''Liege & Lief'' is the fourth album by the
British folk rock
British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...
band
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
. It is the third album the group released in the UK during 1969, all of which prominently feature
Sandy Denny
Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as " guably the pre-eminent British folk-rock sin ...
as lead female vocalist (Denny did not appear on the group's 1968
debut album), as well as the first to feature future long-serving personnel
Dave Swarbrick
David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English traditional folk musician and songwriter and one of the greatest fiddlers in the world. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second Bri ...
and
Dave Mattacks
David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band Fairport Convention.
Fairport Convention
He replaced Martin Lamble, who had died on 12 May 1969 in a road ac ...
on violin/mandolin and drums, respectively, as full band members (Swarbrick had previously guested on ''
Unhalfbricking
''Unhalfbricking'' is the third studio album by the English folk rock band Fairport Convention and their second album released in 1969. It is seen as a transitional album in their history and marked a further musical move away from American infl ...
''). It is also the first Fairport album on which all songs are either adapted (freely) from traditional British and
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
folk material (for example "
Matty Groves
"Matty Groves", also known as "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard" or "Little Musgrave", is a ballad probably originating in Northern England that describes an adulterous tryst between a young man and a noblewoman that is ended when the woman' ...
", "
Tam Lin
Tam Lin, also known as Tamas-Lin, Tamlane, Tamlene, Tamlin, Tambling, Tomlin, Tam-Lien, Tam-a-Line, Tam-Lyn or Tam-Lane, is a character in the legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders.
History
The story of Tam Lin revolves around ...
"), or else are original compositions (such as "Come All Ye", "Crazy Man Michael") written and performed in a similar style. Although Denny and founding bass player
Ashley Hutchings
Ashley Stephen Hutchings (born 26 January 1945), MBE, sometimes known in early years as "Tyger" Hutchings, is an English bassist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of three noteworthy Engli ...
quit the band before the album's release, Fairport Convention has continued to the present day to make music strongly based within the British folk rock idiom, and are still the band most prominently associated with it.
The album was moderately successful, peaking at number 17 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
during a 15-week run. It is often credited, though the claim is sometimes disputed, as the first major "British folk rock" album (this term is not to be confused with American-style
folk rock
Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
, which had first achieved mainstream popularity on both sides of the Atlantic with
the Byrds
The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
' early work several years prior). The popularity of ''Liege & Lief'' did a great deal to establish the new style commercially and artistically as a distinct genre. In an audience vote at the
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British rad ...
in 2006, the album was voted "Most Influential Folk Album of All Time".
It was voted number 254 in the third edition of
Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...
's ''
All Time Top 1000 Albums
''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...
'' (2000).
History
Following the motorway accident that had killed
Martin Lamble
Martin Francis Lamble (28 August 1949 – 12 May 1969) was the drummer for British folk rock band Fairport Convention, from just after their formation in 1967, until his death in the band's van crash in 1969. He joined the band after attending ...
, the band were left without a drummer. After the release of ''
Unhalfbricking
''Unhalfbricking'' is the third studio album by the English folk rock band Fairport Convention and their second album released in 1969. It is seen as a transitional album in their history and marked a further musical move away from American infl ...
,''
Dave Mattacks
David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band Fairport Convention.
Fairport Convention
He replaced Martin Lamble, who had died on 12 May 1969 in a road ac ...
took over the role. Having previously been a drummer at
Mecca Ballrooms, he had to "learn a whole new style of drumming."
The virtuoso fiddle and mandolin player
Dave Swarbrick
David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English traditional folk musician and songwriter and one of the greatest fiddlers in the world. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second Bri ...
, a little older than the rest of the band, had already been in a successful duo with guitarist
Martin Carthy
Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in English folk music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, as well as later ar ...
. After his appearance on ''Unhalfbricking'', he too joined Fairport full-time.
This incarnation of the band, comprising lead vocalist Denny and newcomers Swarbrick and Mattacks, together with founder members
Richard Thompson Richard Thompson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Richard Thompson (animator) (1914–1998), Warner Bros. cartoon animator in the 1950s
* Richard Thompson (cartoonist) (1957–2016), cartoonist who also worked as an illustrator
* Richard Tho ...
on lead guitar and some vocals,
Simon Nicol
Simon John Breckenridge Nicol (born 13 October 1950) is an English guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founding member of British folk rock group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in t ...
on rhythm guitar and
Ashley Hutchings
Ashley Stephen Hutchings (born 26 January 1945), MBE, sometimes known in early years as "Tyger" Hutchings, is an English bassist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of three noteworthy Engli ...
on electric bass, rehearsed and put together ''Liege & Lief'' over the summer of 1969 at a house in
Farley Chamberlayne, near
Braishfield
Braishfield is a village and civil parish north of Romsey in Hampshire, England. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English ''bræsc'' + ''feld'', meaning 'open land with small branches or brushwood'. The hamlet of Pucknall lies d ...
