FAIRPORT CONVENTION

One of the most famous English folk bands of the 20th century, FAIRPORT CONVENTION got its start in the London area in 1967 formed by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol along with bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater but like many bands of the era experienced a serious of lineup and stylistic changes before latching onto a sound that would propel them into the limelight. The band spent its first year primarily existing as a folk band inspired by the American folk rock scene with Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell as the primary influences as well as finding a lineup that would suit them.

After settling on the new drummer Martin Lamble who also played violin along with lead vocalists Ian Mathew MacDonald and Judy Dyble (who played autoharps, recorder and piano), the first rendition of FAIRPORT CONVENTION was born and the band recorded its first self-titled album in late 1968 and released in the summer of 1968. At this stage the band was also extremely influenced by Jefferson Airplane and delivered a debut album that is sort of the anomaly in its large canon that would follow the very next year with the arrival of Sandy Denny on vocals and amazing trilogy of albums that dominated the year 1969. Like many 60s debuts, FAIRPORT CONVENTION released an album that featured 12 tracks with just less than half being covers of artists like Joni Mitchell, Emitt Rhodes, Bob Dylan and Jean Glover.

Despite the cited influences, the album also featured a West Coast sound that involved some of the pop musical styles that spanned the late 1950s and early 1960s. In fact the debut album showcased an array of styles as the band tried to latch onto various genres which makes it a bit eclectic sounding as well as sounding a tad unfocused but no matter how you slice it, the performances are actually quite brilliantly performed even if the album sounds more like a collection of various tracks strewn together in a compilation format rather than an album proper. The album begins the the guitar-dominated "Time Will Show The Wiser" and showcases Richard Thompson's significance as the guitarist-in-chief who would lead the band into the big time. "I Don't Know Where I Stand" finally sees Dyble taking the role of lead vocalist and provides a more standard 60s pop tune formate. "If (Stomp)" takes on a more country rock vibe with a touch of bluegrass.

As the album skips around stylistically, "Decameron" features Dyble in a classic vulnerable female soft voice narrating a classic love reject theme although it takes on a bit of a Renaissance musical vibe. "Jack O' Diamonds" adopts a US West Coast psychedelic pop sound that warrants the Jefferson Airplane comparisons quite well. The super short "Portfolio" showcases Dyble on the piano and one of two lyric-free tracks on the album. "Chelsea Morning," the Joni Mitchell cover jumps back into the folk rock with a catchy melody and a confident Dyble delivering her classic vocal style with a greater sense of bravado than her softer timid tracks. "Sun Shade" delivers yet another stylistic approach sounding more like a pop jazz affair from a nice coffee house somewhere in NYC. Shapeshifting once again "The Lobster" enters Grateful Dead territory with trippy guitar parts only kept a bit Medieval sounding with Dyble's recorder.

"It's Alright Ma, It's Only Witchcraft" takes on a swanky club jazz style only with the feistiest rock guitar on the album. "One Sure Thing" showcases Dyble lamenting her lost love in fine melodic form while the closer "M1 Breakdown" offered a bizarre mix of mandolin, acoustic guitars and a jew's harp in a style that reminds me of some of the antics from Led Zeppelin III only years before it was released. Sort of that "Bon-Y-Aur-Stomp" vibe only truncated into a 1 1/2 minute hoedown. Later editions feature bonus tracks which are just as worthy to the album with an equal calibre. Initially the album wasn't released in the US so the following "What We Did On Our Holidays" was released in the USA as a self-titled album thus creating modern day confusion. Why did record labels do this nonsense back then? After this album both Judy Dyble and Iain Matthews would leave the band and FAIRPORT CONVENTION would regroup and form their classic lineup.

While many write this debut off as a mere curiosity, for my personal tastes i actually quite adore it. Even though many of the tracks are covers, the band made them all their very own and were wise enough to choose more obscure songs that weren't widely known from the artists they did cover. Dyble's unique vocal style was actually quite pleasant as she showcased a wide variety of moods and singing styles that suited the music quite well. In fact i wish she would've been the vocalist on all the tracks. Dyble was also famous for knitting dishrags in concert when Ian MacDonald took over the vocal duties. The album is eclectic but everything flows together quite well and the musicians are already at the top of their game at this stage. This is actually album i don't ignore at all as it is as easily revisited as the other classic albums that are much more revered from this point on. All the aspects that made the band great were already present and although not all members would stick around, they added their unique stamp on a brief period of the band's origins. To me this is an excellent album.