John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett
| John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1976 | |||
| Recorded | 1971–76 | |||
| Studio | Eel Pie Studios, Twickenham; Chalk Farm Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 34:23 | |||
| Label | Extracked, Polydor | |||
| Producer | Pete Townshend, Barron Anthony, Wild Willy Barrett | |||
| John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett chronology | ||||
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John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett is the 1976 debut album by English folk singer-songwriter duo John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett. Released first on their own Extracked Records, the album is a collection of recordings made between 1971 and 1976.
Recording began with a series of sessions at Pete Townshend's Eel Pie Studios in which The Who guitarist contributed as an arranger, producer and performer.[1] Townshend produced the first two Track label singles by the duo, "Murder Man" and "Louisa On a Horse", which were included on the album.[2]
A third single, "Really Free", reached No.27 in the UK charts in December 1977[3] after the pair performed a set live on the BBC TV show The Old Grey Whistle Test. The performance was notable for an incident in which Otway vaulted on to a PA tower and overbalanced after Barrett's signal began cutting out. The Independent reported: "He brought down the speaker stack but fractured no bones when he landed on the sharp corner of a bass cabinet, as the impact was cushioned by his testicles."[1]
Polydor reissued the album after signing the band in 1977. The AllMusic website rated it seven out of 10, describing it as a patchwork collection that "dances on a peculiar precipice somewhere between folk and country, pop and pub rock".[4]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks written by Otway and Barrett except where noted
Side one
[edit]- "Misty Mountain" - 2:29
- "Murder Man" - 2:18
- "If I Did" - 2:19
- "Racing Cars (Jet Spotter of the Track)" - 2:50
- "Louisa on a Horse" (Otway) - 2:44
- "Gypsy" (Otway) - 3:53
Side two
[edit]- "Really Free" - 2:59
- "Bluey Green" (Otway) - 2:16
- "Cheryl's Going Home" (Bob Lind) - 4:45
- "Trying Times" (Otway) - 3:49
- "Geneve" (Otway) - 4:01
All produced by Barrett except tracks 1,2,3,5 (Pete Townshend) and 4 (Barron Anthony)
Personnel
[edit]- John Otway
- Wild Willy Barrett
- Pete Townshend
- Paul Ward
- Nigel Pegrum
- Phil Cutler
- Stuart Eaton
- Lyn Fletcher
- Fiona Brett
- Martin Loveday
- Milton Reame-James
- Liza Strike
References
[edit]- ^ a b Robert Chalmers, '"John Otway: The world is not enough", The Independent, 20 August 2006.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music. London: Virgin Books. pp. 318. ISBN 0-7535-0154-6.
- ^ Rice, Tim; Gambaccini, Paul; Read, Mike (1981). The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles. Enfield, Middlesex: GRRR Books. p. 160. ISBN 0-85112-259-0.
- ^ Allmusic review
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