Liege & Lief

by

Fairport Convention

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I first heard Liege & Lief nearly 20 years ago, when my brother purchased a vinyl copy of the album. It took me some time before I fully got into Fairport Convention, but I had the best entry point a fan could possibly have--this was the record that has defined the band in the years since its release, with Sandy Denny's beautiful vocals, Richard Thompson's stinging guitar work, and Dave Swarbrick's always-excellent fiddle.

Thus, when I spotted the remastered and expanded CD here at Amazon, my first thought was "About freakin' time!" It was the only one A&M bothered to keep in print in the States, and the CD remaster from 1988 was only a minor improvement over the original LP. The original tracks burn as intensely as ever, with greater clarity and width of sound; the bonus tracks are revealing. "Sir Patrick Spens" is a bit slower and not quite as good as the final version on Full House, but Sandy does well enough with the vocals, or as well as one vocalist can manage (remember, the final version had Swarb, RT and Simon Nicol all harmonising); "Quiet Joys of Brotherhood" is rather too slow, however. I much prefer the version from Sandy's 1972 solo album Sandy, and rather wish that the band's cover of "Ballad of Easy Rider," recorded during the L&L sessions, had been included here rather than on the expanded remaster of Unhalfbricking...but there you go. Fine work nonetheless.