What We Did on Our Holidays

Not to be confused with What We Did on Our Holiday.
What We Did on Our Holidays
Studio album by Fairport Convention
Released January 1969
Recorded June–October 1968 at Kingsway and Olympic Studio No. 1
Genre Folk rock, folk[1]
Length 38:07
Label Island ILPS 9092 (UK)
A&M SP 4185 (US)
Hannibal (reissue)
Producer Joe Boyd
Fairport Convention chronology
Fairport Convention
(1968)
What We Did on Our Holidays
(1969)
Unhalfbricking
(1969)
Singles from "What We Did on Our Holidays"
  1. "Meet on the Ledge" b/w "Throwaway Street Puzzle"
    Released: December 1968, Island Records WIP 6047
  2. "I'll Keep It With Mine" b/w "Fotheringay"
    Released: 1969, USA-only
Alternative cover
US cover.
US self-titled release on A&M Records

What We Did on Our Holidays, released in 1969, is the second album by the band Fairport Convention, and was the first to feature Sandy Denny, whose "haunting, ethereal vocals gave Fairport a big boost", according to Allmusic's reviewer.[1] The album also showed a move towards the folk rock for which they became noted, including tracks later to become perennial favourites such as "Fotheringay" and the song traditionally used to close live concerts, "Meet on the Ledge".[2]

History

Following the departure of Judy Dyble, the band conducted auditions for a replacement singer, and Sandy Denny became the obvious choice. Simon Nicol has said "it was a one horse race really...she stood out like a clean glass in a sink full of dirty dishes".[3]

The album has been described by author Richie Unterberger as "a near-ideal balance between imaginative reworkings of traditional folk songs ... quality covers of contemporary folk-rock singer-songwriters, some quite obscure ... and original folk-rock material by various members".[4] Simon Nicol has cited the album as his favourite.[5]

The cover features a sketch of the band performing, described in the album credits as "from a blackboard assaulted by Fairport Convention"[6] and the reverse of the original sleeve a photograph of the band performing. The Island Masters 1990 re-release IMCD 97 also features a portrait of Sandy Denny.

In the USA, the album was released by A&M Records (SP-4185), containing an identical track listing but featured new cover art, and was retitled Fairport Convention.[7]

In 2008 Four Men With Beards released a 180 gram version of the album that is being distributed by City Hall Records.

Reception and influence

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert ChristgauA−[8]
Rolling Stone(favourable) [9]

Neal Casal, of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, lists What We Did on Our Holidays as one of his favourite albums of all time.[10]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fotheringay"  Sandy Denny3:06
2."Mr Lacey"  Ashley Hutchings2:55
3."Book Song"  Iain Matthews, Richard Thompson3:13
4."The Lord Is in This Place...How Dreadful Is This Place" (based on "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" by Blind Willie Johnson)Hutchings, Thompson, Denny2:01
5."No Man's Land"  Thompson2:32
6."I'll Keep It With Mine"  Bob Dylan5:56
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Eastern Rain"  Joni Mitchell3:36
2."Nottamun Town"  traditional, arranged by Denny, Matthews, Thompson, Simon Nicol, Hutchings, Martin Lamble3:12
3."Tale in Hard Time"  Thompson3:29
4."She Moves Through the Fair"  traditional, arr. Denny, Matthews, Thompson, Nicol, Hutchings, Lamble4:14
5."Meet on the Ledge"  Thompson2:50
6."End of a Holiday"  Nicol1:07

Personnel

Additional personnel

Production and other credits

References

  1. 1 2 3 Unterberger, Richie. "Fairport Convention: What We Did on Our Holidays > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  2. "Fairport Convention: Meet on the Ledge". www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  3. "Sold on Song – Song Library – Who Knows Where The Time Goes". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
  4. "THE BIRTH AND HEYDAY OF FAIRPORT CONVENTION". Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  5. "Fairport Convention – Keeping Cropredy in the Happy Family". Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  6. Liner notes
  7. "Fairport Convention: What We Did on Our Holidays". www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  8. Christgau, Robert. "Fairport Convention". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  9. Mendlesohn, John (6 September 1969). "Fairport Convention". Rolling Stone. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. (41): 28.
  10. "Interview: Neal Casal (Ryan Adams & the Cardinals)". stereokill.net. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  11. http://archive.richardthompson-music.com/QAgeartunings.asp
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