Landfall is an album by Martin Carthy

Martin Carthy

Martin Carthy MBE is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and later artists such as Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days...

, released in 1971.

Carthy made this album in the year he left Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....

. The song "Cold Haily Windy Night" is a re-recording of the same song on Steeleye's album Please to See the King

Please to See the King

Please To See The King is the second album by Steeleye Span, released in 1971. A substantial personnel change following their previous effort, Hark! The Village Wait, brought about a substantial change in their overall sound, including a lack of drums and the replacement of one female vocalist with...

. In contrast to the richly resonating sound on that album, here everything is stripped down without any reverb. Later he would record it again with The Imagined Village

The Imagined Village

The Imagined Village is a folk musical project founded by Simon Emmerson of the Afro Celt Sound System. It is intended to produce modern folk music that represents modern multiculturalism in the United Kingdom and as such, features musicians from a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds...

, returning to a complex rhythm once more. Steeleye Span made some attempt to convey regional accent. Here every song is sung with the southern English accent that is natural to him. "The Cruel Mother" is sung without accompaniment. This is Carthy at his simplest — no overdubs, no vocal gymnastics and no syncopation.

The original issue on Philips had "Landfall" as one word. The reissue on Topic had "Land" followed by "Martin Carthy" on the next line, followed by "Fall" on the next line, almost implying that "Land Fall" is two words. However, all discographies treat it as one word. Dave Goulder's song "January Man" is his best known song. Martin Carthy played on Goulder's album Requiem For Steam in 1971.

Landfall was re-issued on CD in 1996.

Track listing

All songs Traditional unless otherwise noted.

1. "Here's Adieu To All Judges and Juries" – 2:54
2. "Brown Adam
   Brown Adam
   -Synopsis:Brown Adam, a smith, is exiled from his family. He builds a house in the woods for himself and his lady. One day, he goes hunting. He returns home to find his lady with a knight—or king's son—trying to persuade her to leave Brown Adam. She refuses many rich bribes; she will stay with...
   
   " – 6:24
3. "O'er the Hills" – 5:51
4. "Cruel Mother
   The Cruel Mother
   "The Cruel Mother" is a murder ballad.-Synopsis:A woman gives birth to one or two illegitimate children in the woods, kills them, and buries them. On her return trip home, she sees a child, or children, playing, and says that if they were hers, she would dress them in various fine garments and...
   
   " – 6:10
5. "Cold Haily Windy Night" – 4:30
6. "His Name is Andrew" (David Ackles
   David Ackles
   David Thomas Ackles was an American singer-songwriter. He recorded four albums between 1968 and 1973.Describing Ackles's style in 2003, critic Colin McElligatt wrote, "An unlikely clash of anachronistic show business and modern-day lyricism...deeply informs his recorded output...
   
   ) – 5:19
7. "The Bold Poachers" – 4:59
8. "Dust to Dust" (John Kirkpatrick) – 3:46
9. "The Broomfield Hill" – 4:40
10. "January Man" (Dave Goulder) – 3:15