After listening to Richard Thompson the other night, I really wanted to check out Fairport Convention, which was Thompson’s original band, and see what it was all about. I sort of chose randomly in terms of which album to check out, but I’m pretty stoked regardless. I’ve seen Fairport Convention mentioned on the internet alongside groups like Pentangle and Steeleye Span, both of which are groups I also checked out this year for the first time. With that said, I suppose I’ll go ahead and jump on into the music.
“Genesis Hall” has a super intriguing, almost mystic sound to it. There’s the slightest twang in the opening notes, before evolving to something clearly more British folk in nature. I really dig the meandering feel of the guitar, which still seems to create a sense of direction. Oh wow, the electric guitar is absolutely wonderful, as is the acoustic guitar. I’m really digging this album a bunch already, and am very much looking forward to the coming tracks. The kick drum has such a gentle, short airiness to it. The vocals definitely remind me a lot of Steeleye Span, though definitely have an influence that leans towards something more folk rock than just traditional folk.
“Si Tu Dois Partir” is an incredibly interesting tune on multiple fronts – the strings, accordion, and percussion all make this one incredibly intriguing right away, but when you add in that the song is a French translation of Bob Dylan’s 1964 song, “If You Gotta Go, Go Now”, things elevate to an entirely different level (for myself, at least, as I am a huge Dylan fan). The clapping brings a wonderful energy to this one.
Oh wow, “Autopsy” starts off with a folksy bluesy feel, like something off of a Bert Jansch album. The lead vocalist’s voice is absolutely wonderful, and has an interesting sound that reminds me of British folk mashed with some psychedelic rock lines. Her voice kind of reminds me of Joni Mitchell to a certain extent. Oh wow, there’s definitely a really bluesy groove to this one. The electric guitars are absolutely wonderful. The rhythm guitar keeps that steady bluesy feel going, while the lead absolutely drips away into the soundscape with some clean bluesy tone. There’s almost a bit of a shuffle feel in the rhythm section. I’m stoked to be listening to this album tonight. That bluesy lick at the very end is delicious.
“A Sailor’s Life” starts out with some meandering energy as the instruments feel the tune out. This song is already super sweet – the lead singer feels like she’s on a ship that is sailing through a dense fog, and said fog is created by the rest of the instruments on the track. The cymbals roll and gently crash like waves against the proverbial musical ship, while the electric guitars create this meandering, nearly lost feeling, which slowly and gradually gets a sort of direction as the song continues. The bass serves as a connection between all facets of the song. Wow, when the guitars feel like they’ve picked up some semblance of a direction, the drums and bass sort of pick up some steam. This song is super sweet – there’s still more than half the song left and I’m extremely excited for each and every second. Oh wow, this is super interesting. Honestly, to me it sounds a bit like TOOL mixed with some sort of British folk vibe. The drums and bass have gotten almost shamanic, which is furthered by the electric guitars. Oh wow, the guitars are getting a bit more fuzz as the song sort of gradually comes together. This one has a super awesome groove. I could listen to this song for hours, honestly. There’s some string instruments in this one, perhaps a fiddle of some sort, which provides a smooth edge to pseudo-echo what the electric guitar is playing, and the electric guitar is absolutely going to town on this song. Holy smokes, this musical voyage of a song is absolutely awesome. The bass is steady rockin’ things along, and evolving with the playing of the electric guitar while keeping the feel of the groove going. Definitely an awesome tune. I really dig the end of the tune, and how everything feels very tied up while left in some sort of uncertain state – like a massive leg of a voyage was just completed.
“Cajun Woman” takes a super different feel compared to the rest of the album so far. Oh wow, there’s like a southern rock mixed with British folk vibe with this one. The intro kick drums were pretty sweet. Wow, the twang to the electric guitar is somehow echoed in the accordion. Everything sort of crashes and rolls together in this tune, which isn’t stopping for anything. Oh wow, when everything but the rhythm section and the fiddle drops out and the clapping comes in, an awesome musical moment occurs; the band plays insanely well with tension.
“Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” has a really awesome feel to this one – it’s like mid 60s Bob Dylan mixed with some sort of early 70s studio Grateful Dead. The song was originally written by English folk-rock singer, Sandy Denny. There’s an almost bittersweet feeling in the playing of the instruments. Oh wow, the vocalist hits some absolutely awesome notes in this one. I really dig the flavor of the electric guitar, especially while the acoustic guitar lightly jangles on the other side of the soundscape. The bass is really wonderful as it connects the acoustic and electric guitars, while easing the airy drums into the mix. Great tune.
“Percy’s Song” is another Dylan original, albeit one I’ve never heard of or listened to. This song gets a massive British folk treatment. With the layering and chorus style of the vocals, it reminds me a whole lot of Steeleye Span. Oh wow, I’m not even sure what instrument I’m hearing, but it’s bright, somewhat tinny, and certainly wispy, and reminds me a bit of Bob Dylan’s vocals. Wow, the layers added to this one throughout the song are absolutely lovely, and the song becomes sort of orchestral in nature as the soundscape follows the lyrics and gently turns as the song plays. Wow, the mixture of instruments is super interesting as the song comes to a bit of a crescendo, after which some instruments temporarily drop out, only to join back in as the song starts to near the end. I’m looking at the Wikipedia page for the album, and the only instrument that I’m guessing what I’m puzzled about could be, would be the electric dulcimer. At this point, however, I’m getting absolutely lost in this lovely playing of the song. Every part of the song feels very gentle, yet carries great weight to it. Definitely a great tune.
“Million Dollar Bash” has a super interesting twang in this one, and definitely sounds like some American folk rock if I had to say so. Someone different from the rest of the album is the lead vocalist on parts of this one. It turns out this seems to be a Dylan cover as well, according to Wikipedia at least. Wow, that mandolin really gives things a very particular direction to head towards, while the electric guitar has an almost swishy feel with its distortion in this one. The drums and bass provide an incredibly sturdy platform for the vocals to stand on and make this tune extremely fun to listen to.
“Dear Landlord” is another Bob Dylan cover off of one of my favorite album’s of his, John Wesley Harding (1967). There’s a real weighty feeling to this one, and this one has a bit more of a bluesy feeling to it in general. The instruments in this song feel like they’re doing quite a bit of blues rockin’ around, while still maintaining a folksy connection through the vocals and some of the lines played in the instrumentation. Wow, this version is absolutely awesome. I can barely understand how I’m already on the second to final track of this album on this play-through – time has absolutely flown by. Great tune.
“The Ballad of Easy Rider” has a wonderfully loose, airy feeling to it. It honestly reminds me a bit of the original version of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan in terms of the general tone that I’m hearing in the song. It turns out that this song was originally written by Roger McGuinn with input from Bob Dylan, though Dylan isn’t technically listed as a co-writer. Regardless, this one has a lovely country/folk rock feel to it. The twang from the electric guitar sets the mood for the song, while the jangling of the acoustic guitar and the airy drums give an almost lighthearted feeling. There’s definitely a feeling of a lone rambler continuing a journey. Absolutely lovely song to end this awesome album with.
Wow, this was a fantastic album. This particular version is the bonus track version, as the original release ended on “Million Dollar Bash”, but I very much enjoyed the two additional tracks on this version. I want to own this one on vinyl for sure. There’s such an awesome mixture of folk genres in this one. This is definitely a great album I would especially recommend to fans of folk and folk rock. I’m very stoked to have listened to this one tonight. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A