Cherry Red's Lemon imprint has anthologized the works of singer-songwriter Iain Matthews on previous releases including the 2019 rarities collection Orphans and Outcasts and this year's I Can't Fade Away: The Rockburgh Years 1978-1984.  Now, Lemon is turning back the clock to Matthews' time in the band Plainsong with a new 6-CD box set.  Following Amelia: The 1972 Recordings and More is, in essence, a generous 50th anniversary expanded edition of the original band's one and only album to be released contemporaneously with their existence, 1972's In Search of Amelia Earhart.  It's joined here by the band's second album (recorded in 1972 but unreleased until 2005), numerous BBC sessions, other assorted live tracks, and a handful of studio recordings, all spanning decades from the era of the original group through latter-day revivals.

The prolific Matthews, ex-Fairport Convention and recent leader of Matthews Southern Comfort, had recorded two solo LPs before putting together Plainsong.  Guitarist Andy Roberts (Liverpool Scene, Everyone) had joined Matthews on his solo records; the group was filled out with pianist-bassist David Richards and guitarist Bobby Ronga.  Matthews had already established a following in America with MSC's cover of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" as well as a successful 1971 summer tour.  U.S. label Elektra signed Plainsong and they booked studio time in London with producer Sandy Roberton (Steeleye Span, Shirley Collins) to record their debut album.

When the quartet entered London's Sound Techniques studio, they had been playing together throughout Europe for a little over five months.  A drummer, Timi Donald, was selected to flesh out the acoustic sound they had honed in concert.  Nominally a contemporary folk affair, In Search of Amelia Earhart also touched on country music, befitting its mellow, melancholy mood.  Iain Matthews supplied five original songs to the quasi-concept album which addressed Amelia Earhart's story on two tracks (Matthews' "True Story of Amelia Earhart" and "Red River" Dave McEnery's 1939 ballad "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight," one of six covers on the album) while evoking her spirit on compositions such as Matthews' Byrds/CSN-like "Even the Guiding Light" and Albert E. Brumley's oft-recorded hymn "I'll Fly Away."  Matthews' hauntingly beautiful "For the Second Time" set the tone for the LP, encompassing such eclectic material as Judy Henske and Jerry Yester's Farewell, Aldebaran cut "Raider" and Marty Cooper and Rick Cunha's rollicking "Yo-Yo Man."  Sandy Roberton's clean, unfussy production emphasized the group's shimmering four-part harmonies and crisp acoustic guitars, allowing the songs to take center stage.

The original album has been expanded by Plainsong's atypical, electric cover of the Tandyn Almer-penned Association hit "Along Comes Mary" (recorded in 1971 and released in 2005) as well as the unique single version of "Even the Guiding Light" with Andy Roberts singing the lead vocal.  The first disc of the box then presents the BBC's In Concert performance recorded on October 30, 1972 and broadcast February 15, 1973.  Roger Swallow was featured on drums.  By the time of the show's airing, though, Plainsong had broken up.

The second disc rewinds to Now We Are 3, Plainsong's "lost" second album.  The title reflected the departure of Bobby Ronga just days after the aforementioned In Concert taping, leaving Matthews, Roberts, and Richards to soldier on after a brief period of flirting with singer-songwriter Paul Siebel as a potential member. (Siebel's "Louise" was heard on Amelia Earhart, and his "Any Day Woman" was featured on the BBC broadcast.)  Now We Are 3 featured another clutch of new Matthews compositions as well as two from Roberts ("Urban Cowboy" and "All Around My Grandmother's Floor") and covers from the likes of Merle Haggard and John Hartford.  Though 3 made it to the test pressing stage, Elektra opted not to release it, freeing up Matthews to travel to the U.S. and work with Mike Nesmith on a new solo record.  As heard here, it's not as cohesive a set as Amelia Earhart but features the same high level of musicianship.  Its country-rock sound was very much in line with what Nesmith was doing himself, too, though there were occasional departures such as the languid saxophone wending through Matthews' "Keep on Sailing" or the strings on John Hartford's "First Girl I Loved."  Numerous bonuses fill out the disc including the outtake "That's All It Could Amount To," a demo of "Bold Marauder," and live versions of six songs on 3 recorded between 1988 and 2016, either by the solo Matthews or the reunited Plainsong.

