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Fairport Convention — Come All Ye
Album: Liege & Lief
Avg rating:
6.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1827








Released: 1970
Length: 4:58
Plays (last 30 days): 1
Come all ye rolling minstrels,
And together we will try
To rouse the spirit of the air
And move the rolling sky.

Those that dance will start to dance
And those who don't will sway
In time to this our merry tune
That we play for you today

So come all ye rolling minstrels
And together we will try
To rouse the spirit of the air
And move the rolling sky

Our fiddler, he just loves to play
And that's why he plays so good.
And now he plays a violin
Made out of solid wood.

So come all ye rolling minstrels
And together we will try
To rouse the spirit of the air
And move the rolling sky

Possessor of the magic touch,
But no magician, he
Will play for you some magic notes
Instead as you will see.

So come all ye rolling minstrels
And together we will try
To rouse the spirit of the air
And move the rolling sky.

The sound of beating on the drums
From behind you hear,
And to the rhythm of guitar
We hope you'll lend an ear.

So come all ye rolling minstrels
And together we will try
To rouse the spirit of the air
And move the rolling sky

Well, the man who plays the bass does make
Those low notes that you hear.
And the high notes come from you and me
For we will sing so clear

So come all ye rolling minstrels
And together we will try
To rouse the spirit of the air
And move the rolling sky.
Comments (244)add comment
I think what it is: a certain genuine, authentic, pure sound. 

No posing. Nothing fake. No concern about being popular. 

Just making music for the sake of art.  Very admirable. But impossible to sustain.  
Sandy was the Christine McVie of her day.
Recorded in October/November 1969.  Just incredible that this song is 54 years old.  It fits right in with today's eclectic music lists.
 
Meanwhile where is "Sugar Sugar"?  That was THE #1 song on the Hot 100 list for that year.  You never hear that song these days.
Sandy Denny was worshipped by Plant and all the young rock stars of the time…
Half Moon Pub in Putney.
 Edweirdo wrote:

Word.


I like it.  Simple and to the point.  Well done.
 radioparadise9 wrote:
BTW Sandy Denny's "Who knows where the time goes" is sublime.

Word.
Coincidence... I've just listened to an interview with Simon Nicol, the longest-serving member of the band and still very active.
...never gets old...ty Bill.
 DaveInVA wrote:

I'll 4rth that. I still have the vinyl also....

Edit: I uploaded some Steeleye Span songs since this post and they were rejected :(


I'll 5th that.

Saw Steeleye Span in London at the Hammersmith Odeon.

They left the stage and banknotes started floating down ... lots of them.

I caught enough to cover the cost of the tickets.

Ah life ....
BTW Sandy Denny's "Who knows where the time goes" is sublime.


More Fairport please.
Tom Calla, Hope you're well.
 Dahlia_Gumbo wrote:

Can’t wait to see Thompson in March!



He's touring? Where?
Can’t wait to see Thompson in March!
i keep hearing jeff airplane
 ScottishWillie wrote:

I know where you're coming from. This Fairport track is very much of it’s era. I remember going to English folk clubs during the mid-seventies, they drank warm beer. It also seemed like everyone had sandals, corduroy and beards (even the girls)! They were happy times. 
The sandals should be worn with socks...

The American complaint is that our beer is flat, sour and warm. On the contrary, our beer is still, bitter and served with the chill off... Drink your beer before it gets cold! 
A general truth is that the beverages of the world taste best on location - the holiday purchases never live up to the memory when tried at home.
Out of respect to ScottishWillie it took us 6 months to convert four Scots students from Paisley to real ale when they were on industrial placement 'down south'. Hopefully they tried Belhaven when they went back home. That was in the '70s.



Sandy Denny's voice moves me on some deep, hidden layer. 
What a great album. Immaculate.
This is the first time I have heard this - sounds like it has stood the test of time well, as I wouldn't have pegged it at 40+ years old. Really good music is timeless. 
 jp33442 wrote:
 
 
Bill and Rebecca have broadened my musical horizon since 2011. commercial radio is a waste of time.
I do love Sandy Denny's voice.
 GustaafJHeinh wrote:
Can't wait until August.
Fairport's Cropredy Convention 
 Keep waiting - maybe next year! Here's hoping. I remember the original 'Farewell' concert and the first 'reunion' one. However my excessive intake of Theakston's Old Peculiar on a hot summer day did render my powers of recall a tad hazy.

 hgmcginley5048 wrote:
Forgot Nicol - getting on a bit!
 
