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Interviews

Fairport@Forty

Artist: 
Fairport Convention
Catalogue Number: 
MGDVD01
Reviewed by: 
Dave Brzeski
fairport@forty DVD

Received my copy of the DVD this morning & am playing it now.
I'm going to try my best to let go of what isn't there & comment on
what is.

Firstly, they have indeed gone for the music documentary format, so at
the point I'm at while writing this (Track #5: South Dakota To
Manchester) there has been an interruption in the music for interview
segments between EVERY two songs. Some of it interesting. Some not. I
know they had to get comments from the likes of Jools Holland, Lulu &
Frank Skinner, but frankly, none of them had much interesting to say.
There's a lot of bits between the songs with album covers & old
photographs floating towards the viewer, which were apparently taped
in 4:3 resolution & simply stretched to fit the 16:9 resolution of the
rest of the DVD, which I found intensely irritating.

The music so far (Track 6: Just Dandy) has all been the current
line-up. The band are is as fine form as I remember & finally we go
into the next number (Track 7: I'm Already There) without any
interruptions. The quality of the camera work & editing of the live
footage is definitely better than on any previous DVD release.
We get a few clips of various other bands during the interview
sections, but no complete numbers so far.

During Matty Groves, I just had to find the setlist for the night &
compare it to the running order of the DVD. Had to find the torrent,
as Expletive Delighted doesn't seem to have been updated for a couple
of years now.
Here's the track order on the DVD with the original performance order
in brackets.

1(1), 2(2), 3(4), 4(3), 5(27), 6(24), 7(19), 8(35), 9(10), 10(31),
11(9), 12(30), 13(34), 14(7), 15(there's evidently an error in the
torrent tracklist, because I can't find 'Canny Capers' listed at all),
16(28), 17(36)

I noticed at this point that this DVD repeats the one disappointment
of the CD release of my first Cropredy (1992) in that it leaves off
'Meet On The Ledge'. I suspect that's because if any of the guests
refused permission to allow their performance to be used on the DVD,
then this number was always going to be affected since they were all
on stage at that time.

After a fairly long section of interviews following Matty, we finally
get a little of what I was hoping for, with Dave Mattacks & Maart
joining the band for the instrumental medley.
I will now officially stop whinging on at Fairport to replace Maart
properly with a new lead electric guitarist (or tempt him back
permanently). From this point on, only a full time lead guitar AND two
drummers will satisfy me! Shame Gerry was only playing bongos &
tambourine on the one number we got from that part of the concert!

Track 11: Red & Gold. One of my all-time favourite Fairport songs from
the post official reformation period (thanks Ralph) & another with the
2 drummer attack. Maart on keyboards. Still a slow number though, so
not the ideal showcase for the dual drummer backing. I keep hoping....

Nice little interview section with Tiny Tin Lady, followed by the
great performance of 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes?' with Beth on
vocals.

We then get a couple more numbers with the current line-up, which are
actually not split by interviews. I think this is only the second time
on the whole DVD that we get two numbers in a row, without interviews
inbetween.

We then get another section with the Tiny Tins, filmed at the Mill
sound check I'd guess. This is followed my another number with Maart &
DM (yay!). It is, naturally, another with Gerry just playing the
Bongos.

At last we get 'Time Will Show The Wiser. Richard Thompson, Ashley
Hutchings, Iain Matthews, Judy Dyble! I can understand why they kept
that particular high point for close to the end.
The DVD actually ends with 'Best Wishes', but sadly no 'Meet On The
Ledge', which is such a shame.
For an old atheist like me, 'Meet on The Ledge' at Cropredy is the
closest I get to a really spiritual experience. It's one of the few
times, for a short while, that I believe there's really something more
than our short insignificant lives.

The extras consist of the backdrop projection movies for Matty Groves,
Keep On Turning The Wheels & South Dakota To Manchester. The Matty
Groves story told in lego animation was at least one of the things the
fans demanded should be on the DVD that we actually got. But wasn't it
in colour on the night, or was I just that high on the whole
experience that I just thought I saw it in colour?

So to recap. We got one number & a few interview sections with RT &
AH, a few numbers with DM, but not the best of the ones where he & GC
played together. No Swarb whatsoever.

I will happily show this DVD to anyone I'm trying to sell on the idea
of attending their first Cropredy, but for me, knowing what was left
out, it will always fall somewhat flat. I should mention at this point
that I fully understand that the band's hands may have been tied as to
what was available to them. Some people may have had reasons to deny
the use of their appearances on the DVD & it's not for us to deny them
that right, but it still doesn't match up to the memory of the event
in any way, shape or form.

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