Release date: July 1970
Label: Island Records
Producer: Joe Boyd
Length: 35:08
Genre: British folk rock
Rating: 9.5/10
With “Liege & Lief” (1969), a masterpiece and a landmark of British folk rock, English folk rock pioneers Fairport Convention managed to reach a wider audience well beyond the British Isles. Sadly, the celebration didn’t last long, because before the next album was recorded both singer Sandy Denny and founding bassist Ashley Hutchings walked out. Denny and her Australian husband Trevor Lucas formed the short-lived Fotheringay, while Hutchings, a staunch folk traditionalist, started up the rival Steeleye Span and later The Albion Band.
The remaining members of Fairport Convention decided not to look for a new female singer at all. Instead, all the guys except drummer Dave Mattacks would share the lead vocals among themselves. On “Full House” guitarist Simon Nicol increasingly came into his own as a singer, and today he’s the lead voice of these British folk rock legends. Hutchings was replaced on bass by Dave Pegg, and it’s now impossible to imagine Fairport Convention without him. Pegg has the longest unbroken tenure in the band today, and he was also a member of prog rock icons Jethro Tull from 1979 to 1995. Pegg was more of a virtuoso than his predecessor, bringing some new techniques to the bass within traditional folk rock rhythms, and he locked in perfectly with Mattacks’ drumming.
Dave’s first album with Fairport Convention came out in 1970 and was called “Full House”. It was also the last one for guitar wizard Richard Thompson, who felt by then that it was time to go solo. Alongside violinist Dave Swarbrick, Thompson co-wrote all the original material on “Full House”, which stands out for its superb level of virtuosity. The rest were rearranged classics of British traditional music. “Full House” was nearly as important for British folk rock as its predecessor “Liege & Lief”, even though it still lives in that album’s shadow. Half the album was made up of reworked classics of British folk music, while the other half was original compositions born from the songwriting ideas of Thompson and Swarbrick. Those two were without a doubt the creative driving force of this short-lived incarnation of Fairport Convention.
The opener “Walk Awhile”, brimming with a cheeky vibe, a bouncy chorus and lush string-and-guitar delights, became a Fairport Convention classic from day one, which means it can never be missing from their live shows. “Doctor of Physick” has a darker atmosphere, mostly thanks to the melancholic violin passages, the prominent bass lines from the already highly skilled Pegg, and the excellent vocal harmonies of all four singers.
“Dirty Linen” was a rearranged version of a traditional folk standard, which Fairport Convention turned into a lively, eclectic instrumental, artfully switching between ‘electric’ and acoustic sections, with tempo changes and brilliant violin and guitar work, successfully paving the way for the development of British prog folk rock.
The album’s peak is the nine-minute, eclectic and ethereal masterpiece “Sloth”. It was another clear example of these English folk rock icons already experimenting ‘big time’ with prog folk rock, which their no less legendary countrymen Jethro Tull managed to popularize about seven years later. This original gem opens as a relatively innocent, acoustic-leaning ballad with nostalgic harmonies, then slyly tips over into a longer instrumental section, where mournful violin passages, eclectic drum changes and intricate guitar artistry take centre stage.
“Sir Patrick Spens” is a traditional Scottish folk ballad dressed up with baroque arrangements, telling the story of a terrible shipwreck, while the lively instrumental “Flatback Carper” (sic: “Flatback Caper”), which features a string of Richard’s trademark acoustic guitar passages and a symbolic foretaste of his hugely successful solo career, is another chance to show off the virtuoso chops of the individual members of these English folk rock pioneers.
The original LP was meant to include a rearranged version of the traditional folk song “Poor Will and Jolly Hangman” too, but it was pulled from the album practically at the last minute at the request of perfectionist Thompson, who was in no way happy with his guitar solo. On the reissue of “Full House” you can finally hear the track in all its glory. Despite Richard’s harsh self-criticism, his guitar solo is one of the best from his early years. Nothing is missing from this song, and it stands up in quality next to the rest of “Full House”.
The traditional Scottish folk ballad “Flowers of the Forrest”, whose lyrics mark the defeat of King James IV’s Scottish army by the English (a historical event also known as the Battle of Flodden), closes the album in an utterly melancholic way, with inconsolable harmonies and mournful acoustic arrangements.
Even though “Full House” was made during a transitional period, with Fairport Convention constantly struggling to pin down a stable line-up, it was yet another British folk rock classic, almost on a par with “Liege & Lief” in quality. “Full House” successfully established Fairport Convention in a new sound – without female vocals for the first time, which was quite a break from their early achievements in the sixties. Calls for the beloved Denny to come back, which she actually did for a short spell in 1974 after occasional guest appearances, didn’t die down anytime soon, but from “Full House” on it was clear that Fairport Convention would be an all-male outfit from here on out. After Thompson left, taking his guitar and songwriting talents with him (not easy to replace), Nicol, Pegg and Swarbrick took the creative initiative and briefly stepped into one of the most artistically interesting periods of their career.
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Walk A While (3:59)
2. Doctor Of Physick (3:33)
3. Dirty Linen (4:12) Medley:
– Last Night’s Fun
– Paddy On The Railroad
– Drops Of Brandy
– Poll Ha’penny
4. Sloth (9:14)
5. Sir Patrick Spens (3:30)
6. Flatback Caper (6:24) Medley:
– Miss Susan Cooper
– The Friar’s Britches
– The Sport Of The Chase
– Carolan’s Concerto
7. Poor Will And The Jolly Hangman (5:31)
8. Flowers Of The Forest (3:58)
Bonus tracks:
9. Now Be Thankful (Mono) (2:24)
10. Sir B. McKenzies Daughter’s Lament
For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe,
In The Year Of Our Lord 1727,
On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie (2:52)
11. Bonny Bunch Of Roses (10:48)
12. Now Be Thankful (New Stereo Mix) (2:24)
Fairport Convention:
Richard Thompson – vocals, electric guitar
Simon Nicol – vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, bass guitar (6), electric dulcimer (8)
Dave Swarbrick – vocals, whistle, viola, mandolin (6,7)
Dave Pegg – vocals, bass guitar, mandolin (6)
Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion, harmonium (2), bodhrán (3)