... and the only one still there!
 gmsingh123 wrote:
Can you please make it somehow possible to rate this song a 20?
 

This song is really growing on me. 
Solid 9. Thanks Bill!
I just love this band and have done since Unhalfbricking. Most of them live within about 15 miles of me in rural tranquillity...long may it continue. The surviving members are still active and have have an annual concert/festival at Cropredy, near Banbury UK. 
Somewhat of a stretch for Wikipedia to list Jethro Tull as an associated act, presumably because Dave Pegg played with Fairport Convention and then later played with Tull.
Until reading that Wiki I hadn't realized just how many Fairport members became Jethro Tull members. I knew Pegg had come from Fairport but not Conway, Mattacks, and Allcock.  Fascinating cross pollinations.

And on this track especially it's so easy to hear how much Sandy Denny brought to Zepplin's 'Battle of Evermore'.
 kbs wrote:
It is a common foreign criticism that English beer is sour, flat, and warm. On the contrary, it is bitter, still, and served with the chill off...



good Stouts and Ales taste better "warm" 55f or so. At normal Lager temps they lose some flavor.
 ScottishWillie wrote:

... they drank warm beer... 
It is a common foreign criticism that English beer is sour, flat, and warm. On the contrary, it is bitter, still, and served with the chill off...
Can't wait until August.
Fairport's Cropredy Convention 
Between RP WFMU and deep tracks from SiriusXM I have given up completely on commercial rock radio and have become something of a music snob
Forgot Nicol - getting on a bit!
The absolute definitive folk rock album, never been bettered. Classic lineup of Denny, Thompson, Hutchings, Mattacks (hero) and Swarbrick. Opening track still holds up after all these years.
 DaidyBoy wrote:
Too beardy for me.  And I've got a beard.
 
The best comment ever :-) 
Wow....last time I heard a song from thar album was 1972 when I returned to Oregon from 3 months in Europe. Thx RP
Holiday job way back in the 70s, in a factory making cakes. Spent several days stood  between two conveyor belts passing cakes from one to the other and learning to sing all the words of Matty Groves in my head. Still love and play this album.
A wonderful tune from an essentially English & blooming brilliant album. 
 Hannio wrote:


Denny's voice always seemed a bit muddy to me compared to Maddy Prior, (or even Grace Slick, too, for that matter).  Not much love for Maddy here in RP.  Too bad, her voice is a British national treasure.

 
I love to listening to Sandy and Grace but Maddy's voice was mainlined heaven.
Awesome vibes!!! I wanna be a hippy
Bless you Sandy.
Rousing!  Thanks, Bill for taking us up from the depths of our tears on the last one.
 DaidyBoy wrote:
Too beardy for me.  And I've got a beard.
 
I know where you're coming from. This Fairport track is very much of it’s era. I remember going to English folk clubs during the mid-seventies, they drank warm beer. It also seemed like everyone had sandals, corduroy and beards (even the girls)! They were happy times! 
GOD THIS IS OLD SO AM I LOL
Can you please make it somehow possible to rate this song a 20?
Yes, more Fairport please
 Giselle62 wrote:

I have thought of them as the Jefferson Airplane of Britain; her voice soared over those guys!! playing their electrified folk but also blues in their early days they were experimental (they've gone through many stages beware) and everyone is singing at the same time in a distinctive voice.
 

Denny's voice always seemed a bit muddy to me compared to Maddy Prior, (or even Grace Slick, too, for that matter).  Not much love for Maddy here in RP.  Too bad, her voice is a British national treasure.
Too beardy for me.  And I've got a beard.
I love FC and Sandy Denny, but this is NOT their best. The rhythm is really leaden.
Picked this vinyl up at a used record store a few months back.  I have really been enjoying it.{#Daisy}  I agree with Bill, It's a classic.
So. Many. Memories. 

I adore this song fro so many reasons I cannot express. 

