Fairport Convention - Disc of the day

Fairport Convention
Full House

(Island, 1970)

The loss of two key members forces folk-rock rethink. And it works!

This week is Folk Week on MOJO, and every Disc Of The Day will have a folk or folk-rock bent.

After the groundbreaking Liege And Lief, Fairport bassist and folk conscience Ashley Hutchings quit to form Steeleye Span, while acclaimed vocal focus Sandy Denny decamped to join the short-lived Fotheringay before launching an esteemed solo career. This, you could be forgiven for thinking, left the Fairports with a bit of a problem. Their solution, apparently achieved in an effortless and smooth transition, produced this inspired and exciting album. Fiddler Dave Swarbrick and guitarist Richard Thompson both took a share of the lead vocals while the group’s harmonies continued to give the music a powerful lift. But what proved immeasurably more significant was the responsibility the band took as instrumentalists. If the vocals were to be slightly less subtle or attractive, then as a band they would attack the material with a gusto, skill, spirit and virtuosity that would sweep aside doubts about the Hutchings-Denny decampment. It helps, of course, that you have the greatest living British guitarist in your ranks, and Thompson’s solos are indeed quite spellbinding, with his performance during Sloth the pick on an album of passionate playing. Swarbrick, too, is in exceptional form, and tracks such as Walk Awhile, Sir Patrick Spens, Dirty Linen and Flowers Of The Forest are among the best in the Fairports’ recorded canon. A word, too, for impeccable drummer Dave Mattacks, who evolved a very British style of folk-rock drumming every bit as distinctive as, say, Levon Helm’s indubitably American playing in The Band.

Geoff Brown

Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 30/04/2008

Further Listening

Sandy Denny – The North Star And The Grassman (Island, 1971)

Steeleye Span – Please To See The King (B&C, 1971)

Richard & Linda Thompson – I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (Island, 1974)

SUGGEST YOUR OWN DISC OF THE DAY ON OUR MESSAGE BOARD HERE, OR, MORE PRIVATELY, HERE!