,
Winchester
Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, launching its material with a sold-out concert in London's
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
on 24 September that year. A bootleg/audience recording of that show exists, but in very poor quality.
Gone were the covers of songs by
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
and others, replaced by electrified versions of traditional British folksongs ("
Reynardine
Reynardine is a traditional English ballad ( Roud 397). In the versions most commonly sung and recorded today, Reynardine is a werefox who attracts beautiful women so that he can take them away to his castle. What fate meets them there is usuall ...
", "
Matty Groves
"Matty Groves", also known as "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard" or "Little Musgrave", is a ballad probably originating in Northern England that describes an adulterous tryst between a young man and a noblewoman that is ended when the woman' ...
", "The Deserter", "
Tam Lin
Tam Lin, also known as Tamas-Lin, Tamlane, Tamlene, Tamlin, Tambling, Tomlin, Tam-Lien, Tam-a-Line, Tam-Lyn or Tam-Lane, is a character in the legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders.
History
The story of Tam Lin revolves around ...
"), new compositions by band members but with a "traditional" feel ("Come All Ye", "Farewell, Farewell", "Crazy Man Michael"), and the first of a long line of instrumental medleys of folk dance tunes driven by Dave Swarbrick's violin playing. Much of the traditional material had been found by Hutchings in
Cecil Sharp
Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was a key figure in the folk-song revival in England dur ...
's collection, maintained by the
English Folk Dance and Song Society
The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF-diss') is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance. EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dan ...
, although Swarbrick has elsewhere claimed credit as the source of the traditional material used. Also rehearsed and/or recorded, but omitted from the final album, were versions of
The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
' "
Ballad of Easy Rider", the traditional ballad "
Sir Patrick Spens
"Sir Patrick Spens" is one of the most popular of the Child Ballads (No. 58) (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud 41), and is of Scotland, Scottish origin. It is a maritime ballad about a disaster at sea.
Background
''Sir Patrick Spens'' remains one of ...
" with Denny on lead vocals, and "The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood", a
Richard Fariña
Richard George Fariña (; March 8, 1937 – April 30, 1966) was an American Folk music, folksinger, songwriter, poet and novelist.
Early years and education
Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of an Irish mother, Ther ...
lyric he had set to a traditional Irish melody, the last two of which were to appear in different arrangements on later albums by Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny, respectively.
Of the rehearsal sessions at Farley Chamberlayne that led to the album, Hutchings later said: "It was a magical time ... and there’s a lot of magic on that album. There was a special feeling in the house, in the room, and also a lot of hidden magic and weirdness on that album. The past is weird, you know, our ancestors did a lot of weird things"; while Thompson said: "Nothing resonates like an old song... To sing something beautifully written, and then refined over hundreds of years, that still has meaning and urgency, that still creates vivid pictures in the mind, is a deeply rewarding thing. I think we hoped the band would achieve some mainstream popularity, so that we could bring the tradition a little closer to people's lives."
The album title is composed of two
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
words: ''liege'' meaning loyal and ''lief'' meaning ready.
The cover, a gatefold in grey and purple, featured cameo images of the band along with track listing and credits. On the inside of the original gatefold cover, a set of illustrated vignettes told the story of ten different aspects of English traditional music and folklore, including notes on customs such as
pace-eggers and the
Padstow hobby-horse, as well as collectors such as
Francis James Child
Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor ...
(of "
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as ...
" fame) and
Cecil Sharp
Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was a key figure in the folk-song revival in England dur ...
.
The band toured the UK for several months, also visiting Denmark, performing the ''Liege & Lief'' material before recording it in the studio (also including a performance recorded for BBC radio's ''
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...
''). However, in November 1969, even before the album was released on 2 December, both Hutchings and Denny quit the band: Hutchings to further pursue traditional music in a new band
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, ...
, and Denny to form her new venture
Fotheringay
Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer-songwriter and musician Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition " Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay C ...
, with more emphasis on her own original compositions. Subsequent to these departures, only Hutchings was replaced (by newcomer
Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg (born 2 November 1947) is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk ...