Following Amelia makes it clear that Plainsong was one busy band during its brief one year of existence.  Discs 3 and 4 collect various radio sessions with influential jock John Peel; a Sounds on Sunday show in which they tackled songs from Nils Lofgren ("Take You to the Movies") and Crazy Horse's Danny Whitten ("I Don't Want to Talk About It," later a hit for Rod Stewart); and a whole disc of sessions with another major BBC personality, Bob Harris.  Though many of the songs are understandably live versions of songs from Amelia Earhart and Now We Are 3, there are unique highlights - among them, stabs at Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," Bill Halley's "Miss the Mississippi and You" (first popularized by "singing brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers), and the ballad "Wreck of the Old 97," sometimes recognized as the first million-seller in country music history via Vernon Dalhart's 1924 recording.

After almost two decades apart, Iain Matthews and Andy Roberts regrouped Plainsong in 1992.  Adding guitarist Mark Griffiths of Matthews Southern Comfort and singer-songwriter Julian Dawson, the new line-up recorded three new albums between 1992 and 1996.  A fourth album followed in 1999 with Clive Gregson in the place of Julian Dawson.  In 2001, Matthews and Roberts recorded an EP under the Plainsong banner, and another album followed in 2003 with Dawson back in the fold in place of Gregson.  Further LPs arrived in 2012 and 2015, and various gigs have since taken place, most recently a mini-tour in 2021.  But all that is for another day, and presumably another box set.  Disc 5 of Following Amelia does present 19 previously unreleased rarities from the band's archive including later line-ups' versions of the original 1972 songs and further selections with both Julian Dawson and Clive Gregson.

The final disc of the box offers an assortment of odds and ends (all previously unissued).  The centerpiece is a full 1972 concert from Amsterdam (previously issued in different form as part of the Deluxe Edition of Ian Clayton's book In Search of Plainsong) but the bonuses are just as essential: a COVID-era session (June 2020) in which Iain and Andy remade some Plainsong classics, and solo versions of songs played on the road in '72.  Most intriguing is Iain's take on Bobby Darin's "Me and Mr. Hohner" from the period in which Darin went by "Bob" and embraced a folk-rock sensibility.

A 44-page booklet beautifully designed by John Sellards offers an introduction and disc-by-disc liner notes by compiler Ron Yaxley as well as photos, tape box scans, and newspaper clippings.  Each disc is housed in an individual custom sleeve.  Will Faulkner and Fran Johnson have transferred the original tapes, and Oli Hemingway has remastered for this release.

As this collection amply proves, Plainsong is more than just a footnote in the Iain Matthews discography.  Following Amelia: The 1972 Recordings and More is available now at the links below from Cherry Red/Lemon.

Plainsong, Following Amelia: The 1972 Recordings and More (Cherry Red/Lemon CDLEMBOX247, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

In Search of Amelia Earhart (Elektra EKS 75044, 1972)

1. For The Second Time
2. Yo Yo Man
3. Louise
4. Call The Tune
5. Diesel On My Tail
6. Amelia Earhart's Last Flight
7. I'll Fly Away
8. True Story Of Amelia Earhart
9. Even The Guiding Light
10. Side Roads
11. Raider

Bonus Tracks

12. Along Comes Mary
13. Even the Guiding Light (Alternative Vocal) (from Elektra U.K. single K 12076, 1972)

In Concert (BBC2 TV, 1973)

14. Amelia Earhart's Last Flight
15. Any Day Woman
16. Call The Tune
17. The Poor Ditching Boy
18. Even The Guiding Light
19. Raider
20. Miss The Mississippi And You

CD 2:

Now We Are 3 (rec. 1972, released on Water CD 149, 2005)

1. Old Man At The Mill
2. Urban Cowboy
3. The Fault
4. Swinging Doors
5. Keep On Sailing
6. Miss The Mississippi And You
7. Home
8. First Girl I Loved
9. Save Your Sorrows
10. Nobody Eats At Linebaugh's Anymore
11. The Goodnight Loving Trail
12. All Around My Grandmother's Floor

