Favourite Member of Fairport Convention?

I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention of course. He plays on some of my favourite Albion Band albums as well, but in a lesser role than on this particular album.

 

I wish Mattacks would accept my Facebook friend request. Linda Thompson too.

 

However, some would say most of those clunkers were because of Lucas' production decisions (depending on which tunes you consider clunkers).

 

I don't know what this means, but I get the feeling it's close to the American version of "turned out to be the Paul Simon of folk music".

EDIT: Oof. Nevermind. Just read that wikipage. I thought it would just be a bit about nicking people's songs, taking credit for traditional tunes and stiffing co-writers their proper royalty checks.

 

So very true. I'm happy to see such strong love for Mattacks around here.

 

True. And in a way Full House cemented the fact that the band could carry on, not just despite Denny leaving, but despite ANY member leaving. If they had faltered immediately post-Denny by releasing anything that was not of FH's caliber, then I doubt any of us would be discussing them here 50 years on.

But as it is, they did muster up FH in the face of what could've been a crushing blow and that set them up for decades of further success. For my money, despite being a Denny fanboy, Full House is THE quintessential and lynch pin of an album for the whole of Fairport Convention.

 

Thanks to this thread I will be checking out Swarbrick more. I was only ever really a big fan of the first 7 albums and subsequent solo careers and other projects of Ashley, Richard, Sandy, Iain. What are some suggestions to start with Swarbrick?

 

His work with Martin Carthy. Gold. All of it.

EDIT: But beware: Although the Carthy-Swarbrick partnership predated both men's joining of Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span, it will lead down a Fairport/Steeleye rabbit hole from which you may never return (I certainly haven't. And at this point I consider Fairport, Steeleye and all solo work essentially one big band).

 

I'll admit I'm unsure of how good he would've been in a constant leadership role in the band. But as a sideman with a few lead vocals/songwriting credits I think he was a good choice. Ditto for a similar role in Foetheringay.

 

I just wasn't keen on some of the songs. Sandy had an occasional tendency towards the mawkish, bless her. The great songs more than made up for that though.

 

Grim story, sadly.

 

RT, Sandy, DM.

 

There are also a couple of absolutely wonderful Carthy/Swarb albums recorded in post-Fairport/Steeleye days.

And of course, many absolutely wonderful Carthy albums of varying stripes over four decades. Including some absolutely wonderful ones with daughter Eliza. Then there's ELiza's absolutely wonderful output on her own, and....

 

If you like Fairport, then Whippersnapper would be a good place to start. It's the acoustic band Swarb formed after playing electrically stopped being an option because of his hearing issues. The band also featured Chris Leslie and Martin Jenkins & Kevin Dempsey (both formerly of Dando Shaft). Their first three albums - Promises, Tsubo and These Foolish Strings - feature Swarb. It's good stuff.

In the Nineties, he formed a duo with Alistair Hulett , formerly of Australian band Roaring Jack, and their three albums, mainly featuring Hulett's songwriting, are also well worth a listen.

 

One of my favourite bands - in fact, the Thompson/Denny version may be my favourite band ever.

They were all pretty superb in their different ways - Fairport was like a finishing school of excellence. Even so, I didn’t have to think too hard about my choices; but everyone who was in that band for any length of time left their mark on it.

I only recently became aware of what a polarising figure Trevor Lucas is. The fans seem to take sides against him, as if he’s Fairport’s very own Malcolm LeMaistre. Hst, I think his songs are OK and he was an OK frontman.

 

I didn’t vote as the whole concept is a bit daft, but if I has it would have been for him.

 

Daft how?


And thanks for the recommendations fellas... I will check some out.

 

I guess there is some controversy about Trevor's impact on Sandy's music and life.

 

I went off the board: Jerry Donahue

 

Sandy, by far. Obviously, Richard is great. Peggy is a cool dude who I met backstage on the Catfish Rising tour.

Honorable mention to Trevor Lucas and his deep sea shanty voice, Swarb, Mattacks, and Jerry Donahue with his great picking and bending.

Fairport Nine is the great underrated gem of the catalogue.

Now I'm gonna have to play some of this stuff. It's been too long.

 

Sandy Denny

 

Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick -- I'm rather surprised that Dave hasn't gotten more votes! But I'm not a Fairport expert by any standard, so will read on and learn ...

It felt odd to exclude my friend and bandmate Iain; hopefully he'll never read this. But his best work was and is elsewhere.

 

Surprisingly little is known about their relationship, although obviously it was long and turbulent. If TL was worried about the safety of their daughter and that was his reason for decamping with her back to Australia, then he can hardly be blamed for that.

 

Jerry needs more love in this poll. One of those rare guitarists whose style is instantly identifiable.

 

I dont know enough about the situation, but she was doing drugs and drinking whilst pregnant and allegedly leaving the baby in pubs... if true I can hardly blame the guy. However, again, I dont know enough about them or their relationship beyond a few details.