Fairport Convention
Sense of Occasion - Matty Groves 2007
Tracks: 1. Keep on Turning the Wheel / 2. Love on a Farmboy's Wages / 3. The Bowman's Return / 4. South Dakota to Manchester / 5. Spring Song / 6. Polly on the Shore / 7. Just Dandy / 8. Tam Lin / 9. In Our Town / 10. Edge of the World / 11. Hawkwood's Army / 12. The Vision / 13. Your Heart and Mine / 14. Untouchable / 15. Galileo's Apology / 16. Best Wishes
Comments:
Of the four Fairport Convention albums I have heard so far with Chris Leslie in the line-up, this is probably the least interesting. The individual songs may be fine in their own rights, but as a whole the album may lack a little edge – the album comes a little too neat.
Chris Leslie is an excellent and versatile songwriter, and he contributes to the "Sense of Occasion" with no less than five new original songs. Leslie has a nice voice; sometimes a little too nice, which may be part of the reason that the album lacks some of the edge which has always been part of Fairport Convention's sound.
On several songs the group both vocally and instrumentally seem very inspired by The Beatles, and Leslie's "Keep on Turning the Wheel" has also textual references to this group.
My favorite Leslie song on this album is the quiet and catchy "Spring Song", but otherwise it is mostly remakes of the two old classics "Polly on the Shore" and especially "Tam Lin" that stir genuine enthusiasm. On these songs Simon Nicol has the opportunity to take the lead vocal.
Among the surprising cover versions the group's interpretation of Glenn Tilbrook's "Untouchable" is quite nice, and I must not forget to mention that the group's violin virtuose Ric Sanders adds four fine instrumentals - in particular, I am very excited about the very much classically inspired "Your Heart and Mine ".
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