Thank you.
 Ag3nt0rang3 wrote:

Sounds like hobbit-rock to me.
 

Begone, foul orc!


 fredriley wrote:
Ah, the first wave of Nu-folk. This lot and Steeleye Span really brought folk to a new audience and breathed life into it, rescuing it from the middle-aged fluffy-jumper hand-over-the-ear beardie brigade. The Nu-nu-folk wave currently at its peak (Mumford & Sons, Decemberists, et al) have a lot to live up to, and I'm not sure that they do. I suspect they'll not have the staying power of Fairport Convention.

 
Fredriley wrote this six years ago.  After seeing the Decemberists play last month, I'd say they are still going strong.  Very strong.  And Mumford and Sons is opening right now for U2 in their "Joshua Tree" Tour.
 Proclivities wrote:

Who let Dan Rather in here?

 
From a fellow Paris-of-the-Piedmont resident, I must say I always enjoy your comments :)
 
 fredriley wrote:
Ah, the first wave of Nu-folk. This lot and Steeleye Span really brought folk to a new audience and breathed life into it, rescuing it from the middle-aged fluffy-jumper hand-over-the-ear beardie brigade. The Nu-nu-folk wave currently at its peak (Mumford & Sons, Decemberists, et al) have a lot to live up to, and I'm not sure that they do. I suspect they'll not have the staying power of Fairport Convention.

 
I'd agree that current Decemberists work is certainly folky - always amazing when Colin works 'thistle' into yet another song.  But their earlier work was more proggy.  In fact, I heard that some critic said that Crane Wife was "the best Jethro Tull album since Heavy Horses".  As a long-time Tull fan, I heartily agreed {#Yes}
 
 vandal wrote:

Doesn't change my opinion that this song blows worse than a Texas twister. . . 

 
Who let Dan Rather in here?
Great songs stand the test of time. This does certainly! 
 sirdroseph wrote:


I feel the same way except for exactly the opposite, great song!{#Dancingbanana}
 
Doesn't change my opinion that this song blows worse than a Texas twister. . . 


Ah, the first wave of Nu-folk. This lot and Steeleye Span really brought folk to a new audience and breathed life into it, rescuing it from the middle-aged fluffy-jumper hand-over-the-ear beardie brigade. The Nu-nu-folk wave currently at its peak (Mumford & Sons, Decemberists, et al) have a lot to live up to, and I'm not sure that they do. I suspect they'll not have the staying power of Fairport Convention.
 vandal wrote:
really do not like this song. . .
 

I feel the same way except for exactly the opposite, great song!{#Dancingbanana}
 AphidA wrote:

... I'm pretty sure that I'm technically a much better singer.
 
Let's hear ya sing Battle of Evermore. {#War}

really do not like this song. . .
I'm with gasmonkey below

I'm working WAY late in the office tonight.. and have the stream cranked up...  Had to stop for a few minutes and have a little flashback with this tune...   in a good way.   THANKS BILL !   (-:


{#Good-vibes}
8 —> 9
 vandal wrote:

is that not the point?
  I weigh in with "Yes, that's why we're here".  Sniping at other people's honest comments isn't particularly helpful.

The song is fine, I suppose.  I thought that it was interesting (if a little embarrassing) when it made the playlist.  Unfortunately, since I listen to RP at least 12 hours/day-7 days/week I hear this one far too often.

It stands out like a cherry tomato in a bowl of ice cream.  There's nothing wrong with it, but...
Does anyone hear Christine McVie?
Think my friends, 40 years ago and it still works!
 vandal wrote:

Instant mute, 100% of the time. . .

 

Thanks, ever so much, for sharing.
 boober wrote:

Technique has nothing to do with singing!

 

Amen to that. To AphidA: If you do have the technique you claim to then you should know something about the notion boober refers to. I think it's called variously 'soul', 'charisma', 'attitude', things of that sort. All of them equate to having something of interest to offer as an artist. There are plenty of uninteresting techinicians out there.

