In Search of Amelia Earhart
Encyclopedia
In Search of Amelia Earhart is the 1972 album by Plainsong
, a band formed by country rock
/folk rock
musician Ian Matthews
and Andy Roberts
.
Ian Matthews played in four different incarnations within three years. He had left Fairport Convention
for his own band, Matthews' Southern Comfort, put out two solo LPs for Vertigo Records, and then started the band Plainsong.
It is probably fair to say that In Search of Amelia Earhart is the pinnacle of Matthews' work in the 1970s. Working with producer Sandy Robertson (Hard Meat, Steeleye Span, Shirley Collins), Ian and bandmates, notably Andy Roberts who shared vocals on the album, created an atypical British folk album conceived around the idea of the legends surrounding Amelia Earhart
and her supposed demise.
Matthews had read a book by Fred Goerner hypothesizing that Earhart and her flying companion Frederick Noonan had crashed around the Japanese held Marshall Island area and been taken prisoner by the Japanese on Saipan, in the Marianas, in 1937. Their plane had supposedly been outfitted with aerial cameras and had a bigger fuel tank than anyone outside of the US government knew. After being grilled by Japanese interrogators Earhart would perish of dysentery, and Noonan was beheaded by the Japanese.
Not all of the songs on the album are directly about Amelia Earhart. But the album carries that somber, mellow tone that so much great folk music of the early ’70s was in touch with. Many of the songs are about seeing and reaching for light, whether they be the light of day or the light of death. So in a way the album is more about the way people felt about, cared about and thought about Amelia Earhart and her death. That she is still considered a heroine of aviation and a distinctly American hero keeps the mystery of what happened to her in the greater cultural imagination.
Plainsong (band)
Plainsong was originally a British country rock/folk rock band, formed in early 1972 by Ian Matthews, formerly of Fairport Convention; Andy Roberts, previously of The Liverpool Scene; Dave Richards; and Bob Ronga...
, a band formed by country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
/folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
musician Ian Matthews
Iain Matthews
Iain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...
and Andy Roberts
Andy Roberts (musician)
Andrew "Andy" Roberts is an English musician.He gained a violin scholarship to Felsted School. He then attended Liverpool University. He has played with The Liverpool Scene, Plainsong, The Scaffold, Roy Harper, Chris Spedding, Pink Floyd, Hank Wangford, Kevin Ayers, Vivian Stanshall and Grimms...
.
Ian Matthews played in four different incarnations within three years. He had left Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
for his own band, Matthews' Southern Comfort, put out two solo LPs for Vertigo Records, and then started the band Plainsong.
It is probably fair to say that In Search of Amelia Earhart is the pinnacle of Matthews' work in the 1970s. Working with producer Sandy Robertson (Hard Meat, Steeleye Span, Shirley Collins), Ian and bandmates, notably Andy Roberts who shared vocals on the album, created an atypical British folk album conceived around the idea of the legends surrounding Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
and her supposed demise.
Matthews had read a book by Fred Goerner hypothesizing that Earhart and her flying companion Frederick Noonan had crashed around the Japanese held Marshall Island area and been taken prisoner by the Japanese on Saipan, in the Marianas, in 1937. Their plane had supposedly been outfitted with aerial cameras and had a bigger fuel tank than anyone outside of the US government knew. After being grilled by Japanese interrogators Earhart would perish of dysentery, and Noonan was beheaded by the Japanese.
Not all of the songs on the album are directly about Amelia Earhart. But the album carries that somber, mellow tone that so much great folk music of the early ’70s was in touch with. Many of the songs are about seeing and reaching for light, whether they be the light of day or the light of death. So in a way the album is more about the way people felt about, cared about and thought about Amelia Earhart and her death. That she is still considered a heroine of aviation and a distinctly American hero keeps the mystery of what happened to her in the greater cultural imagination.
Track listing
- "For the Second Time" (Ian Matthews) - 3:51
- "Yo Yo Man" (Rick Cunha, Marty Cooper) - 2:13
- "Louise" (Paul SiebelPaul SiebelPaul Siebel is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born on September 19, 1937 in Buffalo, NY. He is best known for other artist's cover versions of his songs, most notably "Louise"...
) - 3:18 - "Call the Tune" (Ian Matthews) - 5:22
- "Diesel on My Tail" (Jim Fagan) - 2:03
- "Amelia Earhart's Last FlightAmelia Earhart's Last Flight"Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" is a song written by Red River Dave McEnery shortly after Amelia Earhart's disappearance.It was copyrighted in 1939, and was first performed by David McEnery on a pioneer television broadcast from the 1939 New York World's Fair.It has maintained continued popularity...
" (Dave McEneryDavid McEnery (musician)Red River Dave McEnery was a musician and writer of topical songs. He was born in San Antonio, Texas. He got the nickname "Red River Dave" because he enjoyed singing "Red River Valley" in high school...
) - 4:05 - "I'll Fly AwayI'll Fly Away"I'll Fly Away", is a hymn written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley and published in 1932 by the Hartford Music company in a collection titled Wonderful Message...
" (Albert E. BrumleyAlbert E. BrumleyAlbert Edward Brumley was a shape note gospel music composer and publisher.Brumley was born near Spiro, Oklahoma on October 29, 1905. Pre-Dustbowl Oklahoma was primarily made up of sparse agricultural communities; Brumley's family was no different. He spent much of his early life chopping and...
) - 2:03 - "True Story of Amelia Earhart" (Ian Matthews) - 4:32
- "Even the Guiding Light" (Ian Matthews) - 4:12
- "Side Roads" (Ian Matthews) - 3:29
- "Raider" (Jerry YesterJerry YesterJerry Yester is an American folk rock musician, record producer, and arranger.Growing up in Burbank, California, Yester formed a duo with brother Jim Yester, the Yester Brothers, and starting playing folk clubs in Los Angeles in 1960...
, Judy HenskeJudy HenskeJudy Henske is an American singer and songwriter, once known as "the Queen of the Beatniks".-Life and recording career:...
) - 4:32
Personnel
- Ian MatthewsIain MatthewsIain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...
- guitar, vocals - Andy RobertsAndy Roberts (musician)Andrew "Andy" Roberts is an English musician.He gained a violin scholarship to Felsted School. He then attended Liverpool University. He has played with The Liverpool Scene, Plainsong, The Scaffold, Roy Harper, Chris Spedding, Pink Floyd, Hank Wangford, Kevin Ayers, Vivian Stanshall and Grimms...
- guitar, vocals - Dave Richards - guitar, vocals
- Bob Ronga - bass, vocals
- Martin Jenkins - mandolin, cello, mandola
- Dave MattacksDave MattacksDave Mattacks is a rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician, and as a performance artist...
- drums - Timi Donald - drums
Production
- Producer: Sandy Roberton
- Recording Engineer: Jerry Boys
- Art Direction: n/a
- Photography: Jeremy Ensor
- Liner Notes: Fred Goerner