In Real Time: Live '87

Artist: Fairport Convention
Label: Polygram Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Live
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 042284285629
EAN: 0042284285629
ASIN: B000001FVR

Release Date: 1991-07-01

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British Folk

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Listmania:

Fairport Convention LIVE
10 Essential British Folk-Rock CDs

Tracks:

Reynard The Fox
The Widow Of Westmorland's Daughter
The Hiring Fair
Crazy Man Michael
Close To The Wind
'Big Three' Medley: The Swirling Pit/Matty Groves/The Rutland Reel/Sack The Juggler
Meet On The Ledge (Studio Version)

Customer Reviews:

THE PHONEY LIVE ALBUM.......2006-01-20

In Real Time was produced by the band for Release in 1987 so they could have something to peddle to the masses that would be seeing them as the opening act for a certain Jethro Tull during the "Crest Of A Knave" tour.
It was recorded live in the studio (at the band's own Woodworm Records) with pre-recorded audience sounds tacked on, pictures from the Cropredy Festival were included to lead all to believe it was recorded there.
That said even if it is "The Phoney Live Album" it is an excellant one and one of the best recordings in the band's history.
It begins with "Reynard The Fox", and the playing is stellar, Ric Sanders is way on top of this one, taking is fiddle where no one has gone before or since. "Widow of Westmorland's Daughter" has about a million words in it and vocalist Simon Nicol sings em' all in just over three minutes, best version of this ditty on record. Next up is the "Hiring Fair", first heard on a Swarbrick/ Nicol record in the early 80's, this version is way better because Simon's voice had matured to a fine instrument by 1987, and the fantastic "Cosmic" solo by Ric is just amazing...on seeing the band play this in 89, my friend called it "Soul Fiddlin" and I tend to agree with that.
"Crazy Man Michael", sounds really pretty, some reviewers really hate this version because it's a lot different from the original...well even without Richard's guitar, it's still worth a listen.
Side Two starts up with "Close To The Wind" and it's my favorite on this Disk, quite simply put it's a GREAT song and and the band's performance is fantastic. Next is the show closer "Matty Groves" in it's late 80's arrangement and it's my favorite of the dozens of versions out there on other CD's, but that said, I do wonder how it's gonna sound the next time the boy's are at the Palms Playhouse in Winters, Ca. Tacked on at the end of the disk is the 87 version of "Meet On The Ledge", lot's of folks do not like this version for some reason or another, I don't get it, can't understand why it ticks off these people, like "Mattty" it's my favorite version of this classic (along with Iain Matthews solo rendering live in concert).
If I were to have a complaint about "In Real Time"... I'd wish it was twice it's current length...... FIVE STARS.

My Virginal Fairport Experience.......2005-04-06

I love this CD simply because I saw them on the tour they did to promote this album. They opened for Jethro Tull in 1987 (Tull was hawking their Crest of a Knave CD), and it's still the best concert I've ever seen. It was the first time I had seen either band, and I haven't recovered from it since, I'm happy to say.

Back to the FC CD, when I saw them play "Reynard the Fox" at the above mentioned concert, my jaw dropped to the floor, and it's pretty much stayed there. "The Swirling Pit/Matty Groves/Sack the Juggler" also provoked a similar reaction. I knew that I was going to be hunting down all things Fairport from that point forward. Of course, I started with In Real Time because it was their latest release and led off with "Reynard." It was an obvious choice in the process of dispensing with my FC virginity.

I listened to this CD incessantly in college, driving my roomate and other folks around me crazy, but I didn't care. I realized I had discovered something marvelous, and I was truly enjoying myself. There were a few things I didn't like about the CD -- namely that the it opens so strongly with "Reynard the Fox" and "The Widow of Westmorland's Daughter," then three very slow, brooding songs follow. Not that "The Hiring Fair," "Close to the Wind," and "Crazy Man Michael" are bad songs. My Lord, no. "Crazy Man Michael" is a wonderful Richard Thompson song (although when I read about the circumstances of its being written, I realized what a terribly sad song it is), and "The Hiring Fair" is one of Simon Nicol's truly great vocal moments and one of Ralph McTell's great compositions (amongst many). It's just too many "down" songs in a row for me. When the "Swirling/Matty/Sack" medley kicks in, it's a welcome pick-me-up.

The then-newly recorded version of Richard Thompson's "Meet on the Ledge" is not the best one out there and hardly bests the original studio version, but again, it's the first version I heard and therefore has a special place in my heart.

I also realized, through this album, the extensive musician swapping that Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull did during this period. Dave Pegg played bass in both bands, and multi-instrumentalist Maartin Alcock would play on one future album and several tours. Drummer Dave Mattacks also joined Tull in the early '90's for one tour and live CD. I'm so glad that I got into both bands heavily starting from this very fertile period in both their histories.

Fairport Convention has no shortage of great live CD's, and musically speaking, many of them beat this one by a long shot, but this one will always be my favorite, because it was the one that introduced me to them. FC is the best folk-rock band there ever was, British or otherwise, and I just hope they stay together forever.

Nice songs, horrible mix.......2004-09-02

I really enjoy the modern approach to antique sounding British folk music represented by this album. The musicianship seems high but for one problem. The vocals are distant, often muddled and indistinct, and the vocalist is fairly lackluster. He is no Richard Thompson, (band member from a long time ago) that's for sure. If it's true that this is an artifically "lived" version of studio recordings, as is rumored in another review - well you think they could have gotten the mix right. I can't imagine a band allowing this to happen, what a bizarre idea. Good band, lousy album. However the songs Hiring Fair and Close to the Wind are worth having - maybe they exist elsewhere in better recorded sound.

What the last guy said..........2003-11-20

I am introduced to this band by listening to this brilliant live effort. I am led to contribute my 2/100.
It is alway exciting to listen to a new band and get hooked on them. I passed these guys up or just didn't cross paths. Now, a new fan can wholeheartedly uphold two thumbs.
If you haven't heard the band, hear this first. I don't have all the adjectives to describe them. Talented, tight, diverse yet integrated... they've got it going on, every song immediately grabbed me, damn near throttled me mesmerized... so original, non-commercial, unique. Nicol's voice is right up with the best I've heard... and the musicianship words cannot capture, so very impressed. This is at least an outstanding show.

Live or not, a very good album.......2002-03-20

Another reviewer has said this "live" album was actually recorded in a studio, with audience noise added later. If so, it had me fooled. Based on the '87 Cropredy live songs on the "It All Comes 'Round Again" video, this is a good representation of how Fairport sounded live at the time. At latest count, I have 7 live versions of "Matty Groves" and this is easily the best, with a revised arrangement that suggests the violence of the lyrics. After Fairport reunited in the mid-80s, Simon Nicol was the only lead singer for a decade -- this album captures his odd re-birth as a romantic ballad singer, with "Close to the Wind" and the lovely "The Hiring Fair." There are also strong versions of old Fairport songs "Crazy Man Michael" and "The Widow of Westmorland's Daughter". The album ends with an unnecessary studio remake of "Meet on the Ledge."

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

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