Angel Delight (album)
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| Angel Delight | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1971 | |||
| Recorded | February–March 1971 | |||
| Studio | Sound Techniques (London) | |||
| Genre | British folk rock | |||
| Length | 36:46 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | Fairport Convention & John Wood | |||
| Fairport Convention chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Angel Delight is the sixth album by the British folk rock band Fairport Convention, released in June 1971. This was the first Fairport Convention album without guitarist Richard Thompson, and the lineup consisted of Simon Nicol (guitar, vocals) (the only original group member), Dave Swarbrick (violin, vocals), Dave Pegg (bass, vocals), and Dave Mattacks (drums).
The title derives from "The Angel" in Little Hadham, Hertfordshire, a former pub which the band were living in at the time,[2][3] and the eponymous track is autobiographical, referring to "John the Wood" (co-producer), "Dave the Drum" (Mattacks), and even details such as "peer through the haze watching Top of the Pops" and "there's a hole in the wall where a lorry came in" – the band moved out of The Angel shortly after the album's release, partly because a lorry had crashed into Dave Swarbrick's bedroom.[4][5]
The U.K. album cover included liner notes consisting of dialogue among band members and roadies preparing to leave "The Angel" for a gig, that was replaced on American and Canadian copies by a more straightforward, biographical liner essay.[6][7]
Musically, Angel Delight progressed little from its predecessors, although an appearance on Top of the Pops as a featured album contributed to its chart success;[8] it reached number eight on the UK Album chart, making it the band's highest charting album in the UK.[9] In the United States the album just made the Billboard Top LPs at number 200.[10]
Reception
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lord Marlborough" | Traditional | 3:27 |
| 2. | "Sir William Gower" | Traditional | 5:00 |
| 3. | "Bridge over the River Ash[11]" | Traditional | 2:15 |
| 4. | "Wizard of the Worldly Game" | Simon Nicol, Dave Swarbrick | 4:08 |
| 5. | "The Journeyman's Grace" | Swarbrick, Richard Thompson | 4:35 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Angel Delight" | Nicol, Swarbrick, Dave Pegg, Dave Mattacks | 4:10 |
| 7. | "Banks of the Sweet Primroses" | Traditional | 4:15 |
| 8. | "Instrumental Medley: The Cuckoo's Nest / Hardiman the Fiddler / Papa Stoor" | Traditional | 3:28 |
| 9. | "The Bonny Black Hare" | Traditional | 3:08 |
| 10. | "Sickness & Diseases" | Swarbrick, Thompson | 3:47 |
| Total length: | 36:46 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "The Journeyman's Grace[12]" | Swarbrick, Thompson | 3:53 |
Personnel
- Simon Nicol – lead vocals (2,5), vocals (1,4–7,9,10,11), guitar (1,2,4–8,10,11), bass guitar (9), electric dulcimer (1,9), violin (3)
- Dave Swarbrick – lead vocals (1,4,5,10,11), mandolin (2,6,8,9,10), vocals (2,6,7,9), fiddle (1,5,7,8,11), viola (9), cuckoo (8)
- Dave Pegg – bass guitar (1–2,4–8,10,11), vocals (1,2,4–7,9,10,11), lead guitar (10), viola (9), violin (3)
- Dave Mattacks – drums (1,2,4–11), percussion (8,10), vocals (1,4–7,10–11), harmonium and piano (4), tambourine (6), bass guitar (3)
on 11:
- Richard Thompson – vocals, electric guitar
