| TILBAKE | 

The band that invented British folk-rock, Fairport Convention, is back once again with "The Wood and the Wire," a disc that sounds like its title. 

Allow me to explain.  Recently, Fairport has relied on the awesome talents of multi-instrumentalist Maartin Alcock.  Now, they are relying on the awesome talents of multi-instrumentalist Chris Leslie, Alcock's replacement.  The difference between the two musicians involves Alcock's keyboard skills which were brought to bear on songs written by other people for the band to work their magic on. 

Now on this album, Leslie, whose instrumental skills are more gearded toward violin, mandolin, and bouzouki (wood and wire instruments), and songwriting partner Nigel Stonier have given Fairport an original voice to develop coming from within the band itself, something that has not been done since the '70s glory days of the Richard Thompson/Dave Swarbrick songwriting partnership.

All the Fairporters are in top form.  Simon Nicol's resonant baritone, especially on the title track, shakes the speakers.  Fiddler Ric Sanders, by no means a slouch in the songwriting department himself, plays beautifully on his "A Year and a Day," a romantic, emotional piece that stays with the listener long after the last note has faded.  Bassist Dave Pegg is as rock solid as ever on all the numbers.  New drummer Gerry Conway, who replaced the great Dave Mattacks and has an impressive list of accomplishments himself, experiments with different percussive sounds and feels to great effect. 

Leslie plays brilliantly. He, like Alcock before him, has given Fairport a new vibrance and freshness.

As far as the songs go, highlights are: "Close to You," a song about a lighthouse operator longing for his estranged wife, and "The Dancer," about a man whose steps are in his very genes as well as in his shoes.

Another memorable one is "Rocky Road" (one of the few songs without the Leslie/Stonier tag), a number on which Nicol, Leslie, and Pegg share the lead vocal.  It's always good to hear Dave Pegg take a verse or two.

Really, Fairport Convention is a band about much more than folk-rock.  Their music represents a feeling of community, of family among their audience.  They are always looking to add new members to this family, and I'm sure "The Wood and the Wire" will add a few more branches to the tree.  Cheers to Fairport once again!

- Ben Likens

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