Sordid Realities

***Sordid Realities*** is the third and final studio album by rock band Flyford Favell, released 14 February 1972 by SK Records. The album once again features songwriting contributions from all members. It is best known for its second side, featuring a five-song medley written entirely by Flynn. It is Flyford Favell's most popular release, and their last before their breakup in June 1972.

## Background and production

In 1971, Flyford Favell embarked on the production of their third and most ambitious - and what would become their final - studio album. The development would be wrought with difficulties that would eventually break the band apart. Recording sessions were wrought with tension, including an apparently recorded fistfight between Hickey and Sara. Wallis stated in 1980 that she owns the master tapes that document it, although she has no plans to release them. Critic Ian McGuinn suggested in 2005 that even without Flynn's troubles with addiction, the album seemed like a logical progression to the band's breakup regardless. Much of the songs were written and recorded without other band members in the studio, and there were fewer contributions by the whole band to the songs.

Early in the production of the album, Flynn was introduced to Jared McKernan, manager of British prog-rock band Old Dover Road, by Hickey. He would soon be caught in a drugs bust at McKernan’s home in Laurel Canyon, and although he wasn’t charged, their association was entangled in Flynn’s short-lived heroin addiction. By the end of the year, Flynn was writing less than he did during the production for *Bull*, and what he was writing was markedly darker thematically than his prior work. Flynn and Sara worked extensively on the second side of the album, developing a single composition from five individual songs. Two mixes would be created in this time, one with each song more distinctly separated from each other, and one where the five songs are put together into a single medley. The former was released in the US and the latter internationally, although subsequent reissues generally include the medley.

Sara divorced his wife in July 1971. The same week, he fought with Hickey in the studio, resulting in the pair coming to blows and refusing to be in the studio at the same time except for final recordings. In a 2013 interview, Wallis cited the disagreement as her main reason for forming punk-rock band, The Mansa Musas:

> “It sucked. The atmosphere was off. We weren’t working out, no one was talking to each other, [...] I felt I needed to be ready to move on. So I started putting together a little pet project - thought of it as an investment, in case this all fell through.”
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## Release

*Sordid Realities* was released in February 1972 and remains Favell’s most successful album. "Sordid Realities*"* was released as a single with "Waxwing" as the B-side and was the band’s most commercially successful song. It drew on a number of past influences of folk and psychedelia, ultimately culminating in the group’s first and final foray into prog-rock. Critic Paul Densmore hailed Sordid Realities as “an album of enormity”. He noted, in particular, the second side of the album as a triumph. The songs blended into a suite of varying styles, with the dark and dirge-esque nature of "Sordid Realities" blending into the wailing swansong of "Go Start Anew". The final track - of both the album and Favell’s studio discography - would later prove ironic - its title a callback and tribute to the first track of the band’s first album, Dylan’s "(It’s All Over Now) Baby Blue*"*. In a 1992 interview during his press tour for *Zetlandicus*, Flynn stated:

> “I think it was subconscious. At the time, everyone sort of acted like it was some eerie coincidence, but I don’t think it was. I was in a bad place. I think part of me knew it was ending and wanted to pay tribute to that. I do enjoy the conspiracy theories, though.”
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Wallis’ development as a songwriter was also noted, the poetic lyrics coupled with a 4-minute drum solo in "Across the East Sea" being a particular standout of the first half of the album. The song also marks her debut as lead vocalist, which would come to define The Mansa Musas’ sound.

Flynn was hospitalised from an accidental overdose 3 March 1972, the day before the US tour was set to commence. The tour was cancelled, and soon after his recovery, Flynn approached the band about his wish to depart. The group agreed to disband 21 June 1972.

## Track listing

**Side one**

1. Fisherman’s Wharf (Hickey)
2. Sands of Time (Sara)
3. Across the East Sea (Wallis)
4. Waxwing (Sara)
5. Evermore (Wallis)
6. Plain Weave (Sara)

**Side two**

1. Blue Moon (Flynn)
2. Seasickness (Flynn)
3. Death of an Operator (Flynn)
4. Sordid Realities (Flynn)
5. Go Start Anew (Flynn)

## Personnel

* Al Hickey - lead vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar on "Fisherman's Wharf", backing vocals on "Blue Moon", "Seasickness", "Death of an Operator", "Sordid Realities" and "Go Start Anew"
* Lawrence Flynn - electric and acoustic guitar, lead vocals on "Blue Moon", "Seasickness", "Death of an Operator", "Sordid Realities" and "Go Start Anew"
* Cleo Wallis - drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Across the East Sea"
* Charlie Sara - keyboards, piano, backing vocals, percussion, double bass, violin, recorder, flute