The best of all four CDs included within Free Reed's archive of
Fairport Convention rarities, Rareport Convention does not really deviate from the nature of other albums in the series -- all, after all, are stuffed with rarities and unreleased material -- but justifies its title regardless by concentrating on some of the most legendary ghosts in the entire catalog. Early visions of cuts from the What We Did on Our Holidays/Unhalfbricking era are, of course, always popular with fans -- the version of "Percy's Song" included here is the one track from those latter sessions to feature the soon-to-depart
Ian Matthews. Less-heralded, but equally enjoyable are a couple of songs that failed to make Rosie and Nine. Late-'60s-era TV broadcasts are brought back to life -- including a delightfully confrontational Dutch program; there's a handful of long-in-demand BBC radio sessions, including several omitted from Heyday, while live material includes a fabulous version of "A Sailor's Life" recorded for one of DJ
John Peel's Sunday evening concert broadcasts. Alongside the early outtake of this same epochal song that was included on
Richard Thompson's Watching the Dark box set, this version illustrates exactly how "A Sailor's Life" came to mean so much to
Fairport's subsequent development. It is, quite simply, sensational. Other remarkable exhumations include a long-sought-after Australian single release of "Fiddlestix," an excerpt from the 1972 Manor Studio sessions, and an amusing "The Lady Is a Tramp" recorded for
John Peel's show in September 1969 and featuring one of
Richard Thompson's first-ever vocals. The sound quality is not always exemplary -- the TV broadcast material, in particular, is rough. But they offer a marked improvement on the versions previously available only on bootleg and, across the board, Rareport Convention is a marvel to behold. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
