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Fairport Convention - Fairport Convention (mono needledrop) (1968)

Track listing:
  1. Time Will Show the Wiser 3:01
  2. I Don't Know Where I Stand 3:39
  3. If [Stomp] 2:43
  4. Decameron 3:41
  5. Jack O'Diamonds 3:27
  6. Portfolio 1:57
  7. Chelsea Morning 3:03
  8. Sun Shade 3:47
  9. The Lobster 4:44
  10. It's Alright Ma, It's Only Witchcraft 3:12
  11. One Sure Thing 2:51
  12. M1 Breakdown 1:23

Notes

Mono Mix

Time Will Show the Wiser (Emitt Rhodes)
I Don't Know Where I Stand (Joni Mitchell)
If [Stomp] (Ian MacDonald / Richard Thompson)
Decameron (Paul Ghosh / Andrew Horvitch / Richard Thompson)
Jack O'Diamonds (Bob Dylan / Ben Carruthers)
Portfolio (Judy Dyble / Tyger Hutchings)
Chelsea Morning (Joni Mitchell)
Sun Shade (Paul Ghosh / Andrew Horvitch / Richard Thompson)
The Lobster (George Painter / Tyger Hutchings / Richard Thompson)
It's Alright Ma, It's Only Witchcraft (Tyger Hutchings / Richard Thompson)
One Sure Thing (Harvey Brooks / Jim Glover)
M1 Breakdown (Tyger Hutchings / Simon Nicol)


By far the most rock-oriented of Fairport Convention's early albums, this debut was recorded before Sandy Denny joined the band (Judy Dyble handles the female vocals). Unjustly overlooked by listeners who consider the band's pre-Denny output insignificant, this is a fine folk-rock effort that takes far more inspiration from West Coast '60s sounds than traditional British folk. Fairport's chief strengths at this early juncture were the group's interpretations, particularly in the harmony vocals, of obscure tunes by American songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Emitt Rhodes, and Jim & Jean. Their own songs weren't quite up to that high standard, but were better than many have given them credit for, with "Decameron" and "Sun Shade" in particular hitting wonderfully fetching melancholic moods. It's true that Fairport would devise a more original style after Denny joined, but the bandmembers' first-class abilities as more American pop-folk-rock-styled musicians on this album shouldn't be undersold.