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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Let's Be Thankful For This Generous Anthology, June 3, 2000
All in their late teens or early twenties, the members of Fairport Convention entered the studio in the spring of 1968 and recorded one of the most glorious folk-rock albums since the Byrds' debut. Fairport's self-titled debut, a classic in its own right, is only represented by the stunning Joni Mitchell cover, "Chelsea Morning," with vocals by Judy Dyble. My guess is the compiler wanted to focus on the Sandy Denny-era configuration of the band and she did not come on board until the second album, What We Did On Our Holidays (but in a confusing decision it was retitled Fairport COnvention in the U.S.--the same as their first album].Whereas their debut was primarily covers, most of the material on their second album (tracks 2-7) consisted of originals with all band members contributing songs. Denny's ethereal vocals on "Fotheringay" and "Book Song," the rocking "Mr. Lacey," and Richard Thompson, who was emerging as the group's best songwriter, contributed "Tale In Hard Time" and "Meet On the Ledge." Of the two covers, the one included on this set is Dylan's delicate "I'll Keep It With Mine." Their third album was the near perfect Unhalfbricking (tracks 8-11) from 1969, which included the traditional "A Sailor's Life," a sprawling 11-minute song that features exquisite guitar playing from Thompson. It also included Denny's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes," the song she is probably most identified with. Of the album's nine tracks, there were three Dylan covers, including the simply gorgeous performance of "Percy's Song," which begins with an a capella singing of the first verse. For my money, no one has covered a Dylan song better than Fairport did on this one. Disc One closes with five tracks from 1969's Liege & Lief (12-16), the group's last to feature the Denny and original members Thompson, Simon Nicol and Ashley Hutchings. As such it is their final consistently satisfying album. The Denny-Hutchings "Come All Ye" is a rollicking folk-based song, but the album's centerpiece was the seven-minute "Tam Lin" which rocks harder than anything else on the album. This is the final album Denny would appear on. Disc Two kicks off with the hard-to-find single "Now Be Thankful"--it is also on Thompson's box set--and the previously unreleased "Bonny Bunch of Roses," which at ten minutes is about twice as long as it should be. Thompson would appear one one more Fairport album, 1970's Full House (tracks 3-5). There's the jaunty "Walk Awhile" with Swarbrick's fiddle moving things along nicely. A rare lead vocal for Thompson on his "Poor Will And the Jolly Hangman." The album's key track, however, was the group-written "Sloth." By this time in the band's history, the only remaining original member was Nicol and he would depart after 1973's Rosie (tracks 8-9). The band has never been less than competent, but with the departure of Denny and Thompson the group would never again reach the heights of its first five albums. "Rosie" has the distinction of featuring not only Denny and Thompson as guest artists, but also Linda Peters (Thompson's future wife). For 1975's Rising For the Moon (tracks 13-16), Denny was back in the group full time, joining her husband Trevor Lucas. Her title track is a highlight as is "Stranger To Himself." "One More Chance" has Denny veering into Carole King territory. [Not meant as an insult, just an observation.] With the double-LP Fairport Chronicles long out of print, this anthology was long overdue. Although not definitive, if you enjoy your folk-rock from a celtic perspective, this is absolutely required listening. Then seek out any of Fairport's first five albums. You won't regret it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
2-disc compilation, February 10, 2000
By A Customer
Back in 1976, A&M records released a superb two record set called "Fairport Chronicles" which covered the same time period that is admirable, yet somewhat flawed collection does. Collected chronologically, this set covers the years 1967-1975 of the band that virtually singlehandily originated British folk rock.For the most part the track selections are fairly predictable, with the first disc containing one track from the band's lesser known debut album, and 15 cuts from their three most legendary albums, "What We Did On Our Holiday," (simply titled "Fairport Convention" upon its original release in the US) "Unhalfbricking" and "Liege and Leaf." Most of these cuts feature the always remarkable vocals of the late great Sandy Denny. Like most compilations of first rate bands one can gripe over what has been omitted, but what is here is, by and large, wonderful. Disc two documents that band's slow, but steady decline of the second half of this period. It contains two extraordinary cuts in "Now Be Thankful" and the magnificent "Sloth" both of which were recorded after the initial departure of Sandy Denny. The rest is generally hit and miss, but all generally worthwhile for those interested in this band, or the genre of music it helped create. For long-term fans there is the CD booklet which contains a generous helping of photos (the panel below the CD tray contains a somewhat obscured copy that wonderful photo of the band in a pile of autumn leaves that graced the cover of the original US release of "What We Did On Our Holidays") and some rudimentary liner notes. Diehards will be amused at the backwards photo of the cover to the "Unhalfbricking" album. While a CD issue of the 1976 A&M "Fairport Chronicles," complete with its superb liner notes would have been preferable, this collection generally serves the band well, and can lead the more casual fan to the individual album Fairport created, and to the vast branches of its family tree which also include to great Steeleye Span.
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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fairport's shining moments, and some other ones, too, September 4, 1999
Good thing Fairport Convention ignored Sandy Denny's advice. She wanted the band's excursion into traditional British music to be brief, and mostly confined to one album (Liege and Lief). It wasn't, but if it had been, Fairport would likely be remembered, if at all, as a fairly inconsequential pop band, a kind of English answer to Buffalo Springfield. Though amiably melodic, such early originals as "Book Song" and "Mr. Lacey" are not the stuff of legend. It was the folk-flavored stuff, including some fine Dylan covers, that demonstrated the fledgeling Fairport's potential. I do not refer to the embarrassingly amateurish Joni Mitchell cover that opens the first disc.Fairport came into its own when fiddler/mandolin master Dave Swarbrick signed on. The result was the revered Liege and Lief (represented by the last five cuts on disc one), followed by Full House and Angel Delight -- the three records on which Fairport's claim to immortality rests. It's difficult to understand why the Grace" -- a decent enough song, certainly -- and not the marvelous "Banks of the Sweet Primroses"? And why isn't "Sir Patrick Spens" (from Full House) here? Once it's past Full House, Angel Delight, and previously unreleased takes from that era, the second disc covers the band in decline, when the quality grew more and more spotty. There's no reason for "John Lee" to be here, unless it's to remind longtime Fairport fans that their band was just as capable of boring concept albums (in this case the deservedly forgotten Babbacombe Lee) as any other rock group. Happily, not a single cut from the godawful Gottle o' Geer, Fairport's venture into disc-folk-rock, appears. The remaining cuts, however, remind you that the news wasn't all bad. From the evidence here, one senses that the late Trevor Lucas's talents have been sadly underrated. I'm glad that his "The Plainsman" is here -- an original lyric set to the venerable "Tramps and Hawkers" melody, the same one Dylan stole for "I Pity the Poor Immigrant" -- and his "Polly on the Shore" and "Bring 'em Down" are splendid. The second disc concludes with some good, albeit not outstanding, Sandy Denny songs and performances from her brief return to the band in the mid-1970s. In short, there's plenty on these two discs to savor. On the other hand, I can't help reflecting that Britain's other great electric-folk band, Steeleye Span, lays claim to a much greater body of artistically successful -- not to mention artistically consistent -- work. the Incredible String Band's The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, then at the cover of this collection. Be sure you do it in good light, because in dim light you may not be able to tell the difference
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~ Sandy Denny
~ Fairport Convention
~ Fleet Foxes
~ Fotheringay
~ Sandy Denny
by Fairport Convention 
