Fairport Convention [Import] (Bonus Tracks, Remastered)

Fairport Convention: Ian Matthews, Judy Dyble (vocals), Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson (guitar), Ashley "Tyger" Hutchings (bass), Martin Lamble (drums). German digitally remastered import. Includes four bonus songs. Personnel: Simon Nicol (vocals, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar); Richard Thompson (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin); Judy Dyble (vocals, autoharp, recorder, piano); Ian MacDonald (vocals, Jew's harp); Tyger Hutchings (guitar); Martin Lamble (violin, percussion). Audio Remasterer: Paschal Byrne. Recording information: Sound techniques, London, England. Photographers: Kingsley Abbott; Ashley Hutchings. A couple of years down the road, Fairport Convention would define British folk-rock, but on its 1968 debut, its sound is split between traditional English folk and a contemporary, San Francisco influence. Tackling US underground pop hero Emitt Rhodes's "Time Will Show the Wiser," they sound for all the world like a UK version of Jefferson Airplane, as Judy Dyble's vocals blend tartly with those of Ian Matthews. The West Coast influence continues with a pair of Joni Mitchell tunes given a somewhat Byrds-like treatment, and even a version of trad folk tune "Jack O'Diamonds" owes more to US garage rock than to Martin Carthy. Still, no matter how closely they emulated US artists at this early stage, the nimble guitar work of the still-teenage Richard Thompson was already the crucial element that gave the group its own distinctive signature.