Long live Sandy Denny and FC - never got their due it seemed to me. Love this song - a 9 for me.
bill's on fire with this feminine energy tonight! haven't heard any of these songs before and I'm loving them all!
Oh yeah! Dancin' in the kitchen! One of my all time favorites.
... a perfect transition from Kate Bush - Jig of Life. I'm a first-generation Irish-American from the Irish Channel of New Orleans.
I wish RP could be at least easy on the ears. When you hears something like this, log off time.
It rocks.
 AphidA wrote:

I'm saying that hers sucks independently of anything, though I'm pretty sure that I'm technically a much better singer.
 
Technique has nothing to do with singing!

Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. {#Beat}
thin reedy voice on a very monotonous song
 dankos45 wrote:
 

This sounds like Sandy Denny as Grace Slick, to me anyway.


 
I have thought of them as the Jefferson Airplane of Britain; her voice soared over those guys!! playing their electrified folk but also blues in their early days they were experimental (they've gone through many stages beware) and everyone is singing at the same time in a distinctive voice.

 Proclivities wrote:

I think this song pre-dates that one by a few years.  It sounds like a pretty traditional chord progression anyhow.
 
Um, they play traditional music electrified on this, so, yeah, yer probably right.

mmmm... luvin' it makein' me feel good!!{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Bananajam}{#Dancingbanana}{#Bananajam} 

 paulmack wrote:
I guess so - it's just pure chance that you're not a better known singer than she is since I'm sure you're singing talent far exceeds. Tough break for you.
 
I'm saying that hers sucks independently of anything, though I'm pretty sure that I'm technically a much better singer.


 dBdwg wrote:
wow I love this.
 
yep, good innit?
 AphidA wrote:
That woman's voice is the worst crap around.

 
I guess so - it's just pure chance that you're not a better known singer than she is since I'm sure you're singing talent far exceeds. Tough break for you.


I used to play this song on my college radio show back in the 70's - although I preferred 3 other cuts from it more: Tam Lin, Matty Groves, and Reynardine (personal favorite and the only one of those 3 which appears RP does not have in rotation).
That woman's voice is the worst crap around.

Last time I went to a Richard Thompson concert, during his patter he talked about Nick Drake's posthumous success and how he hoped that Sandy Denny's music would get rediscovered. 

I concur.
Will someone let me know when the Fairport Convention rolls out of town?  {#Lol}
I was completely unaware of this band back in the 70's. Thanks, Bill for introducing it to me now.
Sandy Denny  {#Hearteyes}
 auddess wrote:
ronniegirl wrote:


Sure would love some Steeleye Span! I only have vinyl. Sandy and Maddy's voices give me chills.


 
Pyro wrote:
I'll second that!
 

I'll third that!

 
I'll 4rth that. I still have the vinyl also....

Edit: I uploaded some Steeleye Span songs since this post and they were rejected :(

ronniegirl wrote:


Sure would love some Steeleye Span! I only have vinyl. Sandy and Maddy's voices give me chills.


 
Pyro wrote:
I'll second that!
 

I'll third that!

wow I love this.
Love it! Fairport Convention needs more play here..
...this could have been recorded last year...
Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson still with the band, what a great sound. And one of my favorites. Thanks!
 Jungle_Jim wrote:
The great opening track to an album one critic has called the 'Sgt Peppers of British folk rock'.
 
Funny — I don't remember it having Aeolian cadences.....


Ah such old memories. I love this song. My roommates would play this in the 70's. And after Kate Bush no less.


 

This sounds like Sandy Denny as Grace Slick, to me anyway.


 Jelani wrote:
Anyone hearing a hint of "Free Four" by Pink Floyd here?
 
I think this song pre-dates that one by a few years.  It sounds like a pretty traditional chord progression anyhow.


 maryte wrote:
Brilliant segue from Kate to Sandy!  BillG does it again!  {#Clap}
 
And again!  {#Cheers}
The great opening track to an album one critic has called the 'Sgt Peppers of British folk rock'.
If this ain't your cuppa tea there's some Matt Schofield Trio on the LRC. It's pretty damn nice.
 joanie wrote:
God awful.
 

Godlike!
Can't believe this is Richard Thompson - really pedestrian.
Well it certainly rouses my spirit!

Brilliant -  and part of my life for years.
God awful.
themotion wrote:
Is it harmonizing when everyone is off key?

