Tipplers Tales
Encyclopedia
Tipplers Tales is a 1978 album by Fairport Convention
; recorded in only ten days, it was the last album the band recorded for Vertigo
. Simon Nicol
later wrote
Dave Pegg
would later say
Tipplers Tales was described by Allmusic as "not a concept album, even though alcohol is a recurrent motif in many of the traditional numbers", but nonetheless "doing what the band members do best -- taking some fine old traditional English jigs, reels, and traditional narratives and putting their own distinctive folk-rock stamp on them". Following the release of Tippler's Tales, Fairport would not record for the following seven years until the Gladys' Leap
album in 1985.
Several of the traditional
folk songs had previously been recorded by A. L. Lloyd
accompanied by Dave Swarbrick
. The version of "John Barleycorn" here is close to the version recorded by Traffic
, as Steve Winwood
had been taught the song by The Watersons
. The tune is based on "Wir Pflügen" by Johann Schultz, better known as We Plough the Fields and Scatter
, an old English harvest festival
hymn.
unless otherwise stated
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...
; recorded in only ten days, it was the last album the band recorded for Vertigo
Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram...
. Simon Nicol
Simon Nicol
Simon John Breckenridge Nicol is a guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founder member of British folk rock, or electric folk group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the band...
later wrote
Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, arguably most visible as a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the pre-eminent electric folk band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of important folk and rock groups including The Ian Campbell...
would later say
Tipplers Tales was described by Allmusic as "not a concept album, even though alcohol is a recurrent motif in many of the traditional numbers", but nonetheless "doing what the band members do best -- taking some fine old traditional English jigs, reels, and traditional narratives and putting their own distinctive folk-rock stamp on them". Following the release of Tippler's Tales, Fairport would not record for the following seven years until the Gladys' Leap
Gladys' Leap
Gladys' Leap is a folk rock album by Fairport Convention originally released in August 1985. It was recorded in April and May 1985 at Woodworm Studios, Barford St. Michael, Oxfordshire, UK...
album in 1985.
Several of the traditional
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
folk songs had previously been recorded by A. L. Lloyd
A. L. Lloyd
Albert Lancaster Lloyd , usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English folk singer and collector of folk songs, and as such was a key figure in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s....
accompanied by Dave Swarbrick
Dave Swarbrick
Dave Swarbrick is an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. He has been described by Ashley Hutchings as 'the most influential [British] fiddle player bar none' and his style has been copied or developed by almost every British, and many World folk violin players that have followed him...
. The version of "John Barleycorn" here is close to the version recorded by Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
, as Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
had been taught the song by The Watersons
The Watersons
The Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies.-Career:...
. The tune is based on "Wir Pflügen" by Johann Schultz, better known as We Plough the Fields and Scatter
We Plough the Fields and Scatter
We Plough the Fields and Scatter is an English hymn commonly associated with harvest festival. The hymn was originally German, by poet Matthias Claudius, 'Wir pflügen und wir streuen' published in 1782, and set to music in 1800, and attributed to Johann A. P. Schulz. It was translated into...
, an old English harvest festival
Harvest festival
A Harvest Festival is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times throughout the world...
hymn.
Track listing
All tracks credited as "Traditional"Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
unless otherwise stated
Side one
- "Ye Mariners All" (Bottom of the Punch Bowl / East Nuke of Fyfe / Ye Mariners All) - 4:29
- "Three Drunken Maidens" - 2:46
- "Jack O'Rion" (Jack O'Rion / Turnabout / Tiree/Miss Stevenson's / Do It Now / March of the Last / Turnabout) : 11:04
Side two
- "Reynard the Fox" - 3:02
- "Lady of Pleasure" (Allan Taylor) - 2:34
- "Bankruptured" (Dave Pegg) - 1:55
- "The Widow of Westmoorland" - 3:23
- "The Hair of the Dogma" (Dave Pegg) - 1:48
- "As Bitme" (Dave Pegg / Bruce Rowland) - 1:40
- "John BarleycornJohn Barleycorn"John Barleycorn" is an English folksong. The character of John Barleycorn in the song is a personification of the important cereal crop barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it, beer and whisky...
" - 4:39
Personnel
- Dave SwarbrickDave SwarbrickDave Swarbrick is an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. He has been described by Ashley Hutchings as 'the most influential [British] fiddle player bar none' and his style has been copied or developed by almost every British, and many World folk violin players that have followed him...
- fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, mandolin, mandocelloMandocelloThe mandocello is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It has eight strings in four paired courses, tuned in 5ths like a mandolin, but is larger, and tuned CC-GG-dd-aa . It is to the mandolin what the cello is to the violin.-Construction:Mandocello construction is similar to the...
, vocals - Simon NicolSimon NicolSimon John Breckenridge Nicol is a guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founder member of British folk rock, or electric folk group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the band...
- electric and acoustic guitars, vocals, dulcimerAppalachian dulcimerThe Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
, piano - Dave PeggDave PeggDave Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, arguably most visible as a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the pre-eminent electric folk band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of important folk and rock groups including The Ian Campbell...
- bass guitar, guitar, mandolin, vocals - Bruce RowlandBruce Rowland (drummer)Bruce Rowland is an English rock drummer best known for his memberships of The Grease Band and folk rock band Fairport Convention. He is also a prolific session musician.-Early career:...
- drums, percussion, electric piano
- Barry Hammond - engineer
Release history
- 1978, May : VertigoVertigo RecordsVertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram...
9102022 UK LPLP albumThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... - 1989, October : Beat Goes On Records BGO LP72 UK LP
- 2002, November : Vertigo 512988-2 UK CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
(with The Bonny Bunch of RosesThe Bonny Bunch of Roses"The Bonny Bunch of Roses" , also called "Bonaparte's Retreat", is an English folk song.The earliest known version of the tune is in William Christie's "Tradition Ballad Airs" , but there is another tune, of Irish origin. There is an obvious difficulty in identifying the narrator's voice...
) - 2007, February : Vertigo 984305-2 UK CD