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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fairport Lite but still worth investigating., 1 Aug 2004
Okay, by this time the adventurous of the first 5 albums has disappeared and the songwriting is markedly inferior. However, it still possesses a certain charm. No band could fail to be affected by the departure of key members Ashley Hutchings, Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson (although the latter two guest on the first track)but this is still worthwhile. This is around the point where Fairport Convention virtually turned into a brand where members came and went. The line up for this album is Jerry Donahue, Trevor Lucas, Dave Mattocks, Davey Pegg and Dave Swarbrick. There are some embarrasing songs on this album, I could do without the on the road tale of 'Hungarian Rhapsody' for instance. Most of the songs are written by either Pegg or Swarbrick who are both workmanlike rather than inspired and are not great lyricists. Even the obligatory traditional medley 'The Hens March Through The Midden & The Four Poster Bed'doesn't possess the vitality of the traditional medleys on the early albums. However, lest you think I don't like this album it is reasonably entertaining and does have a not entirely unbecoming mellowness to it. The title track 'Rosie' is a straightforward ballad which, for some odd reason, makes me feel vaguely nostalgic for seventies summers. The fifth track 'The Plainsman' is excellent. The bonus live tracks, by and large, don't really improve on the studio versions and the sound is a bit boxy. The package includes sleeve notes by Jerry Donahue who does note that this was a transitional album which is kind of how it feels. Actually, I've been listening to the album whilst writing this and the simplicity and evocativeness of some of the songs are starting to grow on me. Certainly not the place to start a Fairport collection with but worth a listen all the same.
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