Festival Bell is the twenty-fifth studio album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, released in January 2011.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2011) |
| Festival Bell | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2010 | |||
| Studio | The Bowman's Retreat, Oxfordshire | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 59:04 | |||
| Label | Matty Grooves | |||
| Producer | John Gale with Fairport Convention | |||
| Fairport Convention chronology | ||||
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The name of the album (as well as the cover and the title track) is a reference to the bell of the same name that currently rings in St Mary's Church in Cropredy, Oxfordshire.[1] The track "Ukulele Central" features guest appearances from comedian Frank Skinner and singer Joe Brown.[2] The song "Mercy Bay" tells of the ill-fated voyage of HMS Investigator to search for Franklin's lost expedition, itself searching for the Northwest Passage.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Record Collector | |
| musicOMH | |
| BBC | (favorable) [5] |
| The Guardian | (favorable) [6] |
The album was released four years after the band's previous studio work, Sense of Occasion. It consists of 14 tracks, mixing original compositions with four cover versions including a reworking of the title track from the band's 1975 album Rising for the Moon.[3] Record Collector magazine's 4 star review of the album stated: "Festival Bell is a work of maturity and depth, yet delivered with a lightness of touch that will delight fans old and new".[3]

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