Fairport Convention Songs Ranked
Fairport Convention is a British folk-rock band, formed in 1967 by Richard Thompson (guitar, vocals), Simon Nicol (guitar, vocals), Ashley Hutchings (bass guitar), and Shaun Frater (drums, percussion), with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig. They started out heavily influenced by American folk-rock and singer-songwriter material, with a setlist dominated by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell songs and a sound that earned them the nickname ‘the British Jefferson Airplane’.[3] Vocalists Judy Dyble and Iain Matthews joined them before the recording of their self-titled debut in 1968;[4] afterward, Dyble was replaced by Sandy Denny, with Matthews leaving during the recording of their third album. Here are all of the Fairport Convention songs ranked.
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10. Tried So Hard (Heyday 1987)
“Nice song selection (especially the version with bonus tracks) and the BBC sound quality is stellar as usual but I guess I’m not enough of a Fairport fan to feel like listening to this very often. I’l stick to the albums from the classic period but if you’re a big fan you absolutely need this.”
9. One Sure Thing (Fairport Convention, 1968)
“Plenty of good moments, but not too many stand-out tracks and, strangely, the ‘bonus’ tracks on the CD seem somewhat stronger than some of the preceding material…”
8. Dawn (Rising for the Moon, 1975)
“Rising for the Moon is nice British folk-rock but far away from being classic of any sort. At this period Fairport Convention was already a bit weary group. The band had done their classic albums ages ago. “
7. Farewell, Farewell (Liege & Lief, 1969)
“Farewell, Farewell” showed the group to have a unique musical ability and a deep knowledge of the ancient folk tradition.”
See more: Fairport Convention Albums Ranked
6. Autopsy (Unhalfbricking, 1969)
“The time changes on Denny’s “Autopsy” show how well adjusted the group was to switching from folk to rock and back again.”
5. After Halloween (Rising for the Moon, 1975)
“Danny was obviously quite dominant on this album, both as a writer, contributing seven of the eleven songs on the album, and of course as the lead singer, an area she had absolutely no competition in from any other female vocalist at the time.”
4. Tam Lin (Liege & Lief, 1969)
“I actually really loved “Tam Lin” then, and I still do now. And that professor knew what he was doing, I mean, only the mega-nerds were taking medieval lit. Heck, this band is basically “The Decemberists: Origins”, and I was all about the Decemberists back in the day!”
See more: Richard Thompson Albums Ranked
3. One More Chance (Rising for the Moon, 1975)
“One More Chance” appears to sound quite good all the way through. So, even though not one of the shiniest platters on earth or around its time, Rising for the Moon is mostly strong material.”
2. Crazy Man Michael (Liege & Lief, 1969)
“Comes the slow and melancholy beauty of the violin introduction for Crazy Man Michael which must be the band’s most haunting ode to the supernatural.”
1. Fotheringay (What We Did on Our Holidays, 1969)
“”Fotheringay”, is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I can imagine. Sandy Denny’s highly emotional lead and harmony vocals accompanied by Richard Thompson’s gentle acoustic guitar fit perfectly to the tale of a lady captivated in a castle, waiting for her release the next day – or more probably for her execution, as the lady apparently is Mary Queen of Scots, who was kept imprisoned by the English government for 16 years and was beheaded at Fotheringay Castle in 1587.”