My Side of Your Window

My Side of Your Window
Studio album by
Ralph McTell
ReleasedDecember 1969
RecordedAugust 1969
StudioRegent Sound Studios, Tottenham Court Road, London
GenreFolk, folk rock, country blues
Length37:27
LabelTransatlantic
ProducerRalph McTell
Ralph McTell chronology
Spiral Staircase
(1969) 		My Side of Your Window
(1969) 		Revisited
(1970)

My Side of Your Window is the third album released in the UK by British folk musician Ralph McTell, and the first produced by the artist himself. He had left college and had moved into his first house in Putney. "Girl on a Bicycle" was covered by Herman van Veen and was a hit in the Netherlands and West Germany.[1] The song "Michael in the Garden" is one of the earliest to reference autism.[citation needed]

Track listing

All titles by Ralph McTell except where stated.[2]

Side One
  1. "Michael in the Garden" - 4:24
  2. "Clown" - 3:34
  3. "Girl on a Bicycle" (lyrics: Ralph McTell; music: Gary Petersen) - 3:19
  4. "Father Forgive Them" - 2:21
  5. "All Things Change" - 2:47
Side Two
  1. "I've Thought About It" - 4:13
  2. "Factory Girl" - 4:54
  3. "Blues in More Than 12 Bars" - 4:35
  4. "Kew Gardens" - 2:15
  5. "Wait Until the Snow" - 3:05
  6. "Silver Birch and Weeping Willow" - 2:00

Personnel

  • Ralph McTell – acoustic guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals
  • Bruce Barthol – bass
  • "Neil" – flute on "Michael in the Garden" and "Factory Girl"
  • Brian "Brock" Brocklehurst – bass
  • Gary Petersen – acoustic guitar, piano, organ
  • Phil Greenberg – lead guitar on "I've Thought About It" and "Wait Until the Snow"
  • John Marshall – drums on "I've Thought About It" and "Wait Until the Snow"
  • Clive Palmer – banjo, fiddle on "Blues in More Than 12 Bars"
  • Mick Bennett – percussion on "Blues in More Than 12 Bars"
  • Folk Weavers – vocal accompaniment on "Kew Gardens"
  • Tony Visconti – string arrangements
  • Brian Brittain – vocal arrangement on "Kew Gardens"

Production credits

  • Producer – Ralph McTell (except track 3, Gus Dudgeon)
  • Engineers – Tom Allom and "Adrian" at Regent Sound
  • Model used on sleeve design – Peter Thaine
  • Liner notes – Robin Denselow

Awards and accolades

  • Upon its release, My Side of Your Window was Melody Maker's Folk LP of the Month.[3]
  • During his 60th birthday concert at the Royal Festival Hall in November 2004, McTell was presented with a gold disc of My Side of Your Window.[4]

Release history

Country Date Label Format Catalogue Notes
United Kingdom 1969 Transatlantic LP TRA209
Australia 1980 Transatlantic/
7 Records 		LP MLM402
France Transatlantic LP 2933126
United Kingdom 2007 Transatlantic CD TRRCD402 'Expanded Edition' with four bonus tracks - a 1969 single and three taken from Revisited

Many of the tracks on this album also feature in the Spiral Staircase - Classic Songs compilation.

Track variations

The UK 2007 CD release includes four bonus tracks:[5]

12. "Summer Come Along" (1)
13. "Michael in the Garden" (2)
14. "Clown" (2)
15. "Factory Girl" (2)

(1) A single released in the UK in 1969
(2) Re-mixed or re-recorded in 1970 for "Revisited"

References

  1. ^ "My Side of Your Window – Ralph McTell". www.ralphmctell.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2022.[title missing]
  2. ^ "My Side of Your Window" LP sleeve, 1969.
  3. ^ Hockenhull, Chris. "Streets of London: The Official Biography of Ralph McTell", p. 52. Northdown, 1997. ISBN 1-900711-02-8.
  4. ^ Leola Music Ltd. “The London Show”, TPGDVD25, 2005.
  5. ^ "My Side of Your Window" CD inlay, 2007.