Fairport Founder In Fine Fettle
Ken Koch | Sacramento, CA USA | 11/30/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Resurgence (UK) have rereleased "Before Your Time" and "Consonant Please Carol", the two solo albums by Fairport Convention's Simon Nicol (the only original member still with the group)in a single package.This is great stuff. Fairport fans will be interested to hear the original versions of "The Deserter" and "Stuck It Right This Time", both of which appeared on Fairport Convention's live CD "OLD NEW BORROWED BLUE" and are standards in Fairport's set lists. Simon's comfy voice provides one of the better versions of Julie Gold's oft-covered "From A Distance" as well as Linda Thompson's "Insult to Injury". Speaking of Linda Thompson, this collection includes the amazing "I Live Not Where I Love" which Simon recorded in Linda's living room, featuring Linda on lead vocal, Simon and the Watersons in the background. This track alone is worth the twenty bucks."
Before Your Time - Excellent
Miko | New York | 01/04/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Since this is actually two solo albums each should be considered on its own merits. Either way, it is well worth getting on the strengths of Before Your Time alone. If only BYT had been released on a label with more distribution capabilities than Woodworm when it first came out it may have earned the classic status it so richly deserves. As it is, I consider myself fortunate to have been in England at the time. This is an outstanding, mature effort. The material and arrangements suit Simon's mellowing barritone perfectly and the quality is top notch. In fact the one quality that stands out above the rest is good taste, even on the more aggressive tracks. It strikes a perfect balance between the traditional and the contemporary and has a consistant mood throughout. Every track could be considered a standout, but even at that Rosemary's Sister manages to be the show stopper. Wow, what a song! Huw Williams has become a favorite source of material for both SN and Fairport, but this is where it all started. Consonant Please Carol is less than stellar, but the way I see it it is essentially free. Plus it does indeed have its moments (most contributed by Mr. Williams). At one point I probably would have paid money to hear SN sing the phone book, but even that would be better than some of the stuff on CPC. I'm sorry Simon, you came way too close to the line of being overly sentimental and sappy and crossed it a few times here. And I'm not refering to I Can Jump Puddles or Danny's Song either, those are great tracks. But Maiden Voyage? - way too adolescent for me. The main issue is that the things that made BYT great are missing here, there's no consistancy or traditional elements here. But there are some excellent tracks and that voice, and that's not half bad."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1