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| Fairport Convention - Fairport Unconventional Classification: Folk & Traditional Band: Fairport Convention Tracks: - Meet On The Ledge (Overture) - (Cropredy 1990) - Wings (Edit) (Cropredy 1977) - If I Had A Ribbon Bow (Single 1967) - Lay Down Your Weary Tune (1st Radio Session 1967) - A Shattering Live Experience (BBC Radio Session 1969) - Nottamun Town (Alternative Version 1968) - Si Tu Dois Partir (Radio Recording 1968) - Come All Ye (Private Rehearsal Tape 1969) - Tam Lin (BBC Session 1969) - Dirty Linen (Cropredy 1988) - Staines Morris (Philadelphia Folk Fest 1970) - Journeymans Grace (BBC Session 1970) - Angel Delight (Cropredy 1997) - Time Is Near (Roger Hill Tom Farnell Line Up 1972) - Polly On The Shore (Promo Video 1973) - Rising For The Moon (BBC Session 1974) - Reynard The Fox (YTV Performance 1987) - Rubber Band (Simons Single 1980) - Naked Highwayman (Bottom Line 1998) - The Wood And The Wire (Cropredy 1999) - The Crowd (XXXV) (Edited) (Woodworm 2002) - One Sure Thing (Excerpt) (Sound Techniques 1967) (Fairports - Sir B McKenzie (1976) - Suzanne (1968) - Time Will Show The Wiser (1968) - Mr Lacey (Dutch TV 1969) - Reno Nevada (French TV 1968) - Percys Song (Out Take 1968 - Dear Landlord (Out Take 1968 - I Dont Believe You (Nine Out Take 1973) - The Deserter (BBC 1970) - Farewell To A Poor Mans Son (BBC TV Babbacombe Lee 1973) - Sad Song (The Manor Sessions 1972) - Autopsy (Out Take 1968) - Maverick Child (Rosie Out Take 1972) - Fiddlestix (Australian Single 1973) - Its Now Or Never (With Steve Tilston 2001) - The Lady Is A Tramp (BBC Top Gear 1969) - General Taylor (Live In Chicago 1970) - Accountancy Shanty (Live In Hull 1989) - A Sailors Life (Live Peel Concert 1969) - Sir Patrick Spens (liege And Lief Rehearsal Tape 1969) - Wat Tyler (York1992) - Flowers Of The Forest (London 1977) - Fotheringay (Symonds On Sunday 1969) - To Althea (Cropredy 1996) - Red And Gold (Cropredy 1996) - Lord Marlborough (El Pea 1971) - Adieu Adieu (TV Performance 1976) - Heres To Tom Paine (Weston Super Mare 1997) - Bonny Bunch Of Roses (Live In Australia 1977) - Breakfast In Mayfair (Babbacombe Lee Documentary 1973) - Battle Of The Somme (LA Troubadour 1970) - Summer Before The War (BBC In Concert 1990) - Get Together (Top Gear 1967 First Radio Session) - Genesis Hall (Cropredy 1993) - Jewel In The Crown (Oxford Apollo 1995) For Real Fairport fanatics only OK, I really do like Fairport Convention. I knew when I bought this box that some of the material was, well, less than audiophile quality. However, I still feel that, for the price of this set, some of the remastering of the source material is subpar. There are several "out-takes that have really excessive tape hiss and SOME of this hiss could surely have been removed without affecting the music. The quality is so uneven that, to me, it makes this set difficult listening. That being said, I do like some of the older out-takes and radio and TV broadcasts. I am particularly a fan of '67-70 Fairport, and there are some nice things from that era. The book is wonderful, and probably helps justify the price. But, I believe the sound quality is not what it could be. My Birfday Present, Precious; On My Birfday It Come to Me... ... This is one of the most incredible boxed sets i've had the good fortune to own; Free Reed look rather like a British Bear Family on the basis of this set and of others listed in the catalog that came with it. The 180-page book, which covers Fairport's history from beginning to Present (well, presstime; given the band's background, there's always the nervous feeling that any listing of personnel more than about a day old could be seriously out of date), including commentary on each album at the appropriate points. While certainly respectful of the band's history and influential position, and obviously friendly with the members, author Nigel Schofield doesn't Fall into the trap of being overly reverential, and is not above more-or-less gently twitting them when it is obvious that don their trousers unipedally in a manner similar to the rest of us. The Cropredy memories book is a nice touch; having been there in '90 and '92, i can attest that it is A Lot Of Fun, even in a downpour (and didn't we have one in '90). Pete Frame's "Fairport Family Tree" is an expansion of the one he did entitled "Resolving the Fairport Confusion", which is reprinted in his first "Family Trees" book (and, in a streamlened form, on the cover/inlay of the "History of Fairport Convention" compilation), and followed The Band up till their breakup in '79. In order, presumably, to get in all of the most-directly-related data on Fairport's lineups and its members' other projects, and related bands and projects, some of the more peripheral material included on the original tree is MIA -- i find a minor mention in a note of "The Bunch", but they do not appear on the chart as such, and he doen't number the Various incarnations of Fairport and Steeleye Span referenced. All the same, a fantastic piece of work (You have to see it to appreciate how densely packed it is with information), ....P>Great packag. Seems as if there ought to be something else, though... Oh, yeah -- the music! , P>Disc 1 -- "Fairport -- A History"; a chronological overview<BR>Disc 2 -- "Rareport Convention"; hard to find and unreleased material form many sources, including private collections and radio and TV sessions.<BR>Disc 3 -- "A Fairport History"; sixteen folk tracks that take us back to Various key moments in British history<BR>Disc 4 -- "Classic Convention"; which is rare and non-standard versions of what is described as the "core Fairport reportoire", including a completely outrageous version of "Matty Groves", which was created by editing together a whole bunch of versions in chronological order. the sound quality on some the cuts on this set is less-than-pristine (i noticed this particularly on at least one cut which was obviously recorded from an AM radio A treasure trove This is a pretty impressive collection. It's not a "greatest hits" box set in the normal sense (which is fine, since the world is hardly lacking in Fairport best-ofs...) but rather a sweeping overview of the band's career, reaching back to the early demos and BBC appearances up through more current concert appearances at the band's Cropredy festival. It's true that the sound quality on some of the broadcast appearances Leaves a lot to be desired, but the chance to hear The Band in all its experimental glories and blunders is worth a bit of tin and muffle. Besides, correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that the BBC didn't always archive these Live appearances, and in many cases fan airchecks taken straight off the air are the only source material left. So it's not always a matter of "paying" the Beeb for the use of better recordings -- in some cases these are the *only* recordings that exist. (Sure, someone may have better tapes than the ones Free Reed uses, but I sure don't, and I think it's worth sixty bucks to hear the stuff they had access to, especially when combined with all the other goodies on here...) In addition to all the music, there is an incredible profusion of Fairport-abilia crammed into this box... The 170-page booklet has tons of insider-y info and reproductions of countless old press clippings, behind-the-scenes memorabilia and endless asides about the band's creative process and convoluted history. An accompanying "family tree" chart is amazingly dense and informative, while a separate booklet commemorating the Cropredy Festivals has its own oddball charm. (Like many Free Reed releases, the graphic design Leaves something to be desired, but, hey... you can't have everything!) Four CDs worth of Fairport rarities and outtakes may be more than enough for casual listeners, but I would think that hardcore fans will be pretty pleased with this collection, and the wealth of information that comes with it. Buy Fairport Convention Fairport Unconventional at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
