FAIRPORT CONVENTION WITH SANDY DENNY

EBBITS FIELD 1974

2011-05-25

Fairport Convention remains one of the pivotal English Folk-Rock bands of the late 1960's & 70's even though several members will reform until today. This CD captures the band in Colorado's Ebbets Field in 1974 after Sandy Denny had rejoined the band for a series of concerts. The CD begins with a Sandy Denny original from one of her finest solo releases "Like An Old Fashioned Waltz" Sandy's voice is a little raspy as she opens the show, but by the time she sings her signature "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" the rasp has disappeared and all her beauty shines through as she captivates the audience. The other remarkable part of this disc is the improvisation and instrumental interplay between some of England's finest players. This is especially found in the track "Sloth" that begins as a slower ballad and builds steam through it's entire thirteen minutes. The track "Matty Groves" originally found on the classic Liege & Leif release shows how much fun a song dealing with murder can really be and features some amazing violin from Dave Swarbrick. The CD concludes with Sandy doing a very interesting version of Bob Dylan's "Crash on the Levee Down In The Flood" The world lost Sandy four years after this release, but thanks to somebody keeping this excellent live recording in a vault for 37 years we are once again blessed by one of England's finest bands and voices. Reviewed By: Gregg Saur

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