Angel Delight (album)

Angel Delight
Studio album by Fairport Convention
Released	June 1971
Recorded	February–March 1971 at Sound Techniques Ltd
Genre	Folk rock
Length	36:46
Label	Island
Producer	Fairport Convention & John Wood
Fairport Convention chronology
Full House (1970) Angel Delight (1971) Babbacombe Lee (1971)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

The Angel (right) in Little Hadham, Hertfordshire, after which this album was named

Angel Delight is the sixth album by the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. 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 detail such as "peer through the haze watching Top of the Pops". The band moved out of The Angel shortly after the album's release, partly because a lorry had run, out of control, 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 in 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 in the UK Album chart, making it the band's highest charting album in the UK.^[9]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Lord Marlborough" (Traditional) – 3:27
2. "Sir William Gower" (Traditional) – 5:00
3. "Bridge over the River Ash"^[10] (Traditional) – 2:15
4. "Wizard of the Worldly Game" (Nicol, Swarbrick) – 4:08
5. "The Journeyman's Grace" (Swarbrick, Thompson) – 4:35

Side two

1. "Angel Delight" (Mattacks, Nicol, Pegg, Swarbrick) – 4:09
2. "Banks of the Sweet Primroses" (Traditional) – 4:15
3. "Instrumental Medley: The Cuckoo's Nest/Hardiman the Fiddler/Papa Stoor" (Traditional) – 3:28
4. "The Bonny Black Hare" (Traditional) – 3:08
5. "Sickness & Diseases" (Swarbrick, Thompson) – 3:47

Bonus track

11. "The Journeyman's Grace" (Swarbrick, Thompson) – 3:53 ^[11]

Musicians

• 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 (4), tambourine (6), bass guitar (3), piano (4)
• 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)

on 11:

• Richard Thompson – vocals, electric guitar

Title

The cover includes a photo of two cherubs kissing. The title may also be a reference to the UK dessert, Angel Delight.

References