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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Respectful repackaging for legendary folk-rockers , 8 Aug 2007
Back in 1969, Liege & Lief was the seminal album which established British folk-rock as a distinct genre, separate to the hippy mysticism of America's west coast or the earnest finger-in-the-ear traditionalism of the folk club purists. Paving the way for everyone from Steeleye Span to Lindisfarne, it mingled rock & roll attitude with a sense of indigenous history and myth that stretched back deep into folk memory.
Sometimes it was difficult to tell traditional tunes apart from those written by the band. Although the supernatural epic Tam Lin and adulterous tragedy Matty Groves are plainly trad, the beautiful Crazy Man Michael was written by guitarist Richard Thompson and violinist Dave Swarbrick, while the melancholy Farewell Farewell is an old tune reworked with new lyrics -- possibly in response to the fatal road accident on tour which had killed the band's first drummer Martin Lamble.
Although a remastered version of the album with a couple of extra tracks has been available for some time, this 2-CD release goes much further. As well as the traditional sea-song Sir Patrick Spens, there's a cover of Roger McGuinn's The Ballad Of Easy Rider and two very different band takes of Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood, later to surface accapella on Sandy Denny's solo album Sandy.
Then there's a gem of a John Peel session from 1969's Top Gear, some of which was included on the Live At The BBC box set. What these live renditions lose in vocal subtleties they gain in sheer energy and fire, and the cold glitter of seduction song Reynardine shines more brightly than ever. There's also a hilarious take on jazz standards The Lady Is A Tramp and Fly Me To The Moon.
A great extended tribute to an important British album.
First published at subba-cultcha.com
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46 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Danger, Will Robinson!, 11 Aug 2007
Sure, you could buy this superb five star album in its new form, but the rip-off police have already got an APB out for the record company on this set. For a start, the first two tracks on the bonus disc (both of them very good) already appear on the existing Island remaster. When is a bonus not a bonus?
The other tracks on the bonus disc, which don't go far to shed light upon the album, are available elsewhere should you really want them. In my view they are in this context almost like a moustache on the Mona Lisa ... if you consider two strokes of ink to be a bonus, go for it.
Otherwise, treat yourself to the previously-released remaster and pick up the remaster of Full House or Unhalfbricking while you're about it, either of which are much better "bonus" discs for your cash. This short, pretentious two-disc set is just a tax on the collector.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five Stars if You Don't Already Own the Single Disc Re-master..., 23 Sep 2007
...but if you do this is a bit of a rip-off. This is a rip-off because it's so good! This is the way the previous edition should have been. But I must state that the record company should have released it at the same time as the 'single disc re-master' as this would have allowed fans to choose between the deluxe version with all the trimmings and the more amenably priced disc. They could have thus avoided the accusation that owners of the single disc edition are being cynically manipulated into making this additional purchase.
Having said all that this is the way a 'Deluxe' edition should be.
I fully approve of keeping bonus material separate from the original album in all but a few very exceptional cases(see "Unhalfbricking" for an example of perfect matching of bonus material)because, I find that, out takes, demo's, live and 'alternate' versions are so often a distraction or a dilution of the original album's quality. Yes I know, you can program them off, or even just be ready to press stop at the point the 'original' would have ended, but I prefer it if such concerns are absent from the listening experience. In this case I think that there is such an odd blend of extras, that keeping them separate is a very sensible idea.
At the price, it seems to me that it is not really for the interested newcomer looking to `see what all the fuss is about' and the very keen fans will have, all but a few, of the extra tracks already.
I shan't go into a big description of the merits of the album as I feel that it has been fully covered in the earlier reviews.
I will just say that this is an excellent presentation of a truly great album, if you don't already own a copy and/or don't mind paying the extra money then this is definitely the best available edition.
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