Originally recorded for Criminal Records in 1980, Looking for Eleven finds Rod Clements and Ray Laidlaw of Lindisfarne handling bass and drum duties, rather than Rick Kemp and Dave Mattacks. The resulting set has a somewhat stripped-down sound to it, though the assorted Chapman trademarks are present and accounted for, right down to the offbeat guitar sounds (Chapman, like John Martyn, has always refused to stick with a typical acoustic guitar sound). This album features more than the usual amount of instrumental work, which makes for a particularly engaging listening experience.
Limited Edition 2CD Set of unreleased recordings. Treehouse 44 release the first known recordings by British folk guitar hero Michael Chapman. Previously unreleased, these are the earliest known recordings of this great British guitar hero, or as Michael Chapman calls it "The album I had no idea I had made!" This follows on the heels of Light in The Attic'c catalogue re-issue programme. TreeHouse44 has worked closely with Michael Chapman, being allowed full access to his private archive, to produce a unique album that captures the earliest stages in the career of this phenomenal artist. The story of how Michael Chapman turned pro as a musician, walking into a Cornish pub and offering to play a gig in return for shelter from the rain outside is both well known and well told.
After the critical acclaim Michael Chapman received for Rainmaker in 1969, he followed up quickly in early 1970 with Fully Qualified Survivor, a record more adventurous and haunting than its predecessor, with added production flourishes and equally strong songs. Fully Qualified Survivor is the album that established Chapman as a folk troubadour. Leaving the guitar pyrotechnics largely locked in a shed, Chapman concentrated instead on his songwriting skills, and the sacrifice—for this record anyway—paid off. Leaving the lead guitar credits to a fellow Hull-man, Mick Ronson (who got his gig with David Bowie as a result of his playing on this album), with Rick Kemp making a return as bassist and Barry Morgan on drums, Chapman relied on no less than Paul Buckmaster—then beginning to work with Elton John, among others—to employ and arrange a small string section to fill out the songs.
Volume 1, which contains the tracks recorded between 1966 and 1980, was originally released in 2000, and Volume 2, which compiles recordings from 1969 to 1986, came out a year later. CD 1 - 1,2,3,4, Studios, Hull 1966; Tracks 5,6,7 Cellar Folk Club, Southampton 1969; Track 8,9,10,11,12 Southampton University Concert 1971; Tracks 13,14,15,16 Studios, Hull 1980. CD 2 The first four songs are taken from a live show at Southampton Uni Folk Club in 1969. The next 5 are from 1978 and feature Bass Rick Kemp (tracks: 5 to 9) Drums Keef Hartley (tracks: 5 to 9) Guitar Ray Martinez (2) (tracks: 5 to 9) Keyboards Brian Chapman (tracks: 5 to 9) The final track is a half-hour instrumental piece created as backing music for catwalks of Chapman's wife's fashion shows. The CDs come with a poster style booklet comprising sleeve notes and photos.
In 1969 British singer/songwriter Michael Chapman took the U.K.'s folk-rock world by surprise with his debut album, Rainmaker, on the Harvest label. In an era when each week garnered a new surprise in the music world, gathering serious and widespread critical acclaim wasn't easy, and finding a buying public near impossible. Rainmaker showcases a new talent who holds nothing back for himself. Every songwriting principle and trick, killer guitar riff, and songwriting hook in his bag makes an appearance here (something he would never do again). As a result, there are several truly striking things about the album that makes it stand out from the rest of the Brit folk-rock slog from the late '60s. One of them is Chapman's guitar playing.
In the press release that accompanies Michael Chapman's 2017 album 50, the iconic British guitarist refers to it as his "American album." While the material does sound less idiosyncratically British than much of Chapman's body of work, 50 could be more accurately described as his indie rock album. He's best known as a master of the acoustic guitar, but on these sessions, the dominant instrument is the electric guitar of Steve Gunn, who also produced the sessions. Gunn assembled a band of like-minded musicians whose passions encompass indie rock, experimental rock, and the more abstract corner of Americana, and while Chapman's impassioned vocals ride over the top and his acoustic guitar is audible in the mix, the band doesn't bow to Chapman so much as encourage him to keep up with them.
The singer with the wildcat voice, once a front man for Family and Streetwalkers, breaks out here with his first solo effort. With band politics out of the way, Chapman garners all the spotlight for himself while backed by an ensemble of friends. Although he keeps rock guitar close to him, Chapman abandons Streetwalkers' hard rock sound for a more varied style, including multiple keyboards and female backing vocals, and it's probably more a sign of producer David Courtney's influence (having previously worked with Leo Sayer). Singing cry-in-yer-ale ballads and tight rock songs, Chapman lays out the stylistic blueprint to which he keeps returning, even 20 years later. While Chapman's music was more embellished than before, most fans found that "the voice" still spoke to them.
Virtuoso guitarist and critically-acclaimed songwriter, championed by John Peel and later Charles Shaar Murray, Michael Chapman recorded a quartet of highly-regarded albums for EMI's progressive Harvest label. In this latest archive recordings release, he presides over previously unreleased tracks spanning folk rock, blues, jazz and experimental genres, ranging from a live solo performance in 1969 to studio collaboration with Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) in 2005, by way of a 1980's TV film soundtrack with Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp (Steeleye Span), and much more besides…
These two albums are part of a clutch of albums Michael made when he was between record companies and which he recorded for his own production company Rural Retreat Records. Rural Retreat West Virginia, on the old Virgin Creeper Line, was the subject of one of O.Winston Link's famous "train" pics of whom MC is a huge fan. We made the pilgrimage on one of our US road trips hence the name. 2xCD + Booklet in 6 panel Digipack with sleeve notes by Andru Chapman.
This is a recording of a concert at Barrell's Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed, 15th August 2003. Michael Chapman playing acoustic in a atmospheric location in a club in front of a wall of blue note jazz posters. The gig features many of Michael Chapmans best loved songs including 'Shuffleboat River Farewell', 'One Time Thing' and 'Kodak Ghosts'. Michael Chapman is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Chapman originally began playing guitar with jazz bands, mainly in his home town of Leeds in The West Riding of Yorkshire. He became well known in the folk clubs of the late 1960s, as well as on the 'progressive' music scene, and has recorded over 40 albums to date. In 2016 Chapman celebrated 50 years as a professional musician. He still plays professionally and regularly tours in the UK, Europe and US.