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Reviews

Fairport Convention — Liege and Lief
(Island Records 530 111-1, 1969/2007, 2CD)

Liege and Lief Cover art

Now remastered, Liege and Lief was Fairport’s finest release and may be the definitive album of British folk-rock. The inimitable lineup of Sandy Denny (vocals), Ashley Hutchings (bass), Dave Mattacks (drums), Dave Swarbrick (fiddle), Simon Nicol (guitar), and Richard Thompson (guitar) produced eight tracks that fused British Isles folk and rock music more thoroughly and adventurously than anyone ever had before. Traditional tunes were rocked-up in radically new ways, like the magical ballad “Tam Lin,” with shifting 6/4 and 7/4 bars make it one of the most oddly-metered renditions of a British folk tune ever recorded, and “Reynardine,” on which Denny’s vocals are backed only by slow guitar chords and fiddle lines creating an orchestral effect. The original tunes, like the Thompson ballads “Crazy Man Michael” and “Farewell Farewell,” are no less striking in their haunting and beautiful simplicity. Even after 34 years, this remains a stunning album that sounds surprisingly fresh, especially with the remastering. The bass and drums still sound muddy on a few tracks, but overall, the sound is vastly improved. This 2002 remaster also includes two bonus tracks: a recording of “Sir Patrick Spens” with Denny on vocals (Swarbrick sings the song on the band’s next album Full House), and four takes of the droning and psych-infused “The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood.” This disk is an absolute must for prog-folk fans and required listening for those who aren’t. Music just doesn’t get any better than this!

by Jim Chokey, Published 2003-12-01

A couple of weeks ago I realized I needed to reevaluate the early Fairport Convention albums — every so often I try to do this with major groups and artists that I don't seem to rate so highly or have a blurred remembrance of. I played the first two and liked them, but I was really shocked when I hit the trio of Unhlafbricking, Liege and Lief, and Full House: these were not only extremely good albums, but I realized I actually knew them really well and was nostalgic for when I used to play music. Folk rock can often just be a term that is equivalent to electric folk but with Fairport it felt like it started with psych and pop first, and its marriage to folk and tradition did all these styles favors. The vocals and musicians were all in a zone by Liege and Lief and not only were all the songs great, the flow of them from one to another, from ballads to energetic reels, was nearly perfect. Last night I played Liege again while talking about synchronicity and went from thinking it was excellent to thinking of it as a real classic, a truly special work. And then realized I had just finished up the E's and it slotted in like it was meant to be. Then I woke up this morning to find out that fiddle player Dave Swarbrick had passed away. He was brilliant on this record. Thanks for such a magical listen.

by Mike McLatchey, Published 2016-06-03

Filed under: Reissues, Issue 28, 2007 releases, 1969 recordings

Related artist(s): Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick

 

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