A new compilation of vintage covers of Bob Dylan’s work by Fairport Convention and their friends, A Tree With Roots — Fairport Convention And The Songs Of Bob Dylan, will be released on Island on 3 August. It comes just ahead of the 2018 edition of the band’s celebrated Cropredy Festival, which takes place this year from 9-11 August with Fairport themselves in the traditional headlining slot.
The annual Cropredy Music Festival is one of the most important events on the yearly calendar for fans of British folk music; organized by members of Fairport Convention, it's not just a three-day concert but a gathering of the tribes for followers of the U.K.'s most venerable folk-rock outfit, and as Fairport traditionally closes out the last day of the festival with a marathon performance, it's not uncommon for former members of the band to pop by for the big show. The 2002 Cropredy Festival was an especially memorable event for fans; not only did it mark the group's 35th birthday, but nearly every living Fairport alumnus showed up for the occasion, and this two-disc collection of recordings from the 2002 event features near-complete reunions of the original 1967 lineup (minus only the late Martin Lamble on drums) and the 1969 Liege & Lief edition (with Vikki Clayton standing in for Sandy Denny and Gerry Conway taking over on drums for the more inexplicably absent Dave Mattacks).
Unhalfbricking was, if only in retrospect, a transitional album for the young Fairport Convention, in which the group shed its closest ties to its American folk-rock influences and started to edge toward a more traditional British folk-slanted sound…
Shuffle and Go is the twenty-ninth studio album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, released in January 2020. Recording for the album took place at Woodworm Studios in October 2019. The album was released via the band's website in time for their winter tour which began in January 2020, where the album was available to buy from the merchandise table at every show. The album then got an official release on 28 February 2020 from all other retailers and platforms. Recorded and mixed by John Gale, Shuffle and Go features Simon Nicol on guitars and vocals, Dave Pegg on bass guitar, mandolin and vocals, Chris Leslie on fiddle, mandolin and vocals, Ric Sanders on violin and Gerry Conway on drums and percussion.
Island's single-disc Sandy Denny compilation does its best to offer a compact overview of the iconic singer's work. Focusing on the four records completed before her death in 1978, the 17-track Listen Listen winds comfortably through career highlights like "The North Star Grassman and the Raven," "Blackwaterside," and the gorgeous title track. Fans will contest the omission of tracks like "Carnival" and "It Suits Me Well," but for such a slim collection – considering Denny's invaluable work with Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, and the Strawbs – Listen Listen is a fine introduction to the artist's later days.
Fotheringay were a short-lived offshoot of Fairport Convention, featuring key member and leader Sandy Denny. The band's only studio album, a self-titled record featuring Denny's own compositions and several covers, arrived in 1970. (A second album was planned but never completed, although guitarist Jerry Donahue later completed the project and released it in 2008 as Fotheringay 2.) While Fotheringay's work proved to be interesting and beguiling, the band nevertheless broke up in 1971, with Denny going on to launch a solo career. She also sang in duet with Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore," becoming the only guest vocalist to perform on any of the band's albums.
While Jackson C. Frank’s eponymous 1965 album and other material has enjoyed numerous official and unofficial reissues, Jackson C Frank: The Complete Recordings is the first to compile his entire recording career. The Complete Recordings contains a total of 67 tracks, 24 of which have never appeared before. Every song has been mastered or remastered, a number of them straight from the original, brittle reel-to-reels on which they were originally laid down.