Search - Fairport Convention :: Live

Live Fairport with Denny to boot!

Scott T Mc Nally | ORLANDO, Fl USA | 04/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the recording that got me completely swept into Fairport and Sandy Denny. I first gave them a serious listen in 76 at the age of 19. A&M had done a retrospective that year. I was very impressed, particularly with the Denny and Thompson material. A few weeks later, I stumbled across a Fairport album in the cut out bargain bin. It was called "A Moveable Feast". It was and still is one of my all time favorite live recordings of any type of music. For years, I'd wondered why it hadn't seen the light of day on CD. I come to find out this very day that it has, under this title! The versions of Matty Groves and Sloth here are spectacular. Sandy's voice had deepened a bit and on these tracks,you really get to hear her rock with an edge that recalls Grace Slick at her best. The only weak track here is Swarbrick's Rosie, but he sure sets that fiddle of his on fire on the jigs and reels.The result is electrified Britsh Bluegrass. The duet with Sandy and husband Trevor Lucas on Somethin You Got is wonderfull. She soars all over in her call back type vocals to Trevor. Dylan's Down In The Flood is done here to perfection. The drunken sounding version on Denny's Northstar Grassman album was ok, but doesn't measure up to this at all. This recording was the first of Sandy's return to Fairport. A return that didn't last more than one more trip to the studio in 75 for Rising For The Moon. An album that was to yeild both greatness and mediocrity. There are several live Fairport albums out there. For God's sake, get this one first! You'll NEVER tire of it. In fact, I'm ordering it right now at 5 am"