With that autumnal chill now prominently in the air, I figured it would be appropriate to discuss my favorite fall-time electric folk collective. There’s nothing better than Fairport Convention on the ghetto blaster as the soundtrack to a crisp, dry, cool autumn evening. Evidently, the band agrees as well. Look at all those dried up dead leaves in the old band photo above. Smokey the Bear would have had a shit-fit if he was there. I know I have a bad habit of going off-topic and chasing tangents, but it’s worth mentioning that Smokey the Bear is still totally awesome.
You know what’s not awesome, though? The notion that Bob Dylan is the end-all, be-all of folk songwriters. I tend to polarize people in my friends circle with that ol’ statement of mine “Bob Dylan… totally overrated.” Ballsy, I know. This is not to say that Blood on the Tracks and similar jam hives are not remarkable. However, some of Dylan’s accolades should have also been bestowed upon a certain premiere British electric folk collective that turn traditional folk songs and ’60s psych folk into godlike rumbles. The hippies may hang their fabric Bob Dylan posters in their living rooms in messianic ritual, claiming to be all up in on that folk tip, but they will all look at you confused when you drop the bomb of who the greatest folk artist of all time is. And that’s Fairport Convention. Perhaps I’m losin’ it, or am totally missing something, but I just don’t think Dylan could have composed what Fairport Convention did in 1969 with the magical What We Did On Our Holidays – lyrically, musically, or otherwise. A powerful statement for a powerful album.
What We Did On Our Holidays is one of the most diverse, sweeping, moody folk albums ever released. Granted, all the preceding banter is pure opinionated fodder. With all those bravado statements out of the way, it should be noted that Fairport Convention do, ahem, cover Dylan’s “I’ll Keep It With Mine.” Regardless, Fairport Convention uber alles. Continue reading ‘Fairport Convention Uber Alles’
