A BRIEF HISTORY

1. Beanfields (4:30)
2. Telephone And Rubber Band (2:29)
3. Music For A Found Harmonium (3:39)
4. Perpetuum Mobile (4:31)
5. From The Colonies (3:20)
6. Giles Farnaby's Dream (4:06)
7. Surface Tension (2:23)
8. Air A Danser (4:31)
9. Yodel 1 (4:12)
10. Numbers 1-4 (6:51)
11. Steady State (3:34)
12. Paul's Dance (1:46)
13. Prelude & Yodel (3:58)
14. Heartwind (4:12)
15. White Mischief (5:48)
16. Dirt (4:52)
17. Rosasolis (4:15)
18. Organum (3:53)
19. Lullaby (4:00)

Total Time 76:57

- Braco / drums
- Danny Cummins / percussion
- Stephen Fletcher / piano
- Simon Jeffes / acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, cuatro, ukulele, bass, voice, Omnichord, Dulcitone, penny whistle, pitch pipes, harmonium, shakers, drums, ring modulator, rubber band, electronic organ, milkbottles, triangle, violin, drum, Linn Drum computer, soloban, spinet, Prophet V, fretless guitar, Bluthner and Bosendorfer pianos, zebra drum, tape, pianica, mandolin, electric aeolian harp
- Pat Kierman / violin
- Chris Laurence / bass
- Giles Leaman / woodwinds
- Helen Liebmann / cello
- Bob Loveday / violin
- Martin Loveday / cello
- Ian Maidman (now Jennifer Maidman) / percussion/bass/ukelele/guitar
- Peter McGowan / violin
- Trevor Morais / drums
- Steve Nye / electric piano, cuatro, Bluthner piano, Wurlitzer piano, harmonium
- Neil Rennie / ukelele
- Geoffrey Richardson / viola, slide guitar, bass, bongos, metal frame, ukelele, mandolin, electric guitar, penny whistle, clarinet
- Henry Roche / piano
- Katherine Tickell / Northumbrian small pipes
- Pete Veitch / accordian
- Katy Wilkinson / violin
- Gavyn Wright / violin
- Grace Davidson / vocals (track 19)
- Emily Young / vocals (track 14)

'A Brief History' has 19 tracks from the 4-CD set 'History', so it's a 'best of the best of...' album.
Label: Virgin

Track 7 from "Music from the Penguin Cafe"
Tracks 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 from "Penguin Cafe Orchestra"
Tracks 3, 14, 15 from "Broadcasting From Home"
Tracks 4, 16, 17 from "Signs of Life"
Tracks 1, 5, 6, 13 from "When in Rome" Live in London, July 9, 1987
Track 18 from "Union Cafe"
Track 19 from "Piano Music"