Good live set, but get "The Cropredy Box" first
woburnmusicfan | Woburn, MA United States | 12/11/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This 2-CD live album is culled from two nights of performances at Fairport Convention's 2002 Cropredy Festival, commemorating the band's 35th anniversary. Past and present band members take turns on stage, playing songs from their respective eras. Fairport fans will find this a very entertaining album. I recommend it, but only if you already have "The Cropredy Box", a 3-CD box recorded at the 1997 festival. That one is a must-have, and as I write this, it's being sold by Amazon at a similar price.All but one song on the first CD is from the Friday set, which covered the early years, the Judy Dyble-Sandy Denny v.1.0 years. It starts off badly, with a sloppy "Time Will Show the Wiser" and lackluster "One Sure Thing", but picks up from there. The second CD covers the Saturday set, from "Full House" to the present, and features more consistent performances. There are five Dylan covers, including a couple Fairport hasn't previously recorded. In a shocker, "Matty Groves" isn't included (the 7 live versions I already have will have to see me through somehow). But standards "Meet on the Ledge", "Walk Awhile", "Sloth", "Rosie", and "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" are here, along with some great songs I hadn't heard live before, like "Tam Lin" and "Doctor of Physick". Nigel Schofield provides extensive liner notes about the weekend, but he may have made a mistake in listing all the songs played -- fans can whine about which ones they wish had been put on the CDs. Personally, I would have loved to have "Tale in Hard Time" and "Polly on the Shore".The ravages of time are starting to show on the band members. Violinist Dave Swarbrick is no longer able to sing due to health problems (Chris Leslie sang all his parts), and Judy Dyble's voice sounds terrible. Vikki Clayton, who sings Sandy Denny's parts, keeps cracking herself up; it's annoying to hear her giggle during the ominous "John the Gun". "Sloth" features great solos from Swarbrick, bassist Dave Pegg, and guitarist Jerry Donahue. Richard Thompson remains a legend, with shining performances on "Jack o'Diamonds" and "Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman". Schofield raves three times in the liner notes about how Leslie singing Swarb's "Rosie" was the high point of the weekend; it's good, but not a particular highlight. Swarb's warm voice is missed. Fairport's recent years are represented only by "Red and Gold" (taken slightly faster than usual, it's the best version I've heard) and "The Naked Highwayman". The only instrumental is a medley of Morris dancing tunes played on two concertinas, two violins, and a buzzy bass clarinet that sounds like a kazoo.(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)"
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1