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FLY AWAY

Agincourt

Prog Folk


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Agincourt Fly Away album cover
3.55 | 22 ratings | 3 reviews | 9% 5 stars

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Studio Album, released in 1970

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. When I Awoke (3:21)
2. Though I May Be Dreaming (3:18)
3. Get Together (2:56)
4. Joy in the Finding (3:15)
5. Going Home (2:34)
6. All My Life (3:00)
7. Mirabella (1:45)
8. Take Me There (2:38)
9. Lisa (2:40)
10. Dawn (3:24)
11. Barn Owl Blues (3:09)
12. Kind Sir (3:04)
13. Through the Eyes of a Lifetime (i) The Poem (ii) Peace of Mind (iii) Closing In (5:21)

Total time: 40:25

Bonus tracks on 2002 & 2009 CD reissues:
14. Going Home (Different Take) (2:41)
15. Though I May Be Dreaming (Stereo) (3:19)

Line-up / Musicians

- Lee Menelaus / lead & backing vocals
- Peter Howell / acoustic & Classical guitars, mandolin, piano, organ, recorder, percussion
- John Ferdinando / vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, bass, auto harp

With:
- Andrew Lowcock / flute (4,10,12)
- Brian Hussey / drums (7,11)

Releases information

Artwork: Veronica Ruddin

LP Merlin Records ‎- HF 3 (1970, UK)
LP Record Collector Magazine ‎- RCLP001 (2011, UK)

CD Background ‎- HBG 123/6 (1994, UK)
CD Acme ‎- ACLN 1002 (2002, UK) With 2 bonus tracks
CD Media Arte - MA 0003 (2009, South Korea) As above

Thanks to clemofnazareth for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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AGINCOURT Fly Away ratings distribution


3.55
(22 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(9%)
9%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(36%)
36%
Good, but non-essential (45%)
45%
Collectors/fans only (9%)
9%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

AGINCOURT Fly Away reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by GruvanDahlman
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars There is something truly endearing about british folk from the late 60's and 70's. And there is an amazing quality about so many of the bands from that period. Not only Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span made great music. Sometimes the best recordings stems from the more obscure groups.

Agincourt is one of these obscure groups. Unlike, say, Pentangle the music of Agincourt is quite resounding of the 60's american folk boom but with a strong british bottom, which can be heard on tracks like "When I awoke" or "Kind sir". The musicianship is good throughout and there are plenty of beautiful and haunting harmonies to be found.

I would classify Agincourt's album as proggy folk with a bit of rock leanings, spiced with a bit of psychedelic west coast. Actually, when thinking about it I find the album is a strange and remarkable yet cohesive affair. I find it to be an enjoyable album in it's dreamy, fairytale-ish way. Still, it's not at all up to par with say Jade or Mellow Candle. Rather it is a good but not essential part of the UK folk prog-scene. It has a lot going for it and, as I wrote earlier, it possesses a genuine identity and charm but it fails to reach the heights of other, greater bands.

Conclusion: a gentle, enjoyable album with a lot of ideas and ambition. I rate it a solid three stars.

Review by BrufordFreak
COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars They call this "psychedelic folk" as there are a lot of instruments and arrangements common to those genres at this time

1. "When I Awoke" (3:21) sounds remarkably like a 60s folk band like Peter Paul and Mary. (8.5/10)

2. "Though I May Be Dreaming" (3:18) a fine acoustic folk song with wonderful vocal arrangement and vocal performances by John and Lee. (9.5/10)

3. "Get Together" (2:56) no, not a cover of the American Youngbloods' song of the same title, this one opens with full rock instrumentation setting up a kind of rudimentary blues rock song before John Ferdinando begins his gravelly sexy-voiced singing. Nothing too special but solid. (8/10)

4. "Joy in the Finding" (3:15) again, this happy-go-lucky instrumental conjures up the 60s--American folk pop and Brit pop in general. (8/10)

5. "Going Home" (2:34) this one sounds more like a Turtles or Association song. Nice work from the instrumentalists on this unusually thickly orchestrated song. (7.75/10)

6. "All My Life" (3:00) piano and finger-picked guitar provide foundation support for John's rather washed out/"background" lead. With multiple layers of male vocals, the song has some very pleasant even haunting melodies and an eerie psych ending (8.75/10)

7. "Mirabella" (1:45) incredibly engaging and hypnotic--the guitar tremolos and multiple layers of John's voice and then Lee's turn in the second half. Awesome! (10/10)

8. "Take Me There" (2:38) sounds like a Spanish version of the previous song's music, until Lee begins to sing the lead. Nice guitar work; poor recording of the drums. (8.75/10)

9. "Lisa" (2:40) piano with a sad, emotional feel over which John's multi-tracked voice takes the initial lead. (8.75/10)

10. "Dawn" (3:24) flute, cymbal play, nylon string guitar arpeggios and humming are the foundation for this song before John's multi-track lead opens the singing. Lee takes the lead for the second stanza and holds it with John joining in with harmonies for the chorus. (8.75/10)

11. "Barn Owl Blues" (3:09) a bluesy, almost ASSOCIATION-like organ opening shifting over to a bluesy guitar and vocal scat. Interesting. Dated but cool. At the 1:00 mark the tempo and key shifts though the guitar-and-voice scatting continues. Farfisa organ lays down a cool solo at the end of the second minute before the gang recoups for a repeat of the opening two sections. Interesting song. Not what I'd call a folk or even Prog Folk song; more of a quirky pop song. (8.5/10)

12. "Kind Sir" (3:04) acoustic foundation for multi-tracked vocal of Lee in one of her lower, more somnambulant performances. At 1:16 John takes the lead while the music shifts slightly and drums join in. Flute solo before John and Lee take turns in the lead over the final half minute. (8.25/10)

13. "Through the Eyes of a Lifetime" (i) The Poem (ii) Peace of Mind (iii) Closing In (5:21) Spoken poem recital for the first 40 seconds before the music kicks in. John sings with Lee in harmony as rock band accompanies. At 4:10 the song seems to end but then a kind of piano-and-orchestra outro plays out. Interesting collage! Very pleasant. (8.25/10)

Total time: 40:25

Sound engineering seems to be the major detractor from this collection of fine songs. The arrangements and compositions are all actually quite nice, simple yet unique and professionally performed with some great pop sensibilities and pretty awesome vocal performances and clever arrangements.

Four stars; a very enjoyable musical journey from a trio of highly creative songwriters.

Latest members reviews

4 stars Agincourt were a trio consisting of multi-instrumentalists and singers, John Ferdinando and Peter Howell alongside female vocalist Lee Menelaus. Ferdinando and Howell worked on several Psych-Folk albums together, although "Fly Away" (1970) was the only album released under the Agincourt name. Th ... (read more)

Report this review (#2276555) | Posted by Psychedelic Paul | Friday, November 1, 2019 | Review Permanlink

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