Fairport Convention – Liege & Lief (1969) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2010] {SACD ISO + FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz}

The best British folk-rock band of the late ’60s, Fairport Convention did more than any other act to develop a truly British variation on the folk-rock prototype by drawing upon traditional material and styles indigenous to the British Isles. While the revved-up renditions of traditional British folk tunes drew the most critical attention, the group members were also (at least at the outset) talented songwriters as well as interpreters. They were comfortable with conventional harmony-based folk-rock as well as tunes that drew upon more explicitly traditional sources, and boasted some of the best singers and instrumentalists of the day. A revolving door of personnel changes, however, saw the exit of their most distinguished talents, and basically changed the band into a living museum piece after the early ’70s, albeit an enjoyable one with integrity.

In the decades since its original release, more than one writer has declared Fairport Convention’s Liege & Lief the definitive British folk-rock album, a distinction it holds at least in part because it grants equal importance to all three parts of that formula. While Fairport had begun dipping their toes into British traditional folk with their stellar version of “A Sailor’s Life” on Unhalfbricking, Liege & Lief found them diving head first into the possibilities of England’s musical past, with Ashley Hutchings digging through the archives at the Cecil Sharp House in search of musical treasure, and the musicians (in particular vocalist Sandy Denny) eagerly embracing the dark mysteries of this music. (Only two of the album’s eight songs were group originals, though “Crazy Man Michael” and “Come All Ye” hardly stand out from their antique counterparts.) Liege & Lief was also recorded after a tour bus crash claimed the lives of original Fairport drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend; as the members of the group worked to shake off the tragedy (and break in new drummer Dave Mattacks and full-time fiddler Dave Swarbrick), they became a stronger and more adventurous unit, less interested in the neo-Jefferson Airplane direction of their earlier work and firmly committed to fusing time-worn folk with electric instruments while honoring both. And while Liege & Lief was the most purely folk-oriented Fairport Convention album to date, it also rocked hard in a thoroughly original and uncompromising way; the “Lark in the Morning” medley swings unrelentingly, the group’s crashing dynamics wring every last ounce of drama from “Tam Lin” and “Matty Groves,” and Thompson and Swarbrick’s soloing is dazzling throughout. Liege & Lief introduced a large new audience to the beauty of British folk, but Fairport Convention’s interpretations spoke of the present as much as the past, and the result was timeless music in the best sense of the term.

Tracklist:
01. Come All Ye
02. Reynardine
03. Matty Groves
04. Farewell, Farewell
05. The Deserter
06. The Lark In The Morning / Rakish Paddy / Foxhunter’s Jig / Toss The Feathers
07. Tam Lin
08. Crazy Man Michael

Features the 2010 DSD mastering based on Japanese original analog tape. Reissue features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (fully compatible with standard SACD player, but it does not play on standard CD players). DSD Transferred by Kevin Vanbergen at FX Copyroom.

SACD ISO

mqs.link_FairprtCnventinLiegeLief1969Japan2010SHMSACDIS.part1.rar
mqs.link_FairprtCnventinLiegeLief1969Japan2010SHMSACDIS.part2.rar

FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz

mqs.link_FairprtCnventinLiegeLief1969Japan2010FLAC2488.2.rar