I guess it is, when everyone is tryi-yi-yi-ying to adapt to the key the others just chose to sing or play in. "harmony" it isn't. But then again, these aren't harmonic times. Could use a harmonica, though. Or a melody.



 BasmntMadman wrote:
A song that features ye olde electric guitar, a traditional folk instrument? If the rolling minstrels can't get 120 or 240 VAC, they're out of luck.

The song works well enough, though. I, for one, actually like the Sandy Denny vocals.

 
Don't you recall the verse in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales about the portable generator? And the pilgrims cursing its wooden wheels?

(Never mind that it—like the pilgrims—ran on that all-too-precious commodity, mead!)


Anyone hearing a hint of "Free Four" by Pink Floyd here?
 cc_rider wrote:
The more I hear this, the more I like it.

Is it just me, or is there sort of a new folk protest movement coming around? Pete Seeger is still fightin' the good fight of course, but he's inspired (and working with) a new batch of folks doing similar stuff. Maybe it's the spirit of the age, replaying the turmoil of the 60's. Maybe it's just me.

c.
  

I sure hope so.  We need it.  {#Yes}
 publiceric wrote:
Whaddya know — Sandy Denny-era Fairport on RP! Looking at the other songs on the library, I'd suggest a couple of additions: A Sailor's Life, from Unhalfbricking, and She Moved Through The Fair, from What We Did On Our Holidays. This is actually just about my least favorite track from her albums with them, but a welcome listen nonetheless.
 
I would also add their cover of Dylan's "I'll Keep it with Mine".  That one comes straight out of my childhood.  my father used to play these guys along with Pentangle, among many, many others from that era.

The more I hear this, the more I like it.

Is it just me, or is there sort of a new folk protest movement coming around? Pete Seeger is still fightin' the good fight of course, but he's inspired (and working with) a new batch of folks doing similar stuff. Maybe it's the spirit of the age, replaying the turmoil of the 60's. Maybe it's just me.

c.

edit: 7—>8

Whaddya know — Sandy Denny-era Fairport on RP! Looking at the other songs on the library, I'd suggest a couple of additions: A Sailor's Life, from Unhalfbricking, and She Moved Through The Fair, from What We Did On Our Holidays. This is actually just about my least favorite track from her albums with them, but a welcome listen nonetheless.
Boy - they sure do sound like Jefferson Airplane! 

Fairport Convention are often credited with being the first English electric folk band.<citation needed> Formed in April 1967, Fairport rapidly developed from playing cover versions of American 'west coast' style music to an individual style which melded rock music with traditional English tunes and songs. The lineup of their most celebrated album, Liege & Lief, comprised Sandy Denny, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Simon Nicol, Dave Swarbrick, and Richard Thompson.

Affected by numerous personnel changes throughout its first decade, Fairport Convention was temporarily disbanded in 1979 but played annual reunion concerts until they reformed in 1985. Since then, they have enjoyed stability and continue to tour and record regularly.

In part, the continuing success of Fairport Convention is due to the annual music festival the band organises. Cropredy Festival has been held every year since 1977 near Cropredy, a village five miles north of Banbury, Oxfordshire and attracts 20,000 fans. Now renamed Fairport's Cropredy Convention, it remains one of the key events in the UK folk festival calendar.

BBC Radio 2's Sold On Song TOP 100 songs as voted for by Radio 2 listeners put their early song "Meet On The Ledge" at Number 17. They had performed "Meet on the Ledge" on the 1969 launch of "From the Roundhouse" (a short-lived BBC-TV youth and arts programme about the London "underground scene"). In 2002 the band was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and in 2006, Liege & Lief was voted the most influential folk album of all time in a public ballot, also run by the BBC.


 Phlegmaticman wrote:
Did you like her vocal in The Battle of Evermore, which you rated a 10?
 
Did she sing on key in The Battle of Evermore?

 jadewahoo wrote:
What a beautiful piece! Well performed by a great folk band, without the faux-polish of studio mixing, just good old solid musicianship. The vocal range defined, unfaltering, background vocals not overwhelming, rather supportive, the strings exquisite. I think I like it
 
Sounds like hobbit-rock to me.