Fairport Convention by Popular Request

Fairport Convention's only concept album was built around the story of John "Babbacombe" Lee, a convicted killer who survived three attempts to hang him. Cut by the four-man Fairport lineup of Simon Nicol, Dave Swarbrick, Dave Mattacks, and Dave Pegg, the original album was a self-contained work with a specific beginning and ending. It's also never been much more than cult item in the group's early catalog, despite some spirited playing on "Little Did I Think," "I Was Sixteen, Pt. 2," "St. Ninian's Isle/Trumpet Hornpipe," and "Sailor's Alphabet." The slipcased "Island Remasters" keeps the concept and the original album's content intact – with killer sound as expected, and each song now getting its own index number – and appends a pair of bonus tracks that justify the purchase. The first is "Farewell to a Poor Man's Son," a "lost" song by the group from the BBC program on John Lee that was the inspiration for the album, and "Breakfast in Mayfair," both from an earlier lineup of the band featuring Jerry Donahue.

Myths and Heroes is the twenty-seventh studio album from Britain's best-known folk-rock band Fairport Convention. Featuring thirteen new songs and tunes, this eagerly-awaited release is the first new Fairport studio album for four years. The tracks on Myths and Heroes include five compositions by Chris Leslie and two by Ric Sanders (both members of Fairport) and six guest compositions including a new song from renowned songwriter Ralph McTell. Recorded and mastered by John Gale, the album epitomizes Fairport Convention's consummate musicality - Myths and Heroes shows British folk-rock's founding fathers at the top of their game.