The Rockburgh Years

Musician and singer songwriter Iain Matthews should need no introduction. He was an original member of legendary folk rock band Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1969, before leaving to form Matthews Southern Comfort, who scored a UK number one hit in 1970 with Joni Mitchell’s "Woodstock". In the early 1970's, as well as recording solo for Vertigo and Elektra, Iain played in folk rock supergroup Plainsong. Collectively, this body of work established Iain as a master craftsman of both his own songs and those of others, a tradition he has continued to explore down the decades.

After a mid 70's spell with Columbia Records, he teamed up with his long time producer Sandy Roberton for 4 albums across the late 1970's and early 1980's, a fertile period which is the subject of our 1st box set commemorating the various eras of Iain’s long and illustrious career. Stateside, Iain was rarely more popular, in 1979, his cover of Terence Boylan’s "Shake It" reached #13 on the US charts. A perfect slice of soft rock, "Shake It" also rewarded him with a #6 hit in Canada and made the Top 20 in New Zealand.

This 6 D box set re-presents the 4 original albums from that era, "Stealin’ Home", "Siamese Friends", "Spot Of Interference" and "Shook", alongside a wealth of previously unissued material culled both from Iain’s own archive and the collections of fans worldwide. Iain’s 1978 "BBC In Concert" special gets its 1st official airing on CD, elsewhere, there’s a wealth of live and demo material to delight even the most casual admirer of Matthews’ music.

Cherry Red Records, March 25th, 2022.