FAIRPORT CONVENTION: "Liege & Lief"

Original released on LP Island ILPS 9115

(UK, December 1969)

In the decades since its original release, more than one writer has declared Fairport Convention's "Liege & Lief" the definitive British folk-rock album, a distinction it holds at least in part because it grants equal importance to all three parts of that formula. While Fairport had begun dipping their toes into British traditional folk with their stellar version of "A Sailor's Life" on "Unhalfbricking", "Liege & Lief" found them diving head first into the possibilities of England's musical past, with Ashley Hutchings digging through the archives at the Cecil Sharp House in search of musical treasure, and the musicians (in particular vocalist Sandy Denny) eagerly embracing the dark mysteries of this music. (Only two of the album's eight songs were group originals, though "Crazy Man Michael" and "Come All Ye" hardly stand out from their antique counterparts.) "Liege & Lief" was also recorded after a tour bus crash claimed the lives of original Fairport drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson's girlfriend; as the members of the group worked to shake off the tragedy (and break in new drummer Dave Mattacks and full-time fiddler Dave Swarbrick), they became a stronger and more adventurous unit, less interested in the neo-Jefferson Airplane direction of their earlier work and firmly committed to fusing time-worn folk with electric instruments while honoring both. And while "Liege & Lief" was the most purely folk-oriented Fairport Convention album to date, it also rocked hard in a thoroughly original and uncompromising way; the "Lark in the Morning" medley swings unrelentingly, the group's crashing dynamics wring every last ounce of drama from "Tam Lin" and "Matty Groves," and Thompson and Swarbrick's soloing is dazzling throughout. "Liege & Lief" introduced a large new audience to the beauty of British folk, but Fairport Convention's interpretations spoke of the present as much as the past, and the result was timeless music in the best sense of the term. (Mark Deming in AllMusic)

"Mais Si Tu Dois Partir..."

Original Released as LP ISLAND ILPS 9102

(UK 1969, July 3)

"Unhalfbricking" was Fairport Convention’s third LP and featured the legendary Richard Thompson on guitar, the now sadly deceased Sandy Denny as vocalist, Ashley Hutchings, the “John Mayall of UK folk rock,” on bass, Simon Nicol, the longest serving Fairporter on guitar, and Martin Lamble on drums (who tragically died in a traffic accident before the album’s release). This album preceded "Liege & Lief", the first Fairport LP to feature mostly traditional folk songs and, in many ways, "Unhalfbricking" was a transitional album. Bob Dylan was strongly represented. His “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” was translated into French ("Si Tu Dois Partir") – Fairport were well educated – and the result became a UK Top 30 hit single. They adopted an invigorating Cajun style on this and “Million Dollar Bash” (at the time an unreleased Dylan Basement Tapes composition). Denny’s “Who Knows Where The Time Goes”, surely her best known composition, was later covered by Judy Collins. The longest track is the traditional song “A Sailor’s Life”, which Denny had been perfoming for some time in folk clubs. This jaw-dropping epicf was recorded in a single take, and saw folk fiddler Dave Swarbrick duel at length with Thompson’s guitar. The enigmatic picture on the sleeve shows Sandy Denny’s parents outside their garden – it is at once very English and slightly unsettling (the group are visible through the fence). And the odd title? A word Denny coined in the course of a word game the band were playing on the road. (John Tobler in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die")

FAIRPORT CONVENTION 2nd Album

Original released on LP Island ILPS 9092

(UK, January 1969)

Sandy Denny's haunting, ethereal vocals gave Fairport a big boost on her debut with the group. A more folk-based album than their initial effort, "What We Did on Our Holidays" is divided between original material and a few well-chosen covers. This contains several of their greatest moments: Denny's "Fotheringay," Richard Thompson's "Meet on the Ledge," the obscure Joni Mitchell composition "Eastern Rain," the traditional "She Moves Through the Fair," and their version of Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It with Mine." And more than simply being a collection of good songs (with one or two pedestrian ones), it allowed Fairport to achieve its greatest internal balance, and indeed one of the finest balances of any major folk-rock group. The strong original material, covers of little-known songs by major contemporary songwriters such as Dylan and Mitchell, and updates of traditional material were reminiscent of the blend achieved by the Byrds on their early albums, with Fairport Convention giving a British slant to the idiom. The slant would become much more British by the end of the '60s, though, both gaining and losing something in the process. Confusingly, "What We Did on Our Holidays" was titled "Fairport Convention" in its initial U.S. release, with a different cover from the U.K. edition, although Fairport's very first album from 1968 had used the title "Fairport Convention" as well. (Richie Unterberger in AllMusic)

FAIRPORT CONVENTION Debut Album

Original released on LP Polydor 583 035

(UK, June 1968)

By far the most rock-oriented of Fairport Convention's early albums, this debut was recorded before Sandy Denny joined the band (Judy Dyble handles the female vocals). Unjustly overlooked by listeners who consider the band's pre-Denny output insignificant, this is a fine folk-rock effort that takes far more inspiration from West Coast '60s sounds than traditional British folk. Fairport's chief strengths at this early juncture were the group's interpretations, particularly in the harmony vocals, of obscure tunes by American songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Emitt Rhodes, and Jim & Jean. Their own songs weren't quite up to that high standard, but were better than many have given them credit for, with "Decameron" and "Sun Shade" in particular hitting wonderfully fetching melancholic moods. It's true that Fairport would devise a more original style after Denny joined, but the bandmembers' first-class abilities as more American pop-folk-rock-styled musicians on this album shouldn't be undersold. (Richie Unterberger in AllMusic)