Fairport Convention fans - help

In my view, it's the best Fairport album.

Re: Cpdunn99's comment -- "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" on Unhalfbricking is one of the great songs of all time, but IMHO the classic Fairport album with Sandy Denny is "Liege & Lief."

What one has to understand is that many different bands have played under the name of Fairport Convention. There have been 23 studio albums released under the Fairport name plus many live and compilation releases. Yes there certainly is a thread of continuity that runs through successive releases, but each band (version) is unique and creates its own sense of identity. That being said, today's lineup of Dave Pegg (bass), Simon Nicol (gtr/vcls), Ric Sanders (vln), Chris Leslie (mdln/vcls) and Gerry Conway (drums) does not compare to the cutting edge experimentation of the 1960's Fairport (when the band was still searching for its identity IMO). On the other hand, Fairport today is a much more polished group (technically and artistically) and one that is comfortable with its identity.

For years I've been looking for the "elephant" album on CD and couldn't find it. Now I know why. The Expletive Delighted site is wonderful. Thanks to all for the confirmation and enlightenment!

The latest CD remaster is tempting but apparently shaves a whole minute off Percy's Song. Are any of the earlier CD transfers preferable to others?

I agree with you, Joeabrams, about "Who Knows..." And as for Linkster's comment, yes, there are so many incarnations and iterations of Fairport. The only ones I listen to anymore are "Liege and Leaf," "Full House," and "Unhalfbricking." Otherwise, it's solo recordings by Sandy Denny and Richard/Linda Thompson all the way for me.