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Fairport Convention - Liege & Lief Audio CD

A fair review of the Fairport Convention "Liege & Lief" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Fairport Convention reviews here, or go back to the Fairport Convention tabs.

Fairport Convention Band: Fairport Convention
Title: Liege & Lief
Rating:
Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Come All Ye 2: Reynardine 3: Matty Groves 4: Farewell, Farewell 5: Deserter 6: Medley: The Lark in the Morning/Rakish Paddy/The Foxhunter's Jig/Toss T 7: Tam Lin 8: Crazy Man Michael

A fantastic blend of old and new, traditional music, and rock and roll.
Fairport Convention's Liege & Lief is an exciting folk rock album from 1969, probably the best of the genre of folk-rock. Now this is what I call a fantastic album. Each track conveys a mood of "rolling minstrels" telling tall tales of kings and queens, cutthroats & peasants, and sad tales of the insane. Everyone shines on this album, from Sandy Denny's haunting vocals, to Richard Thompson's Page-like licks on the guitar, to Dave Swarbrick's shredding violin. This album is a masterpiece.

Come All Ye gets things started with a rumbling boogie that almost has a feel of a Canned Heat song, were it not for the beautiful singing and stinging violin. Reynardine is one of the most haunting and beautiful songs I've ever heard, Sandy Denny has a warm and inviting voice that just takes you to magical places.

The real centerpiece is the 8 minute epic Matty Groves, the English version of Shady Grove, in which a peasant sleeps with a noble wife, only to have him and the wife killed by her husband. The music fits the story, and is followed by a rousing jam with some of the best fretwork Thompson has ever comitted to tape.

Things calm down a bit with The Deserter, but the mood still is in place. The Irish Medley is a great example of old-and-new, an electrified medley of Irish folk tunes. Tam Lin has a dark riff and a dark story. And finally, Crazy Man Michael is a sad story of a mad man killing his love. It's one of the best ballads I've heard.

This is a fantastic album that goes from light to dark with each song. When music can move you, it's a fantastic thing, and this album moves me in many ways.


Just get the album!
I recently heard Sandy Denny for the first time on WMBR Cambridge and have been obsessed ever since. Folk-rock or whatever that matrix of Fairport Convention, Fotheringay musicians produced may be called is new to me.

If you have any interest in folk music nothing more need be said than get this album. It has exceeded all my expectations. Why have I not heard of them till now!!??.


Looking to "round out" your musical experience?
Fairport Convention, as well as Steel-Eye Span; attempted to up-date classic English and Irish folk songs with mixed results. If you're new to the genre of Traditional English folk-rock, this may sound a bit cheesy and dated. You have to give them a lot of credit for researching these old songs and making them accessible to a modern audience. I'd like to see this get re-made minus the twangy electric guitars.


Headphone Joy
I don't know how or why I missed out of this group when I was younger. This CD and all the other Fairport Convention CD's purchased recently should be on the "Before I die" list of listening pleasure. .


I like it a lot
The vocal melodies, while simplistic and repeat a bunch of times, are interesting enough to keep my attention, and interesting enough to tell a good story. Liege and Lief is a very nice album. The female singer is really good. Some of the arrangements are really good as well. They can let loose and jam out with the best of them.

Fairport Convention sound like they were big fans of Bob Dylan's style of songwriting at the time- sing more or less the same melody over and over while changing the lyrics each time in order to build a story for the lyrically-minded people. An album worth owning. .


You can see a complete list of all Fairport Convention discography, or go back to the Fairport Convention tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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