01	Fotheringay						03:07
	02	Mr. Lacey						02:55
	03	Book Song						03:13
	04	The Lord Is In This Place						02:01
	05	No Man's Land						02:33
	06	I'll Keep It With Mine						05:54
	07	Eastern Rain						03:35
	08	Nottamun Town						03:12
	09	Tale In Hard Time						03:27
	10	She Moves Through The Fair						04:14
	11	Meet On The Ledge						02:50
	12	End Of A Holiday						01:06

1969 A.E.MacLean Denny - I.M.Matthews - R.Thompson - S.Nicol - M.Lamble - A.S.Hutchings

What We Did on Our Holidays

Release Date - Jan 1969

Label - Hannibal

Review by Richie Unterberger

Sandy Denny's haunting, ethereal vocals gave Fairport a big boost on her debut with the group. A more folk-based album than their initial effort, What We Did on Our Holidays was divided between original material and a few well-chosen covers. This contains several of their greatest moments: Denny's "Fotheringay," Richard Thompson's "Meet on the Ledge," the obscure Joni Mitchell composition "Eastern Rain," the traditional "She Moves Through the Fair," and their version of Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine." And more than simply being a collection of good songs (with one or two pedestrian ones), it allowed Fairport to achieve its greatest internal balance, and indeed one of the finest balances of any major folk-rock group. The strong original material, covers of little-known songs by major contemporary songwriters such as Dylan and Mitchell, and updates of traditional material were reminiscent of the blend achieved by the Byrds on their early albums, with Fairport Convention giving a British slant to the idiom. The slant would become much more British by the end of the 1960s, though, both gaining and losing something in the process. Confusingly, What We Did on Our Holidays was titled Fairport Convention in its initial U.S. release, with a different cover from the U.K. edition as well, although Fairport's very first album from 1968 had used the title Fairport Convention as well. In the CD age, the title was standardized in all territories to What We Did on Our Holidays. [The 2003 CD reissue of this record adds historical liner notes and three bonus tracks from the same era, one from a BBC broadcast, one from a non-LP B-side, and one a studio outtake.]




Fotheringay

Song Review by Matthew Greenwald
One of Sandy Denny's earliest songwriting ventures, "Fotheringay" captures her use of natural imagery and Celtic references in one fine ball of fire. Melodically, the song is propelled by a gentle, intricate folk-based fingerpicking style, performed by Richard Thompson. On top (and underneath) all of this is an incredible harmony arrangement - most likely performed by Denny herself, which gives the music a wonderful, bittersweet flavor. Denny's emotional lead vocal underlines the lyrics perfectly, which is a dark take on a young woman's journey from an oppressed life. Denny's use of birds flying away to convey a feeling of freedom would be later used to great effect on her classic, "Who Knows Where The Time Goes".




Eastern Rain

Song Review by Richie Unterberger
At the beginning of her career, Joni Mitchell wrote so many songs that she never got around to recording a few of the ones she regularly performed on stage in the late 1960s. One of those was "Eastern Rain," which was covered by Fairport Convention as a highlight of their second album, What We Did on Our Holidays. Fairport Convention did a number of Joni Mitchell covers in their early days, putting "Chelsea Morning" and "I Don't Know Where I Stand" on their first album, and covering some other numbers live that they never put on their own studio releases. Most likely they came across "Eastern Rain" through their producer Joe Boyd, who had access to demos of unreleased Mitchell songs. "Eastern Rain" is certainly the most obscure of their recorded Mitchell covers, though it's a quite good and pleasant folk-rock song, up to the level of what Mitchell herself put on her late-1960s albums. Like many of Mitchell's early tunes, it has a lilting melody and florid lyrics that make strong use of natural imagery: the "Eastern Rain" itself, of course, but also morning sun and shadows by the fire. The exact situation "Eastern Rain" is describing is indefinite, but it seems to be that of two lovers holing up in the rain, reluctant to move and eager to let the mood linger. Fairport Convention did extremely creative arrangements of American folk-rock songs in the late 1960s, and "Eastern Rain" is a good example, with the track fading in gradually to lend it an air of mystery. Sandy Denny and Ian Matthews harmonize through much of the song, though Denny occasionally takes soaring leads; haunting noises that sound like harpsichords and flutes are heard tinkering away in the background occasionally to provide a hint of exotica; Richard Thompson takes a brief biting guitar solo; and Martin Lamble adds to the drama with some well-placed cymbal washes and low drum rumbles. For the curious, late-1960s live performances of the song by Mitchell herself, with only solo acoustic guitar accompaniment, circulate on bootlegs; There are two versions on the best such bootleg, Second Fret Sets: 1966-1968.




Meet on the Ledge

Song Review by Matthew Greenwald
One of the earlier Fairport Convention tracks, "Meet Me On The Ledge" is an excellent example of the group's ensemble ability, as well as their ability to create a real atmosphere. The dark, sensual ambience permeates the whole track, with Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny's voices blending into a beautiful union. The song subtlety builds to a fine crescendo, topped by Thompson's exquisite electric guitar work. The melody is an elegant adaptation of a possibly Elizabethan piece from the 1600's, yet in Fairport's hands, becomes totally modern. Lyrically, the song can be see as a two-fold statement. On one hand, it's a romantic statement between two lovers planning to take their journey through life together. On the other hand, there is a bigger picture here, with the camaraderie of the 60's social counterculture movement being addressed as well.