John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett

John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett
John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett
Studio album by John Otway; & Wild Willy Barrett
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

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

All tracks written by Otway and Barrett except where noted

Side one

"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

"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

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

^ ^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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[chalmers-1] Robert Chalmers, '"John Otway: The world is not enough", The Independent, 20 August 2006.

[2] Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music. London: Virgin Books. pp. 318. ISBN 0-7535-0154-6.

[3] 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.

[4] Allmusic review

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