Vinyl log 20 - 22 July

Day	Month	Year	Artist	Title
22	July	1970	Fotheringay	Fotheringay

This record is one of the surprises of the vinyl log: had I been asked before I started on this series, I would have said that I bought it in May 1970. This would have been shortly after the concert where I saw them in Bristol; did Nick Drake support or was he missing that night? I remember that the Humblebums appeared. Had Fotheringay been less laid back then they would have had product to sell on their one tour, but this was the beginning of the 70s and they were only recording the album at the same time as they were touring.

So I had to wait a few months until July. Unfortunately, like many records in this series, I have no recollection of buying it. I think that I purchased it in the big record shop near school (even though I would have been on holiday by now), but that's no more than an assumption.

Many of these songs have stayed with me through the years: I recall recording (with two reel to reel tape recorders) a version of "The pond and the stream" that summer and I also recall working out the guitar solo in "The sea". I used to play "The banks of the Nile" with Erica in 1973/4; she and I would sing alternate verses (in fact, I should have a recording of this somewhere).

And of course, when I worked on my Sandy Denny tribute album, "Nothing more", "The sea" and "The pond and the stream" were included.

I wrote a few months ago about asking Jerry Donahue about the guitar playing on this record. Whilst I did get a reply, it was only in the style of "sorry, too busy to answer now". I should write to him again.