FAIRPORT CONVENTION
Fame And Glory CHERRY RED
Former fans-only collection is officially released with extras.
Fame And Glory gathers together music that Fairport Convention recorded for Alan Simon’s rock operas Excalibur, Gaia and Anne De Bretagne. Originally released on their Matty Groves label in 2008, it’s one of their best releases this century. Fairport enjoy playing material written by other musicians and, while their recent albums have been eclectic and charming affairs, they’ve erred towards a kind of nostalgia and gently joviality. But this music, written by Simon, is a more dramatic proposition, a calorie-packed smörgåsbord full of legends, dragons and mysticism. There’s even intrigue on Duchess Anne, striding into battle with the exclamation, ‘We will crush them to the ground.’ And although these songs are taken out of their dramatic context, they hang together well as a collection.