www.mydfz.com > Music of Tom Paxton > Saturday Night
Private Stock 1976
I don't have a copy.
I got an email from an owner of this record, who identified themself only with their email address of JColl65132@aol.com. They gave a list of the tracks on the album (below) and said, "It's a strange record with what seems like a full orchestra & lots of strings. Nothing like any of his other records that I've heard. It's a British Pressing (MAMS 1003) and I've never seen it anywhere else. My copy says Factory Sample, Not For Sale. I bought it many years ago in a Second Hand Record Shop in Soho, London."
Another Paxton fan, Jan Niesing from the Netherlands, was kind enough to scan the album cover and send the images. Jan further wrote:
"My copy is not a promotional one, so it must have been an official release. The label MAM is a subdivision of EMI Records. The album was made and printed in Great Britain, so I suspect that it may not have had an American Release.
And about the music. The songs are, I believe, all Tom Paxton classics. The album is not a cheap affair or compilation. All songs are re-recorded, with, as you mentioned on the site, some string arrangements. However, there is also a complete band (guitars, drums, piano) playing. The sound is sometimes very seventies (due to the organ and bass sounds), but the arrangements are good, and Paxton is in great voice. My guess is that the album was recorded to give Paxton a chance at reaching a wider audience in England. It is, in my opinion, well worth seeking out.
The cover is also pretty special for a Tom Paxton record, with two sort of lovers and no Tom anywhere. Maybe Tom had already left the country at the
time of release, who knows. It's probably easy to miss, while going through the used bins."
Feb. 25, 2002: Roger Peek sent an improved scan of the back side of the album and this version is shown above.
Nov. 3, 2003: Just received the following email
"I was interested to see the Tom Paxton album cover [for Saturday Night] on the internet. The guy in the photo is me! I did a bit of modelling in London years ago and this was one of the jobs I did. I distinctly remember doing the shoot with the girl whose name was Lia. She was Swiss if I remember correctly and very tall! The "bar" was an old dressing table which the studio had made up to look this way. We shot the photo of us through a hole cut in black paper which, you can just make out if you look carefully. Later it was superimposed on the mirror which was photographed separately.
All the best... Terry."
Songs on the album: