuring Linda on lead vocal, Simon and the Watersons in the background. This track alone is worth the twenty bucks.

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