The fifth disc marks the end of the chronological trawl through ten years. It sees the Nine lineup morph into Rising for the Moon then another big split and a back-to-basics band welcoming back Nicol. It’s a long journey to being pretty much Angel Delight MK II except with Bruce Rowland replacing Mattacks on sticks. There’s much less unreleased material to salivate over here, but one highlight is a less overproduced cut of One More Chance. Which may be my favourite Denny with Fairport track. Now, pay attention, I didn’t say it was her best track with Fairport, I said it was my favourite…
The Rising lineup is one of the best represented in official live releases (give or take a drummer), there’s plenty here and more to come. It’s good to see Gottle ‘O Geer album represented even if it controversially doesn’t include the word ‘Convention’ in the band’s title, so many claim it’s a separate band. There’s a full concert of this short lived lineup at Rockpalast that exists, so it’s a shame all we get are two studio cuts from their only LP. Anyway, the final (before the split) team of Swarbrick/Pegg/Nicol/Rowland is well represented live but sadly nothing matches the quality of the 4 Play live double CD from this lineup that Swarbrick put together in 2012. After the gloss of Rising, the band sound more edgier and punk. A bit of an irony considering it was the partly rise of punk rock that put the band (temporarily) out of business. And there we have it eleven, sorry, ten years of Fairport.
But wait! There are two more discs! And the final two once again make a puzzling pair. The first, CD six, is a Live at Fairfield Hall, 1973. Let it not be said that nothing good comes out of Croydon, for along with Wizz Jones is this fabulous recording. The Nine Fairport is often regarded as a lineup in waiting, with Denny in the wings to complete the group. But I’ve always loved the album, the best since the 60s/early 70s heyday. Yes, the best (if not my favourite). So it’s great to have a full release from them. Looking down the tracklist, you’d be fooled into thinking there’s an extra song to add to the Fairport canon. The John Prine-penned Far From Me (Old Broken Bottle) was indeed performed at the Halls, but this is a Lucas solo on guitar/vocals. A fine reading but sadly it’s not a full Nine backing. Similarly, The Claw is an astonishing solo with Donahue on acoustic guitar. Breathtaking virtuosity. Not to be outdone, the other three – Mattacks, Pegg and Swarb – perform Cell Song without the Fotheringay pair. And the next lineup rises before your ears as Denny guests on two encores, the ubiquitous Down in the Flood (one more chance to hear this still to come) and a Fairport version (at last) of That’ll Be The Day.
The final disc is an odd and underwhelming choice to end this often fabulous and always fascinating set. It’s Live at the LA Troubadour 1/2/1974 last found as a bonus CD on the Deluxe (and still in print) version of Rising For The Moon. The only difference seems to be an ‘alternate take’ of Down Where The Drunkards Roll, but unless I’m mistaken Sandy’s intro is exactly the same as on the Deluxe Rising disc (unless she said the same thing every night). And if it’s from the 1st February 1974, how can it be ‘another version’. Baffling though this is, it transpires (although not mentioned in the notes) that there were several things in the mixing and mastering of that Deluxe version of Rising For The Moon that Andrew Batt was unhappy with which get ironed out here.
As I said, a strange end to a fab collection in the majority, the unearthed tracks offering a secret and strange history of Fairport and the more familiar material proving when they were on form, they were a world-class band by any standard. Another disappointment is Patrick Humphries’ sleeve notes, which gives a potted history of the group, like a jolly summary of his book Meet on the Ledge: History of Fairport Convention. It offers little insight or analysis, no input from band members, and the description of the previously unreleased tracks is disappointingly scant on detail. It would be a perfect accompaniment to a ‘best of’ release but most of the audience for this release will probably skim it and mutter, ‘yes, I know all this’.
An exhausting review for an exhaustive set. Buy it for the Full House and Nine live tracks, stay for some fine alternative takes, enjoy the delights of familiar Fairport classics as you prepare yourself to enter the Manor… Trawling through these lost songs I never thought would see the light of day was definitely a favourite aspect of this release. But no one would describe it as one of the best Fairport albums…