) and thus it was a reduced, 5-man version of the band that went on to record their follow-up album, ''
Full House
''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about the recently widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend ...
'', the next year.
In 2007 a double album "Liege and Lief Deluxe Edition" was released; the second CD consisted mainly of BBC radio live performances and two stylistically uncharacteristic outtakes, the standards "
The Lady Is a Tramp
"The Lady Is a Tramp" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical '' Babes in Arms'', in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green. This song is a spoof of New York high society and its strict etiquette (the first line ...
" and "
Fly Me to the Moon
"Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apo ...
".
Reception and influence
''Liege & Lief'' was promoted by
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
on his ''Top Gear'' radio programme and the album spent fifteen weeks in the UK album chart, reaching number 17. In a contemporary review,
John Mendelsohn of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' recommended the album only to devotees of "quietly arty traditional folk" and felt that "Deserter" is the only "arresting" song, as "not even the originals match up to the group-composed material on previous albums."
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
of ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' was less enthusiastic, writing that because of his "anti-folk" tastes, he was disappointed with the album's more traditional material after ''Unhalfbricking''.
Nevertheless, the album has come to be regarded as a major influence in the development of British
folk rock
Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
. It was voted the 'most important folk album of all time' by
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
listeners in 2002, and at the 2006
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British rad ...
''Liege and Lief'' won the award for ''Most influential Folk Album of all time''. At the event, the original line-up of
Simon Nicol
Simon John Breckenridge Nicol (born 13 October 1950) is an English guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founding member of British folk rock group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in t ...
,
Richard Thompson Richard Thompson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Richard Thompson (animator) (1914–1998), Warner Bros. cartoon animator in the 1950s
* Richard Thompson (cartoonist) (1957–2016), cartoonist who also worked as an illustrator
* Richard Tho ...
,
Ashley Hutchings
Ashley Stephen Hutchings (born 26 January 1945), MBE, sometimes known in early years as "Tyger" Hutchings, is an English bassist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of three noteworthy Engli ...
,
Dave Swarbrick
David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English traditional folk musician and songwriter and one of the greatest fiddlers in the world. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second Bri ...
,
Dave Mattacks
David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band Fairport Convention.
Fairport Convention
He replaced Martin Lamble, who had died on 12 May 1969 in a road ac ...
, with
Chris While
Chris While (born 1956) is an English songwriter, singer and musician, known particularly for her vocals and live performances. She has worked as a solo artist, a songwriter and as a member of a number of duos and groups. Her music is often cla ...
replacing
Sandy Denny
Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as " guably the pre-eminent British folk-rock sin ...
, performed
Matty Groves
"Matty Groves", also known as "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard" or "Little Musgrave", is a ballad probably originating in Northern England that describes an adulterous tryst between a young man and a noblewoman that is ended when the woman' ...
. Georgia Lucas, the daughter of Sandy Denny and
Trevor Lucas
Trevor George Lucas (25 December 1943 – 4 February 1989) was an Australian folk singer, a member of Fairport Convention and one of the founders of Fotheringay. He mainly worked as a singer-songwriter and guitarist but also produced many album ...
, accepted the award on behalf of her late mother. This commemoration was repeated on 10 August 2007 at
Cropredy
Cropredy ( ) is a village and civil parish on the River Cherwell, north of Banbury in Oxfordshire.
History
The village has Anglo-Saxon origins and is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The toponym comes from the Old English words ''cropp ...
, when the complete album was performed (see "External links"). Prior to that occasion, effective reunions of the ''Liege and Lief'' lineup had performed at previous Cropredy festivals, for example with
Vikki Clayton standing in for Denny to perform "The Deserter", "Tam Lin" and "Crazy Man Michael" at the 25th anniversary concert in 1992, and the same line-up performing "Come All Ye", "Reynardine" and "Matty Groves" at the 1997 30th anniversary concert.
In a retrospective review,
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Mark Deming said of the album that "while
twas the most purely folk-oriented Fairport Convention album to date, it also rocked hard in a thoroughly original and uncompromising way".
In June 2007, ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi
* '' ...
'' magazine listed ''Liege & Lief'' at number 58 in its list of "100 Records that changed the world". In his 2010 book on the UK folk-rock music scene ''
Electric Eden
''Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music'' is a 2010 book by Rob Young about the history of British folk music in the 1960s and 1970s. It is published by Faber & Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or ...
