What We Did On Our Holidays - Wikipedia

Not to be confused with What We Did on Our Holiday. 1968 studio album by Fairport Convention

What We Did on Our Holidays
Studio album by Fairport Convention
Released	December 1968[1]
Genre	Folk rock,[2] folk[3]
Length	38:07
Label	Island
Producer	Joe Boyd
Fairport Convention chronology
Fairport Convention(1968) What We Did on Our Holidays(1968) Unhalfbricking(1969)
Singles from "What We Did on Our Holidays"
"Meet on the Ledge" b/w "Throwaway Street Puzzle"Released: December 1968 "I'll Keep It with Mine" b/w "Fotheringay"Released: 1969 (US)
Alternative cover
US release by A&M Records

What We Did on Our Holidays (released as Fairport Convention in the United States) is the second studio album by the English folk rock band Fairport Convention, released in December 1968.[1] It was their first album to feature singer-songwriter Sandy Denny. The album also showed a move towards the folk rock for which the band became noted, including tracks later to become perennial favourites such as "Fotheringay" and the song traditionally used to close live concerts, "Meet on the Ledge".[4]

History

[edit]

Following the departure of Judy Dyble, the band conducted auditions for a replacement singer, and Sandy Denny became the obvious choice. Simon Nicol has said "it was a one horse race really... she stood out like a clean glass in a sink full of dirty dishes".[5] Denny joined the group in May 1968 and had been touring with them for several months before sessions for the second album began.[6] According to author Richie Unterberger Denny's "haunting, ethereal vocals gave Fairport a big boost".[3]

The album has been described by Unterberger as "a near-ideal balance between imaginative reworkings of traditional folk songs ... quality covers of contemporary folk-rock singer-songwriters, some quite obscure ... and original folk-rock material by various members".[7]

The cover features a sketch of the band performing, drawn on a blackboard by Martin Lamble and Sandy Denny in a classroom at the University of Essex [8] and the reverse of the original sleeve shows a photograph of the band performing. The Island Masters 1990 re-release IMCD 97 also features a portrait of Sandy Denny.

In the US, the album was released by A&M Records (SP-4185) with an identical track listing but featuring new cover art, and was re-titled Fairport Convention.[9] The album was also released in Australia and New Zealand by Festival Records with the 'blackboard' front cover and an entirely different back cover to both the US and UK releases. The Discogs website gives no fewer than 54 different versions of the album.[10]

Reception and influence

[edit] Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[11]
Pitchfork	8.8/10[12]
Rolling Stone	(favourable)[13]
The Village Voice	A−[14]

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, American critic Robert Christgau deemed Fairport Convention the "most interesting unknown group" he had listened to in some time, highlighting their take on "Pentangle-style ballads" and Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It with Mine".[14] Over in England, Melody Maker called them a "top British group who neatly avoid categorizations" and "always produce satisfying music."[1]

Reviewing the 2008 re-issue of the album Pitchfork said: "The album mixes new interpretations of traditional ballads like 'Nottamun Town,' here rendered almost as a raga, with much newer songs, such as their soulful take on Dylan's 'I'll Keep It With Mine' and their ponderous version of Mitchell's 'Eastern Rain.' The best material on Holidays, though, may be their own—the stomping blues-rock of 'Mr. Lacey,' the racing 'No Man's Land,' and the stirring afterlife anthem 'Meet on the Ledge.'"[15]

Neal Casal, of Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, later listed What We Did on Our Holidays as one of his favourite albums of all time.[16] In 2008 Simon Nicol described the album as his favourite,[17] and it was voted number 281 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[18]

1999 album

[edit]

The album title was re-used for the 1999 CD release What We Did on Our Holidays – An Introduction to Fairport Convention on Island Records as IMCD 263.[19]

Track listing

[edit] Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fotheringay"	Sandy Denny	3:06
2.	"Mr Lacey"	Ashley Hutchings	2:55
3.	"Book Song"	Iain Matthews, Richard Thompson	3:13
4.	"The Lord Is in This Place…How Dreadful Is This Place" (based on "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" by Blind Willie Johnson)	Hutchings, Thompson, Denny	2:01
5.	"No Man's Land"	Thompson	2:32
6.	"I'll Keep It with Mine"	Bob Dylan	5:56

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Eastern Rain"	Joni Mitchell	3:36
2.	"Nottamun Town"	Traditional, arranged by Denny, Matthews, Thompson, Simon Nicol, Hutchings, Martin Lamble	3:12
3.	"Tale in Hard Time"	Thompson	3:29
4.	"She Moves Through the Fair"	Traditional, arranged by Denny, Matthews, Thompson, Nicol, Hutchings, Lamble	4:14
5.	"Meet on the Ledge"	Thompson	2:50
6.	"End of a Holiday"	Nicol	1:07

Bonus tracks on reissue

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Throwaway Street Puzzle"	Hutchings, Thompson	3:30
14.	"You're Gonna Need My Help" (recorded live for BBC Radio's "Symonds on Sunday" show, producer John Walters and engineer Tony Wilson; first transmission: 9 February 1969)	McKinley Morganfield	4:11
15.	"Some Sweet Day"	Felice and Boudleaux Bryant	2:32

Personnel

[edit]

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Fairport Convention

[edit]

• Sandy Denny (as Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny) – vocals, 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, organ, piano, harpsichord
• Iain Matthews – vocals, congas
• Richard Thompson – electric, 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, piano, accordion, sitar on "Book Song"[20] (uncredited), vocals
• Ashley Hutchings – bass, backing vocals
• Simon Nicol – electric & acoustic guitars, electric autoharp, electric dulcimer, backing vocals
• Martin Lamble – drums, percussion, violin, tabla & footsteps

