Saturday, August 4, 2007

Fable - Fable (1974)

British quintet, Fable, are perhaps better known for their connections to Trapeze and Uriah Heep than they are for their own music. The Wolverhampton band came together in 1973, with Peter Goalby at the helm handling vocals and guitar. The lineup also included Mac Bailey (guitar), Peter Mackie (bass), Paul Robbins (keyboards) and Keith Tully (drums). Their history is a bit blurry, but the band had a very short lifespan. Magnet Records (owned by Alvin Stardust) picked up the band after hearing demos they'd been working on and in 1974, "Fable" was issued. The response was tepid at best and after a few short mini-tours of the UK, Fable disbanded. Goalby and Mackie would later resurface in a late period lineup of Trapeze. By 1980, Goalby had joined Uriah Heep and remained with them for several years and albums.

The album here is a somewhat schizophrenic affair, with the band bouncing between folk, hard rock, pop and celtic themes. Though this scattershot approach does absolutely nothing for consistency, there are nevertheless some excellent songs here. "Mandolin" is an excellent track, pairing traditional celtic sounds with pop to superb effect. "Thick As a Plank" sounds like something you'd expect from Lovin' Spoonful and is another highlight here. The harder edged numbers here like "Hard Life" and "See My Face", are also great. At least half the album (predominantly the second half) is excellent, though there are really only a handful of throwaways.

This exceptional release has never been reissued and likely never will be. Special thanks goes to 'Orchman' for providing this solid vinyl rip. Enjoy!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Must say that my favourite track on this set is Mandolin, but then i could be a sucker for that folkyedged stuff sometimes, and nice that you've found some coveratr for the sets R.

Ps. Thank you for that Rabbit btw, forgot to post it in the right section Ds.

Anonymous said...

your blog is great, thank you very much for the fable album, and of course for the champion also.

Anonymous said...

hi mate,
just to tell that my 2 big picks here were both fable & champion. also morningstar, alexis etc. etc. much appreciated!!
when searching for "titanic-eye of the hurricane" i get a hit from this site, but unfortunately can't see it home here. do you have that one for upload?
thanks again & regards from oslo, norway to sunny florida. cheers

Anonymous said...

I really like the Uriah Heep period with Golby on vocals so it was withe great satisfaction that I heard this album.... and it`s great.

Miguel

Anonymous said...

Any chance of reposting this? I've been looking for it for years. Thnx!

EDUARDO said...

CONGRATULATIONS, GREAT BLOG.
PLEASE REPOST THE ALBUM.

Anonymous said...

Hi i have also been looking for this for years please repost
great blog btw

Anonymous said...

cant believe it after years of searching for fable (pete goalby)I found this site, I got to know pete quiet well on the tours he done with alvin I was only 13/14 and was touched when he used to give me his rose he wore lol now how do i contact him?? Sandra thanks x

Anonymous said...

repost it please!

abominogjnr said...

This Album Can be Found Here
don't know how it compares to the original post as this is my own vinyl rip

http://abominogjnr.blogspot.com/2010/02/fable-fable-1973.html

Anonymous said...

I've just discovered loads of albums in my mums loft in Wolverhampton after returning from many years overseas Fable Trapeze and a tape of a band called Little Acre were in my finds. The Fable album sounds great as do the other two so glad I found your blog

Skydogg said...

From one blogger to another: how bout a re-up? (what more Pete Goalby is here?)

Sparadic Ramblings of Whatever said...

a great read on Fable. I love this album. posted a few tracks on youtube as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwFN7ddyocA