'', author Rob Young devoted 13 pages to the ''Liege and Lief'' period and its resulting album, stating that the album "retains a coherence and integrity shared by very few British folk-rock records" and that in its music, "... Fate is exacted; English balladry displays its full menace and mystery; and there's a tentative reflection upon pain and loss, tainted by hard experience". For Patrick Humphries, on the other hand, writing in 1996, the album is less than 100% successful: "Come all Ye" sounds "rather forced", the band's reading of "The Deserter" is described as "pedestrian", and "Tam Lin" is described as "leaden" and the soloing on it as "timid"; he does, however, praise "Matty Groves" as "relish
ngthe interplay between Swarbrick and Thompson", "Reynardine" for the quality of Denny's singing, the instrumental medley as giving Swarbrick's fiddle a chance to shine (along with Thompson's and Hutchings' guitar and bass contributions), "Crazy Man Michael" as "a substantial conclusion to the album", and "Farewell, Farewell" as "a flawless example of what Fairport were capable of at their peak."
[Humphries, 1996, p. 89-91]
Track listing
Tracks 4, 5, 6, and 7 on disc two were recorded live for
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
's BBC ''
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...
'' show. They first aired on 27 September 1969. Track 10 is previously unissued.
Production
*Produced by
Joe Boyd
Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked with Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny who was in Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The ...
for Witchseason Productions, Ltd.
*Recorded at
Sound Techniques
Sound Techniques was a recording studio in Chelsea, London that was operational between 1965 and 1976. Housed in a former dairy, it was founded by recording engineers Geoff Frost and John Wood. The studio became well known as the place where ma ...
Ltd., London
*Engineered by
John Wood
*Cover photography – Eric Hayes
*Sleeve concept & design – Fairport & Roberta Nicol
*Design co-ordination – Diogenic Attempts Ltd
Personnel
*
Sandy Denny
Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as " guably the pre-eminent British folk-rock sin ...
– vocals
*
Dave Swarbrick
David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English traditional folk musician and songwriter and one of the greatest fiddlers in the world. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second Bri ...
– fiddle, viola
*
Richard Thompson Richard Thompson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Richard Thompson (animator) (1914–1998), Warner Bros. cartoon animator in the 1950s
* Richard Thompson (cartoonist) (1957–2016), cartoonist who also worked as an illustrator
* Richard Tho ...
– electric & acoustic guitars, backing vocals
*
Simon Nicol
Simon John Breckenridge Nicol (born 13 October 1950) is an English guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founding member of British folk rock group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in t ...
– electric, 6-string & 12-string acoustic guitars, backing vocals
*
Ashley Hutchings
Ashley Stephen Hutchings (born 26 January 1945), MBE, sometimes known in early years as "Tyger" Hutchings, is an English bassist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of three noteworthy Engli ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals
*
Dave Mattacks
David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band Fairport Convention.
Fairport Convention
He replaced Martin Lamble, who had died on 12 May 1969 in a road ac ...
– drums, percussion
Certifications
Notes
References
Bibliography
* Heylin, Clinton. ''No More Sad Refrains – The Life and Times of Sandy Denny''. Helter Skelter, 2000;
* Hinton, Brian and Wall, Geoff. ''Ashley Hutchings – The Guv'nor and the Rise of Folk Rock''. Helter Skelter, 2002;
* Houghton, Mick. ''I've Always Kept a Unicorn – The Biography of Sandy Denny''. Faber & Faber, 2015;
* Humphries, Patrick. ''Meet on the Ledge – A History of Fairport Convention''. Eel Pie, 1982;
* Humphries, Patrick. ''Richard Thompson – Strange Affair: The Biography''. Virgin Books, 1996;
* Hutchings, Ashley. ''A Little Music''. Island Music, 1976 (no ISBN)
* Young, Rob. ''
Electric Eden – Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music''. Faber & Faber, 2010; (includes an extensive account of the ''Liege and Lief'' period and resulting album on pp. 253–265)
External links
*
The Liege & Lief story from a version of Fairport Convention's official website found on the
Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...
Joe Boyd discusses ''Liege and Lief'' for Classic Album Sundays at Bestival 2014(video on YouTube)
*Fairport Convention with Chris While
Liege and Lief (revisited)live performance at 2007 Cropredy Festival, U.K. (BBC broadcast) – mp3 audio recording (set list, .wma, .asx versions also available via http://tela.sugarmegs.org/alpha/f.html)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liege and Lief
Fairport Convention albums
1969 albums
Island Records albums
Albums produced by Joe Boyd
A&M Records albums