ROSIE

After Fairport Convention rekindled their ambitions with "Babbacombe" Lee, it's unfortunate that they should have followed it up with such an unambitious release as Rosie. It's not that it's flat-out bad, it's just that it's a little bland - why, even the cover art suggests mediocre wallpaper in a mid-range suburban cul-de-sac house. The performances are good, but the material feels awfully simplistic.

At its best, the simplicity feels like part of the point - Fairport almost hitting on a "Brit-country" style. Nonetheless, it still feels like their weakest effort since their self-titled debut album, but whereas that falls slightly short due to the band not having hit on their sound yet, Rosie falls down because of the band getting just a little too comfortable with their sound.