Not till Tomorrow explained

Not till Tomorrow
Type:Album
Artist:Ralph McTell
Cover:Ralph McTell Not till Tomorrow.jpg
Released:November 1972
Recorded:1972
Studio:Sound Techniques, Chelsea, London
Genre:Folk, folk rock, country blues
Length:45:51
Label:Warner Bros. / Reprise
Producer:Tony Visconti
Prev Title:You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here
Prev Year:1971
Next Title:Easy
Next Year:1974

Not till Tomorrow is the 1972 album by British Folk musician Ralph McTell. Produced by Tony Visconti, it was McTell's fifth album to be released (aside from the remixed compilation Revisited) – and first album to chart – in the UK; and his third album to be released in the U.S. Ralph had been phoned and asked if he had decided on a title for the album and, wishing to give himself another day to come up with a title, responded "Not till tomorrow" which was misunderstood to be the name he had given to the album. By the time the mistake was found it was too late.

"Sylvia" was a tribute to Sylvia Plath and was recorded in a single take. "When I Was a Cowboy" used, in homage, the opening lines of Lead Belly's "Out on the Western Plains". "First Song" was the first song that McTell wrote the words first and "Barges" was the first tune that he could trace to another composer, Edvard Grieg in this instance.[1]

Commercial performance

Not till Tomorrow reached number 36 in the UK Album Chart soon after its release in November 1972.[2]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Ralph McTell.[3]

Side One
  1. "Zimmerman Blues" – 3:50
  2. "First Song" – 2:39
  3. "When I Was a Cowboy" – 4:00
  4. "Nettle Wine" – 2:28
  5. "Sylvia" – 3:40
  6. "Birdman" – 6:10
Side Two
  1. "Barges" – 4:28
  2. "Standing Down in New York Town" – 3:58
  3. "Another Rain Has Fallen" – 3:57
  4. "This Time of Night" – 4:27
  5. "Gypsy" – 6:14

Personnel

Production

Release history

CountryDateLabelFormatCatalogueNotes
United Kingdom1972RepriseLPK44210
United States1973RepriseLPMS2121
Canada1973RepriseLPMS2121
New Zealand1973RepriseLPRS2121
Germany1975MidiLPMID26030FReleased as "Star Collection"
JapanRepriseLPP-8307R
United Kingdom1998LeolaCDTPGCD15

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Not 'Till Tomorrow – Ralph McTell. www.ralphmctell.co.uk . July 7, 2022.
  2. Chart Stats. “Ralph McTell”. Accessed 22 September 2009.
  3. "Not till Tomorrow " LP sleeve, 1972.