Fairport Convention From Cropredy to Portmeirion

Nearly an hour of Fairport Convention recorded live on their 1990 British winter tour, in excellent sound and generally in superb form. Though the tour preceded the release of The Five Seasons, there's nothing anticipating that album in the repertory presented here -- rather, most of the songs are drawn from Gladys' Leap and, to a lesser degree, Expletive Delighted! ("Portmeirion") and Red & Gold ("Red & Gold" and the gorgeous "London River"), with a medley of older songs at the close. Rick Sanders' stunning "Portmeirion" is almost worth the price of the CD by itself, with "London River" only inches behind it, and there's nothing in here that couldn't win over the unconverted. It all makes one wonder, all the more, what is wrong with a music industry that doesn't have room for a group like this on a major label? ~ Bruce Eder

• Genre: Folk
• Format: Vinyl