Fairport Convention

Early Fairport released some astonishing albums, from Unhalfbricking to Full House. But the group's definitive statement is 1969's Liege & Lief. Bass, drums and guitar open with an ancient druid march. Shortly afterward, Sandy Denny announces the band's intentions: "Come all ye rolling minstrels/ And together we will try/ To rouse the spirit of the air/ And move the rolling skies." This they do on an album that's at times ecstatic, moody, tender and downright mysterious. This is true earth music.

Because the rhythm section has oomph and the singer soul, their pursuit of the Pentangle down the wooded path of jigs and ballads isn't entirely disastrous. But it sounds more like liege than lief to me. Traditional or original, these songs are either momentary escapes--that is, dances--or tales of common folk battling fate and the class system to something less than a standoff. Matty Groves outf*cks Lord Donald, but Lord Donald kills Matty as well as his own wife; the Deserter is betrayed by comrade and sweetheart, then saved--to be a soldier--by Prince Albert. And the music, inevitably, reflects this fatalism. (Grade: B-)