118-track, 6CD box set from the legendary British country rock/folk rock band Plainsong.
Features a 50th anniversary re-issue of their 1972 debut album ‘In Search Of Amelia Earhart’, digitally remastered from the original reel-to-reel master tapes.
Contains over 50% previously unreleased material, including: several rare 1970s BBC recordings, the full original 1972 Folk Fairport concert in Amsterdam, and excerpts from the very first concert by the reformed Plainsong in Mayrhofen, Austria in 1993.
Plus 2020 remakes of Amelia songs originally recorded to accompany Ian Clayton’s book In Search Of Plainsong.
Plainsong, formed in London in late 1971; comprised of singer Iain Matthews, who with Matthews Southern Comfort had a worldwide hit with Joni Mitchell's song ‘Woodstock’; former Liverpool Scene and Everyone guitarist Andy Roberts; piano and bass player David Richards; and the New York guitarist Bobby Ronga. The four met at Iain's north London flat in December 1971 after recording and playing together in various combinations over the previous couple of months. They spent the afternoon working out an arrangement of ‘Along Comes Mary’, a Tandyn Almer song that had been a 1966 US hit for The Association, and agreed that if it worked they would go ahead and become a band. They worked throughout 1972, touring the UK and Europe, recording numerous sessions for the BBC plus two excellent albums (the second of which remained unreleased until 2005) before breaking up at the end of that year as Iain headed to California to begin a new career as a solo artist.
With the addition of former Matthews Southern Comfort guitarist Mark Griffiths and singer/ songwriter Julian Dawson, they reformed in 1992, returning to the live stage again in Mayrhofen, Austria in August 1993 – their first concert in 21 years. For a while in the late 1990s, Julian was replaced in the band by Clive Gregson before returning again in 2003.
This 6CD box set, released some 50 years after their 1972 debut with ‘In Search Of Amelia Earhart’, not only contains that album digitally remastered from the original tapes but also the ‘Now We Are 3’ second album, alongside a host of previously unissued tracks from Iain and Andy’s own archives and from the collections of fans worldwide. Plainsong’s 1972 BBC In Concert special for Bob Harris gets its first official airing on CD, as does the rare Sounds On Sunday radio broadcast, their very last recording together before the break-up.
Track Listing:
DISC ONE
IN SEARCH OF AMELIA EARHART ORIGINAL ALBUM
For The Second Time
Yo Yo Man
Louise
Call The Tune
Diesel On My Tail
Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight
I’ll Fly Away
True Story Of Amelia Earhart
Even The Guiding Light
Side Roads
Raider
BONUS TRACKS
Along Comes Mary
Even The Guiding Light (alternative vocal)
CONCERT (BBC2 TV, 1973)
Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight
Any Day Woman
Call The Tune
The Poor Ditching Boy
Even The Guiding Light
Raider
Miss The Mississippi And You
DISC TWO
NOW WE ARE 3 ORIGINAL ALBUM
Old Man At The Mill
Urban Cowboy
The Fault
Swinging Doors
Keep On Sailing
Miss The Mississippi And You
Home
First Girl I Loved
Save Your Sorrows
Nobody Eats At Linebaugh’s Anymore
The Goodnight Loving Trail
All Around My Grandmother’s Floor
BONUS TRACKS
That’s All It Could Amount To
Bold Marauder
DANCE GOES ON
Keep On Sailing *
Urban Cowboy *
Nobody Eats At Linebaugh’s Anymore *
All Around My Grandmother’s Floor *
The Goodnight Loving Trail *
Bold Marauder *
DISC THREE
BBC SESSIONS (JOHN PEEL/ SOUNDS ON SUNDAY)
PEEL SESSIONS #1 (RADIO 1,1972)
Tigers Will Survive
Seeds And Stems (Again)
For A Spanish Guitar
Any Day Woman
PEEL SESSIONS #2 (RADIO 1, 1972)
Truck Driving Man
Amelia Earhart's Last Flight
Yo Yo Man
I’ll Fly Away
True Story of Amelia Earhart
SOUNDS ON SUNDAY (RADIO 1, 1972)
Seeds And Stems (Again) *
Any Day Woman *
Take You To The Movies *
Blue Blue Day *
Miss The Mississippi And You *
I Work For Jesus In The Personnel Department *
I Don’t Want To Talk About It *
Save Your Sorrows *
DISC FOUR
BBC SESSIONS (BOB HARRIS) SOUNDS OF THE 70s (RADIO 1, 1972)
That's All It Could Amount To
Time Between
Raider
Call The Tune 5 I’ll Fly Away
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Miss The Mississippi And You
Louise
Wreck Of The Old 97
Carolina Moon
Old Kent Road
THE OLD GREY WHISTLE TEST (BBC2 TV, 1972)
Even The Guiding Light *
Bold Marauder *
CONCERT (RADIO 1, 1972)
Nobody Eats At Linebaugh’s Anymore *
Home *
Miss The Mississippi And You *
Old Man At The Mill *
Charlie *
The First Girl I Loved *
Bold Marauder *
The Goodnight Loving Trail *
THE OLD GREY WHISTLE TEST 40 (RADIO 2, 2011)
True Story Of Amelia Earhart *
Yo Yo Man *
DISC FIVE
TOGETHER AGAIN MAYRHOFEN 1993
And Me *
Louise *
Even The Guiding Light *
Call The Tune *
Raider *
Charlie *
True Story Of Amelia Earhart *
Sweet Amelia *
Yo Yo Man *
The Goodnight Loving Trail *
DUTCH RADIO 1997
True Story Of Amelia Earhart *
Sweet Amelia *
Yo Yo Man *
Souling Song *
Charlie *
NORDERSTEDT 2012
Old Man At The Mill *
Amelia Earharts’ Last Flight *
True Story Of Amelia Earhart *
Sweet Amelia *
DISC SIX
FOR THE SECOND TIME SET LIST SONGS
Radio Lady
Me And Mr. Hohner
Poison Apple Lady
THE FOLK FAIRPORT CONCERT (Full original version)
Mama Tried *
Bold Marauder *
Louise *
Lowlands Away *
The Poor Ditching Boy *
Souling Song *
Tulips From Amsterdam *
Nivram *
House Un-American Blues Activity Dream *
Raider *
FOR THE SECOND TIME (2020 Amelia remake recordings)
