MY OBSESSION WITH FAIRPORT CONVENTION

What can I say about my favorite rock band of all time that already hasn’t been said in countless articles, reviews, books, documentaries, news stories, and podcasts? They’re so thoroughly English, always completely out of stride with the currents, were one of the most unpsychedelic bands of the UFO 60’s, rode on the back of musical tradition unbowed through the punk era, regrouped in the mid 80’s to continue making new records, and STILL tour as well as hold their own yearly Festival 55+ years since their formation in Fortis Green. So, how did an American musician such as myself grab a hold of an English Folk Rock band early in life, taking them throughout his years as a personal musical touchstone? Well, did I mention I am 45% English/Scottish/Irish/Welsh? Maybe it was just inside me all along!

I believe that the first time I heard them was in a record store around 1984. Sound Warehouse was playing “Sloth” which grabbed me by the proverbial balls. I found a used copy of ‘Chronicles‘ a few days later at Half Price Books and Records, my ears still pique with intrigue and mystery as to what this young R.E.M. fan had heard. ‘Chronicles’ was only the tip of the iceberg for Fairport music evidently, which I found when I started buying their albums after listening to that compilation for days on end. ‘Full House‘, ‘Liege and Lief‘, ‘Unhalfbricking‘ all told me what I needed to know about them as I absorbed their tales of lore. Dark Ballads and Broadsides of madness, death, betrayal, murder, war, adultery, and the human spirit in survival mode. Traditional tunes as well as originals that were made to sound ancient. Really grim desperate Roud Folk from the Cecil Sharpe library. Slightly progressive, bluegrass adjacent, could play reels at lightening speed, and regularly went into slow creeping dirges as well. Roll over Vaughn Williams, indeed! I realized back in 1984 that Fairport were still kicking around the UK with Simon, Pegg, and Mattacks at the fore of a new lineup, new albums were springing up, as well as Cropredy a yearly Festival growing exponentially. I witnessed them existing completely in juxtaposition to Alternative, Grunge, and Britpop! 20,000 people showing up yearly for a weekend in a farm field in a small Oxfordshire village with Morris dancing, Theakston Ales, and English Folk Rock. It amazes me the vast history of this great band, as they continue to transpire as of this writing with a UK tour looming this Winter as well as announcing the lineup for the 2025 festival. They’re my parents’ age and still doing it!

My favorite Fairport songs? I probably will mention some here that most casual listeners may not have heard; all of these suggestions are originals. So let’s start with “It’s Alright Ma It’s Only Witchcraft.” This was during their American singer/songwriter era before they discovered the dusty basements of a UK Historical Society building, and has a mid 60’s San Francisco flair to it. Richard’s guitar is in full flight, as are the loose duo harmonies of Judy Dyble and Iain Matthews. Fantastic psychedelic-era lyrics, couplets that just seem strange and quirky. I once heard Of Montreal cover this, staying true to the record in sound and arrangement, yet it still sounded like one of their own songs! Enough said…

“Tale In A Hard Time” always makes me smile. It has a beautiful melody coupled with snide lyrics, plucky harpsichord, Byrdsian jangle, and lush harmonized vocals from Iain and Sandy Denny. Richard Thompson’s punchy loud solo is so over the top that it breaks the song up perfectly. Tale is Richard maturing as a songwriter swiftly but still not singing his own songs, leaving them to Matthews and Denny. This song in particular gives way to his dour view of a world full of hate, remorse, and social iniquity as heard through the perfectly succinct lyrics. “Take the sun from my heart. Let me learn to despise. I’ll show you another who cannot tell lies.” He didn’t sugarcoat anything that he wrote from here on out, and we are all the better for it generations later as the world has turned dark and bleak.

Sandy”s whimsical “Autopsy” just slays me every time. The jazz timing, the stark guitar tone coupled with the beautiful contrapuntal playing of Richard and Simon Nicol, Ashley Hutching’s perky bassline, and the beautiful delivery of Ms. Denny. The middle-eight, with it’s change of tone as well as the stunning slowhand guitar solo, is perfectly sublime. It’s a playful 60’s musical moment, archetypes and influences spilling out everywhere into the air. Every time I play it for someone who’s never heard it, the ears perk up and the questions arrive. The Eric Hayes cover photo as well as his portfolio from this era absolutely captures the band in their most seminal period, as witnessed in the banner of this post!

Next we have Richard’s absolutely staggering “Crazy Man Michael“, which one would swear is actually a murder ballad that was passed down through the centuries. The story of lunacy and longing, Sandy’s voice at it’s sweetest pitch, while the Swarbrick violin melancholy bring tears to the eyes. Again, Richard’s solo is just so highly original and completely unique, the Leslie cabinet can even be heard spinning if you listen close enough. This is the seminal Fairport lineup at their finest, the entire album ‘Liege and Leif‘ easily one of the greatest recordings in Folk Rock!

Richard Thompson hated his vocal and solo on the brilliant “Poor Will and The Jolly Hangman“, which is one of my favorite guitar solos from him, actually! The truncated version on ‘Full House‘ is no match for the ‘(Guitar, Vocal)’ version, which is actually also an outtake. The build up, his interplay with Swarbrick’s mandolin in the initial breaks, then tension and release as his solo breaks free, so simple and joyous to my ears. I’m listening to it now and it still absolutely rocks my world!

I am lucky enough to be good friends with Richard Thompson’s current drummer, Michael Jerome, someone I have known since the 80’s when my Fairport obsession first came to fore. He has told me countless tales about playing with him all over the World for the past 20 years, as well as how much Richard still talks about Fairport. I recently found VG+ copies of the first six records as well as a couple of later releases. Ran into a mint copy of Plainsong‘s brilliant ‘In Search Of Amelia Earhart‘ on a Christmas trip to Santa Fe. So as you can see, my Fairport Obsession is still running it’s course through my life…