Released in 1969, Liege & Lief was Fairport Convention's greatest triumph, the best and most influential album in the pantheon of British folk-rock, but the dawn of the '70s proved to be a chaotic time for the group, as its two most celebrated members (guitarist Richard Thompson and vocalist Sandy Denny) both left Fairport, and the group's membership became a revolving door for the next few years. In 1974, Fairport Convention seemed to turn a new corner as Denny rejoined the group and a new lineup emerged, featuring Denny (lead vocals and keyboards), Fairport stalwarts Dave Swarbrick (fiddle and mandolin), Dave Pegg (bass), and Dave Mattacks (drums), and two members of Denny's short-lived group Fotheringay, Trevor Lucas (guitar and vocals) and Jerry Donahue (guitar). After a successful tour of the U.K. and Europe, this new edition of Fairport Convention came to the United States, and "Live 1974: My Father's Place" preserves a concert the group played at the venerable Roslyn, New York rock club My Father's Place, which was recorded for radio broadcast for WLIR-FM. This edition of Fairport Convention was more stable than the one that preceded it, but not by much -- by 1976, Denny, Lucas, and Donahue would all leave the band, and Live 1974 is one of the few documents of this historically important version of the group on-stage. The occasional flaws in the recording are certainly offset by the strength of Fairport's performance, as they swing through British folk standards and Denny confirms her status as one of the most beguiling vocalists of her generation.
A rare, and basic Fairport recording just after Sandy Denny rejoined, sounds more like a rock band with folk tendencies. The line-up, without Denny, had recorded two albums. This 1974 show was well before they together created their swansong album "Rising For The Moon".
The result is very much a composite, featuring country-inspired guitarist Jerry Donahue and guitarist-singer Trevor Lucas from Fotheringay. A tightrope is walked with a pair of their numbers (John The Gun, The Ballad Of Ned Kelly) and the title track (played beautifully on piano) and Solo from Denny’s solo album Like An Old Fashioned Waltz, recorded pre-reunion but released after. Also features a unique take on Bob Dylan's "Down In the Flood".
A must have for Brit-folk fans of the band and Sandy Denny.
credits
released February 17, 2015
Musicians
Sandy Denny-vocals, piano
Dave Swarbrick-fiddle, mandolin, vocals
Jerry Donahue-lead guitar
Trevor Lucas-rhythm guitar, vocals
Dave Pegg-bass, mandolin, vocals
Dave Mattacks-drums
Recorded live at My Father's Place, Old Roslyn, New York, USA, by Jeff Kelly on 8 May 1974
Executive producers Denis McNamara and Michael Epstein
Proof: Mike Billter, Rob Basnton
Mastered by Randy Perry
Package design by Mark Kalmus / Blue Fondue
Tracks 1, 5, 8, 11 trad. arr. Fairport Convention
Tracks 2-3, 6, 9 Sandy Denny
Track 4 trad. arr. Dave Swarbrick
Track 7 Trevor Lucas
Track 10 Bob Dylan
supported by 6 fans who also own “Live 1974 at My Father's Place”
There's a similarity in song writing between Richard Thompson and Hugh Cornwell which maybe isn't surprising as they went to the same school at the same time, although Thompson is older.
Due to Thompson's association with John French of Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band I searched for his work on the Bandcamp app. French, Thompson and Cornwell all have albums on the app which I'm very pleased about. Only Thompson has released contemporary albums, much to his credit. yellowcakeuf6
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