CD-Charts Position 1
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Rainmaker / Fully Qualified Survivor

by: Michael Chapman

Release Date October 04, 2004
I've got these albums separately, 'Rainmaker' containing a few bonus tracks that aren't on this twofer. Even so, this is a great value item. 'Rainmaker' is Chapman's 1969 debut and consists of a mixture of the singer accompanying himself with his distinctive and imaginative acoustic guitar playing, group numbers and the odd instrumental. The sound is a bit rough compared with 'Fully Qualified Survivor,' which is a classic in its own right and is the superior album. Whereas the production on 'Rainmaker' tends to compress and merge the layers of sound, 'Survivor' seems so clear and expansive.
As far as the tracks themselves are concerned, 'Rainmaker' opens with the outstanding 'It Didn't Work Out' which builds relentlessly to a tumultuous ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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Window/Wrecked Again

by: Michael Chapman

Release Date November 08, 2004
Inspired by Chapman's 'Fully Qualified Survivor' album the year before, 'Window,' released in 1971, was a 'must buy' regardless of the (far too small) photo of the young lady on the cover. Without Mick Ronson by now, whom had been 'poached' by David Bowie for his Spider's From Mars,' the first 9 tracks making up the 'Window' album are back to Chapman's acoustic roots, and a far more 'laid-back' set of songs altogether. Every track is a corker, but 'Among The Trees' became a contender alongside 'Postcards Of Scarborough' as Chapman's 'classic track' as far as I'm concerned.
Tracks 10 to 20 make up 1972's 'Wrecked Again' album with Michael including 'Memphis Horns' type brass arrangements in his songs, which didn't fare quite so well with his ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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Dogs Got More Sense: 1974 - 1977 The Decca Years [2CD + DVD]

by: Michael Chapman

Release Date June 07, 2004
What you have here in this neat box set is singer / guitarist Michael Chapman's 3 albums for Decca Records, recorded between 1974 and 1977, and a quite newly recorded DVD interview with the man himself.
Chapman had his 'electric period' between those years, and the albums are 'Deal Gone Down,' 'The Man Who Hated Mornings' and 'Savage Amusement' plus some rare outtakes and demos from the recording sessions. The set would be a good introduction for someone new to Chapman's music, and for the regular fan, an excellent collector's piece, as the 3 CD's are housed in miniature's of their original LP sleeves. The 3 albums are covered on the two audio CD's, and the 55 minute interview, in which Chapman answers questions about his 40 + years and counting ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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The Twisted Road

by: Michael Chapman

Release Date March 06, 2000
Another beautiful, laid-back and melancholy album from Michael Chapman, who often jokes he is more depressing than Leonard Cohen. But if this is depressing, then I enjoy being depressed, as Chapman, creates such incredible moods with his guitar, weaving the listener in and out of reality with his superb lyrics and interesting trains of thought. On this album, unusually, he has a backing band on some of the tracks, and of course, this adds to fill the sound somewhat from the generally lone guitar and soulful voice this man has honed to perfection in creating a drifting and easy world of escapism, taking us far away from the rush and turmoil of our daily lives. Yet another Michael Chapman album for the collection, and he gets more addictive the more you hear ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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The Lighter Elgar

from: British Composers

Release Date June 10, 1996
Elgar is credited with reinvigorating English classical music, the first English composer of great international recognition since Purcell. The Worcestershire man wrote many well-known pieces, some of which are included on this album, but we also get to hear some of his lesser-known works.

This is a compilation of EMI recordings made in 1964 of the Royal Philharmonic, and 1970 of the Northern Sinfonia. I must admit that the Royal Philharmonic recordings do grab my attention more, and seem to contain just a little more life and energy. Listening to the album in one sitting can become a tiny bit tiring towards the end of the 78 minutes, as there doesn't seem to be a lot of variation in orchestral arrangement to keep the sound fresh all the way ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Pleasures of the Street

by: Michael Chapman

Release Date May 15, 2000
It's been a long time coming. This was an album available on vinyl only on import and is a very welcome addition to the growing Chapman collection - we're still waiting for his mid- to late-1970s albums, but this will do fine for now.

The album was made under difficult circumstances, as the liner notes indicate, but it is a fine example of Michael Chapman live both solo and with a band recorded in the '70s. From the opening medley of "Party Pieces" and "Rock'n'Roll Jigley" performed on solo acoustic to the great chugging full band version of "Shuffleboat River" this is Michael Chapman doing what he does best - performing his hard as brass, no-nonsense songs live and playing electric guitar.

The ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Almost Alone

by: Michael Chapman

Release Date May 31, 2004
Almost Alone was originally released on Black Crow records in 1981 and it has been long deleted. On this album there are a number of classic Chapman compositions like Kodak Ghosts and Deal Gone Down as well as covers of I'm Sober Now and Django Reinhardt's classic Nuages, all recorded totally live in the studio - no overdubs! Included in the booklet is tablature and tunings to all the songs, plus lyrics.
Singer songwriter Michael Chapman first appeared on the London folk circuit in 1967 alongside such notables as John Martyn and Roy Harper. His first album release was 'Rainmaker' in 1969 on the Harvest label, and he was a permanent fixture on the folk and 'progressive' scenes during the festivals of the early 1970's. Such musicians as Mick Ronson, Rick ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Time Past Time Passing

by: Michael Chapman

Release Date October 07, 2008
Almost Alone was originally released on Black Crow records in 1981 and it has been long deleted. On this album there are a number of classic Chapman compositions like Kodak Ghosts and Deal Gone Down as well as covers of I'm Sober Now and Django Reinhardt's classic Nuages, all recorded totally live in the studio - no overdubs! Included in the booklet is tablature and tunings to all the songs, plus lyrics.
Singer songwriter Michael Chapman first appeared on the London folk circuit in 1967 alongside such notables as John Martyn and Roy Harper. His first album release was 'Rainmaker' in 1969 on the Harvest label, and he was a permanent fixture on the folk and 'progressive' scenes during the festivals of the early 1970's. Such musicians as Mick Ronson, Rick ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

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Millstone Grit

by: Michael Chapman

Release Date June 30, 2008
Almost Alone was originally released on Black Crow records in 1981 and it has been long deleted. On this album there are a number of classic Chapman compositions like Kodak Ghosts and Deal Gone Down as well as covers of I'm Sober Now and Django Reinhardt's classic Nuages, all recorded totally live in the studio - no overdubs! Included in the booklet is tablature and tunings to all the songs, plus lyrics.
Singer songwriter Michael Chapman first appeared on the London folk circuit in 1967 alongside such notables as John Martyn and Roy Harper. His first album release was 'Rainmaker' in 1969 on the Harvest label, and he was a permanent fixture on the folk and 'progressive' scenes during the festivals of the early 1970's. Such musicians as Mick Ronson, Rick ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

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Facelift

by: Alice In Chains

Release Date September 25, 2000
Almost Alone was originally released on Black Crow records in 1981 and it has been long deleted. On this album there are a number of classic Chapman compositions like Kodak Ghosts and Deal Gone Down as well as covers of I'm Sober Now and Django Reinhardt's classic Nuages, all recorded totally live in the studio - no overdubs! Included in the booklet is tablature and tunings to all the songs, plus lyrics.
Singer songwriter Michael Chapman first appeared on the London folk circuit in 1967 alongside such notables as John Martyn and Roy Harper. His first album release was 'Rainmaker' in 1969 on the Harvest label, and he was a permanent fixture on the folk and 'progressive' scenes during the festivals of the early 1970's. Such musicians as Mick Ronson, Rick ... Read More: