FAIRPORT CONVENTION
Myths and Heroes
Matty Grooves 053

www.fairportconvention.com
 

Wow! Forty eight years and still going! Fairport Convention is now an institution in their native England; they host an annual festival which attracts around twenty thousand fans to a field in Oxfordshire. They’ve toured all over North America, the United Kingdom, and continental Europe, and have released a vast quantity of recordings. In fact, Fairport Convention has become their own cottage industry, controlling most of their activities and projects themselves.

Their current line-up: Simon Nicol, Ric Sanders, Chris Leslie, Gerry Conway, and Dave Pegg is Fairport’s longest lasting yet, and has developed a consistent sound and repertoire, which is well displayed on Myths & Heroes, their first full studio recording in four years. The band now emphasizes contemporary and original material; this album includes original songs by Chris Leslie and instrumental compositions by Ric Sanders. There are also covers of songs by Ralph McTell, Anne Ryder, Rob Beattie and others.

So that gives you a few up tempo rockers (Mr. Leslie wrote most of those), several “big ballads,” and some jaunty instrumentals. Pretty much the same mix Fairport has provided on record for a decade or two – so there really aren’t any too many surprises – although the guest string and horn players help to create the sound of a swinging folk orchestra on Sanders’ composition “The Gallivant.” That’s different and I really like it.

Ric Sanders’ violin work adds jazzy accents to a number of tunes here, and Leslie displays his seasoned skills on mandolin and bouzouki. And of course the rhythm section of drummer Gerry Conway and bassist Dave Pegg know just how to support their dynamic lead players at all speeds: fast, medium, and slow. I was also impressed by the tight, precise, full vocal harmonies which appear on many choruses here.

So here we are – Fairport Convention is still here, doing what they do in the early 21st century. And that’s a fine thing indeed.
— Ken Roseman