WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAYS

"What we did on our holidays" (WWDOOH), Fairport's second album, is probably their least conventional as it is about as far removed from folk and folk rock as Fairport ever dared to drift. While the line up is essentially that which recorded the band's eponymous debut, there is one highly significant change. Vocalist Judy Dyble moves on after just one album to be replaced by the (now) legendary Sandy Denny (or Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny as she is credited on the sleeve). In fairness to Dyble, she is a highly accomplished singer, but Denny would be an integral part of development of the band over the next few albums.

The first track on "WWDOOH", "Fotheringay", offers the perfect introduction to Denny's pure and emotive tones. This wonderfully evocative song tells the tale of the final days of Mary Queen of Scots at Fotheringay Castle, the vocal harmonies and melodic guitar (Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson playing together) setting the perfect mood for the piece. The track apparently features "Autoharp" too! Denny would later use the song title as the name for her post Fairport project.

If "Fotheringay" is striking for its beauty, the mood rapidly changes for Ashley "Tyger" Hutchings bluesy "Mr. Lacey". The title relates to an engineer by the name of Professor Bruce Lacey who was in the studio during recordings, and who baffled the band with cod-science. While "Book song" is credited to Richard Thompson and Ian Matthews, it is actually the latter's song. The brief sitar introduction leads to a fine male/female vocal harmony between Matthews and Denny, the song having a lilting reflective feel.

The brief "The Lord is in his place.. how dreadful is this place" reverts to the blues influences again, this time with a gospel tinge; the song is based on a Blind Willy Johnson number. This leads into Thompson's following "No man's land", a barroom sing-along style song.

The longest track on the album at a shade under 6 minutes is a cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll keep it with mine", a song originally written by Mr. Zimmerrman for Nico. The number affords Denny the opportunity to flex her vocal chords as she stamps her own character on this tender ballad. "Eastern rain" is the second of the two consecutive cover versions on the album. This is an obscure Joni Mitchell song with little to distinguish it or to explain its selection.

"Nottamun town" is more indicative of the band's future direction being a traditional song delivered in a folk style. The song, which is possibly about the town of "Nottingham", became popular in regions of both sides of the Atlantic. "Tale in hard time" sees Richard Thompson moving close to pop territory, with high harmonies and a simple melody. The track features some fine guitar work by Thompson.

The second and last of the interpretations of traditional songs is a rendition of "She moved through the fair". This Irish song is thought to be many centuries old, the melody being set to new lyrics in 1909 by Padraic Colum. Fairport's rediscovery of this now familiar melody gave it a new lease of life, and the song has since been covered by a wide range of artists. It also appears on Mike Oldfield's "Voyager" album and the melody reappeared on Simple Minds' "Belfast child" with different words. The version here keeps things simple with Denny's strong vocals being backed by a sympathetic acoustic arrangement.

Over the years, "Meet on the ledge" has become a sort of anthem for Fairport Convention. The "see you on the other side" lyrics quickly found eternal poignancy for the band after the death of drummer Martin Lamble. These days, the song often forms the closing number at Fairport gigs, where it is their "Auld lang syne". Regardless of any emotional connotations, the song is a fine work which formed one of the band's earliest singles.

The closing "End of a holiday" is a simple Simon Nicol acoustic guitar melody which rounds things off superbly.

"What we did on our holidays" may pre-date the fine folk/prog related work of Fairport Convention. It sees them still in pursuit of their true identify, while continuing to experiment with differing but complementary styles. Seen on that basis, this is a fine album which serves as the perfect introduction to the work of the great Sandy Denny with the band.

Footnote, for those with an interest in all things relating to the Island label, this was the first release to bear the pink label.

Share this FAIRPORT CONVENTION review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Easy Livin
• Report this review (#176576)
• Buy FAIRPORT CONVENTION music online with PA partners
• Show all FAIRPORT CONVENTION MP3/Stream
• Go to FAIRPORT CONVENTION page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to What We Did On Our Holidays page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for FAIRPORT CONVENTION related discussions