Bonus Tracks

13. That's All It Could Amount To
14. Bold Marauder

The Dance Goes On (1988-2016)

15. Keep On Sailing (*)
16. Urban Cowboy (*)
17. Nobody Eats At Linebaugh's Anymore (*)
18. All Around My Grandmother's Floor (*)
19. The Goodnight Loving Trail (*)
20. Bold Marauder (*)

CD 3: BBC Sessions (John Peel/Sounds on Sunday)

PEEL SESSIONS #1 (RADIO 1,1972)

1. Tigers Will Survive
2. Seeds And Stems (Again)
3. For A Spanish Guitar
4. Any Day Woman

PEEL SESSIONS #2 (RADIO 1, 1972)

5. Truck Driving Man
6. Amelia Earhart's Last Flight
7. Yo Yo Man
8. I'll Fly Away
9. True Story of Amelia Earhart

SOUNDS ON SUNDAY (RADIO 1, 1972)

10. Seeds And Stems (Again) (*)
11. Any Day Woman (*)
12. Take You To The Movies (*)
13. Blue Blue Day (*)
14. Miss The Mississippi And You (*)
15. I Work For Jesus In The Personnel Department (*)
16. I Don't Want To Talk About It (*)
17. Save Your Sorrows (*)

CD 4:

BBC SESSIONS (BOB HARRIS) SOUNDS OF THE 70s (RADIO 1, 1972)

1. That's All It Could Amount To
2. Time Between
3. Raider
4. Call The Tune
5. I'll Fly Away
6. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
7. Miss The Mississippi And You
8. Louise
9. Wreck Of The Old 97
10. Carolina Moon
11. Old Kent Road

THE OLD GREY WHISTLE TEST (BBC2 TV, 1972)

12. Even The Guiding Light (*)
13. Bold Marauder (*)

IN CONCERT (RADIO 1, 1972)

14. Nobody Eats At Linebaugh's Anymore (*)
15. Home (*)
16. Miss The Mississippi And You (*)
17. Old Man At The Mill (*)
18. Charlie (*)
19. The First Girl I Loved (*)
20. Bold Marauder (*)
21. The Goodnight Loving Trail (*)

THE OLD GREY WHISTLE TEST 40 (RADIO 2, 2011)

22. True Story Of Amelia Earhart (*)
23. Yo Yo Man (*)

CD 5

TOGETHER AGAIN MAYRHOFEN 1993

1. And Me (*)
2. Louise (*)
3. Even The Guiding Light (*)
4. Call The Tune (*)
5. Raider (*)
6. Charlie (*)
7. True Story Of Amelia Earhart (*)
8. Sweet Amelia (*)
9. Yo Yo Man (*)
10. The Goodnight Loving Trail (*)

DUTCH RADIO 1997

11. True Story Of Amelia Earhart (*)
12. Sweet Amelia (*)
13. Yo Yo Man (*)
14. Souling Song (*)
15. Charlie (*)

NORDERSTEDT 2012

16. Old Man At The Mill (*)
17. Amelia Earhart's Last Flight (*)
18. True Story Of Amelia Earhart (*)
19. Sweet Amelia (*)

CD 6: For the Second Time

SET LIST SONGS

1. Radio Lady
2. Me And Mr. Hohner
3. Poison Apple Lady

THE FOLK FAIRPORT CONCERT (full original version)

4. Mama Tried (*)
5. Bold Marauder (*)
6. Louise (*)
7. Lowlands Away (*)
8. The Poor Ditching Boy (*)
9. Souling Song (*)
10. Tulips From Amsterdam (*)
11. Nivram (*)
12. House Un-American Blues Activity Dream (*)
13. Raider (*)

For the Second Time: 2020 Remake Recordings

14. For The Second Time (*)
15. Side Roads (*)
16. Diesel On My Tail (*)
17. Even The Guiding Light (*)
18. Louise (*)
19. Amelia Earhart's Last Flight (*)

(*) previously unreleased