Album: Liege & Lief
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As psychedelia was fading, musicians on both sides of the Atlantic were reconnecting with their roots. Dylan and The Band played a seminal role in this emerging movement, with Fairport's Richard Thompson admitting Music From Big Pink's huge influence on Liege & Lief. The seeds of this change of direction had already been sown on Fairport's excellent previous album, Unhalfbricking, thanks to the vision of Sandy Denny, who recruited Dave Swarbrick to play fiddle on the traditional song, A Sailor's Life. While touring for this album, disaster struck. A van carrying several Fairport members back to London from a concert veered off the M1 motorway in the early hours of the morning, causing the death of drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend, Jeannie Franklyn. Other band members were also seriously hurt and initially there was reluctance to carry on. Island Records proposed the group take some time to recuperate at a remote cottage in Hampshire, and it was here that Fairport came up with their unique brand of electric folk, fusing traditional songs with rock. Ashley Hutchings found inspiration for many of the songs in the archives of London's Cecil Sharp House and Thompson also began to mature as a songwriter.
Liege & Lief harks back to pre-industrial and medieval times and is one of my favourite albums ever recorded. The fact it features England's finest ever singer, Sandy Denny, and one of its best guitarists, Richard Thompson, both in their prime, are two important factors in the album's brilliance. Come All Ye introduces every player in turn, as though Fairport were a band of "rolling minstrels" and is an invigorating start to the album. Matty Groves is the standout track on side 1, and one of the high watermarks of electric folk, while Farewell Farewell is a haunting Thompson song dealing with the death of his fashion designer girlfriend ("and you will never cut the cloth"). The playing on side 2 is breathtaking at times, enhanced by Swarbrick's superb arrangements, while Denny's singing is supreme on Tam Lin and Crazy Man Michael. This classic Fairport line-up only lasted for one full album, with Denny and Hutchings both leaving after Liege & Lief, while Thompson soon followed, but this album's legacy and vitality remains as powerful as ever.
Artist: Fairport Convention
Born: Muswell Hill, London
Released: December 1969
Genre: Electric Folk
Influenced: Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Scritti Politti, Beth Orton, Midlake
Influenced: Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Scritti Politti, Beth Orton, Midlake
As psychedelia was fading, musicians on both sides of the Atlantic were reconnecting with their roots. Dylan and The Band played a seminal role in this emerging movement, with Fairport's Richard Thompson admitting Music From Big Pink's huge influence on Liege & Lief. The seeds of this change of direction had already been sown on Fairport's excellent previous album, Unhalfbricking, thanks to the vision of Sandy Denny, who recruited Dave Swarbrick to play fiddle on the traditional song, A Sailor's Life. While touring for this album, disaster struck. A van carrying several Fairport members back to London from a concert veered off the M1 motorway in the early hours of the morning, causing the death of drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend, Jeannie Franklyn. Other band members were also seriously hurt and initially there was reluctance to carry on. Island Records proposed the group take some time to recuperate at a remote cottage in Hampshire, and it was here that Fairport came up with their unique brand of electric folk, fusing traditional songs with rock. Ashley Hutchings found inspiration for many of the songs in the archives of London's Cecil Sharp House and Thompson also began to mature as a songwriter.
Liege & Lief harks back to pre-industrial and medieval times and is one of my favourite albums ever recorded. The fact it features England's finest ever singer, Sandy Denny, and one of its best guitarists, Richard Thompson, both in their prime, are two important factors in the album's brilliance. Come All Ye introduces every player in turn, as though Fairport were a band of "rolling minstrels" and is an invigorating start to the album. Matty Groves is the standout track on side 1, and one of the high watermarks of electric folk, while Farewell Farewell is a haunting Thompson song dealing with the death of his fashion designer girlfriend ("and you will never cut the cloth"). The playing on side 2 is breathtaking at times, enhanced by Swarbrick's superb arrangements, while Denny's singing is supreme on Tam Lin and Crazy Man Michael. This classic Fairport line-up only lasted for one full album, with Denny and Hutchings both leaving after Liege & Lief, while Thompson soon followed, but this album's legacy and vitality remains as powerful as ever.
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