Jewel in the Crown (album)


Jewel In The Crown is the eighteenth studio album by folk rock band Fairport Convention which is viewed by many as the best record produced by the line-up which had been formed in 1985 for the one-off project Gladys' Leap. While few of the tracks were self-penned, it features tracks from many of the band's favourite writers including Huw Williams, Ralph McTell and Julie Matthews.

History

The album was recorded in two stages. Initially a few tracks were partially recorded with recording engineer Tim Matyear. Matyear's departure from Dave Pegg's Woodworm Studio led to producer-engineer Mark Tucker being hired to continue with recording the remaining material. At a very late stage in the production, producer Gus Dudgeon made a contribution to the mixing of the songs "Jewel In The Crown", "The Naked Highwayman", "Closing Time" and "Red Tide". Some subtractive edits were made to "The Naked Highwayman" as Dudgeon felt the song was too long. Overall it is generally considered one of the most satisfying of Fairport's releases since Nine. It was also the last studio album recorded by the Nicol, Pegg, Mattacks, Allcock and Sanders line-up.

Track listing

  1. "Jewel in the Crown" – 3:32
  2. "Slip Jigs and Reels" – 4:52
  3. "A Surfeit of Lampreys" – 3:19
  4. "Kind Fortune" – 2:37
  5. "Diamonds and Gold" – 4:14
  6. "The Naked Highwayman" – 4:32
  7. "The Islands" – 4:33
  8. "The Youngest Daughter" – 2:06
  9. "London Danny" – 3:50
  10. "Summer in December" – 4:57
  11. "Travelling by Steam" / "Travel by Steam" – 3:47
  12. "She's Like the Swallow" – 3:14
  13. "Red Tide" – 4:36
  14. "Home Is Where the Heart Is" – 4:41
  15. "Closing Time" – 5:40

    Production