Additional personnel

[edit]

• Bruce Lacey & his robots on "Mr. Lacey"
• Claire Lowther – cello on "Book Song"
• Kingsley Abbott – coins on "The Lord Is in This Place...," backing vocals on "Meet on the Ledge"
• Paul Ghosh, Andrew Horvitch & Marc Ellington – backing vocals on "Meet on the Ledge"
• Peter Ross – harmonica on "Throwaway Street Puzzle"

Production and other credits

[edit]

• Recorded at Sound Techniques, London and Olympic Studio No. 1, London (except "The Lord Is in This Place..." recorded at St. Peter's Church, Westbourne Grove, West London). Further work recorded at Morgan Studios, London
• Engineered by John Wood, Sound Techniques, London
• Photography by Richard Bennett Zeff & Annie Brown
• Design by Diogenic Attempts Ltd.

References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Melody Maker LP Supplement" (PDF). Melody Maker. 14 December 1968. p. 18. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
2. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Great Moments in Folk Rock: Lists of Author Favorites". Richieunterberger.com. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
3. ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "Fairport Convention: What We Did on Our Holidays > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
4. ^ "Fairport Convention: Meet on the Ledge". Reinhard Zierke. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
5. ^ "Sold on Song – Song Library – Who Knows Where The Time Goes". BBC. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
6. ^ "Sandy Denny Biography". Sandy Denny. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
7. ^ "THE BIRTH AND HEYDAY OF FAIRPORT CONVENTION". Retrieved 4 May 2008.
8. ^ Thompson, Richard (2021). Beeswing. Faber Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0571348169.
9. ^ "Fairport Convention: What We Did on Our Holidays". Reinhard Zierke. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
10. ^ "Fairport Convention – What We Did on Our Holidays". Discogs.
11. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 3074. ISBN 978-0857125958.
12. ^ Deusner, Stephen (2 May 2008). "Fairport Convention: What We Did on Our Holidays". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
13. ^ Mendlesohn, John (6 September 1969). "Fairport Convention". Rolling Stone. No. 41. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. p. 28.
14. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (10 July 1969). "Consumer Guide (1)". The Village Voice. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
15. ^ "Fairport Convention: What We Did on Our Holidays / Unhalfbricking". Pitchfork.
16. ^ "Interview: Neal Casal (Ryan Adams & the Cardinals)". stereokill.net. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
17. ^ "Fairport Convention – Keeping Cropredy in the Happy Family". Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
18. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 121. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
19. ^ "What We Did on Our Holidays – An Introduction to Fairport Convention". mainlynorfolk.info.
20. ^ "Q & A re: Gear and Tunings". Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.

v t e Fairport Convention
Simon Nicol Dave Pegg Ric Sanders Chris Leslie Dave Mattacks Richard Thompson Ashley Hutchings Martin Lamble Judy Dyble Iain Matthews Sandy Denny Dave Swarbrick Trevor Lucas Jerry Donahue Bruce Rowland Dan Ar Braz Maartin Allcock Gerry Conway Discography
Studio albums	Fairport Convention (1968) What We Did on Our Holidays (1969) Unhalfbricking (1969) Liege & Lief (1969) Full House (1970) Angel Delight (1971) "Babbacombe" Lee (1971) Rosie (1973) Nine (1973) Rising for the Moon (1975) Gottle O'Geer (1976) The Bonny Bunch of Roses (1977) Tipplers Tales (1978) Gladys' Leap (1985) Expletive Delighted! (1986) In Real Time: Live '87 (1987) Red & Gold (1988) The Five Seasons (1990) Jewel in the Crown (1995) Old New Borrowed Blue (1996) Who Knows Where the Time Goes? (1997) The Wood and the Wire (1999) XXXV (2002) Over the Next Hill (2004) Sense of Occasion (2007) Festival Bell (2011) By Popular Request (2012) Myths and Heroes (2015) 50:50@50 (2017) Shuffle and Go (2020)
Singles	"If I Had a Ribbon Bow" (1968) "Meet on the Ledge" (1968) "I'll Keep It with Mine" (1969) "Si Tu Dois Partir" (1969) "Now Be Thankful" (1970)
Live albums	Fairport Live Convention (1974) Live at the L.A. Troubadour (1977) Farewell, Farewell (1979) Moat on the Ledge - Live at Broughton Castle (1982) House Full (1986) Heyday (1987) From Past Archives (1994) Live at the BBC (2007) Off the Desk (2008)
Compilations	The History of Fairport Convention (1972) Fairport Chronicles (1976)
Box sets	The Cropredy Box (1998)
Related articles	Fairport's Cropredy Convention appearances Woodworm Records Matty Grooves Records

v t e Sandy Denny
Solo albums	The North Star Grassman and the Ravens Sandy Like an Old Fashioned Waltz Rendezvous Gold Dust
Live albums	Gold Dust
Compilations	It's Sandy Denny Who Knows Where the Time Goes? The BBC Sessions 1971–1973 A Boxful of Treasures Live at the BBC Sandy Denny
Albums with the Strawbs	All Our Own Work Sandy Denny and the Strawbs
Albums withFairport Convention	What We Did on Our Holidays Unhalfbricking Liege & Lief Fairport Live Convention Rising for the Moon Heyday
Albums with Fotheringay	Fotheringay Fotheringay 2
Albums with The Bunch	Rock On
Collaborations	Alex Campbell and His Friends Sandy and Johnny Don't Stop Singing
Songs	"Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" "The Battle of Evermore" "The 3:10 to Yuma"

Authority control databases	MusicBrainz release group