Review of Tony Palmer`s Film Of Fairport Convention And Matthews Southern Comfort

Introduction

Voiceprint, home to Ultravox`s Billy Currie amongst others, have decided that now would be a great time to reissue something that appears to be akin to the Holy Grail amongst Fairport Convention fans; the Maidstone 1970 set by the one of the key line-ups of the band.

I don`t know much about folk music generally, and even less about Fairport Convention themselves, but this seems to be one of those genuine musical moments and reminds me a little of the recent Hendrix release I reviewed a little earlier. This line-up of Fairport Convention were only together for the Full House studio album and apart from this film had never been filmed commercially. It was released on VHS at some point and has also done the rounds as a bootleg, so here`s an opportunity to own it on DVD at last.

The Full House line-up of Fairport Convention consisted of Richard Thompson (vocals, guitar), Dave Swarbrick (vocals, fiddle, mandolin), Dave Pegg (vocals, bass, guitar, mandolin), Dave Mattacks (drums & percussion) and Simon Nicol (vocals, guitar, electric dulcimer). The film was set at the Maidstone Fiesta in the summer of 1970, a kind of open day with the Convention competing with balloons and Army helicopters. It`s a low-key setting for something that appears to have such historical importance to folk music fans, but such is the way it sometimes is.

Also appearing on this film, and explained by Palmer in his interview, are Matthew`s Southern Comfort who had a Fairport Convention link in singer Iain Matthews who previously been a member of the Convention.

Tracklisting:

Various Jigs & Reel - Fairport Convention
Sir Patrick Spens
No Be Thankful
My Front Pages - Matthew`s Southern Comfort
Southern Comfort
Flatback Caper - Fairport Convention
Jenny`s Chickens & The Mason`s Apron

Video

There are artefacts and print damage on the picture but nothing too bad at all considering the age of the print. Backgrounds on the close up shots look a little blurry but still very much watchable.

Audio

PCM soundtrack, with opening comments by John Peel, that sounds great quite frankly…

Features

Interview - Tony Palmer explains the complicated connections that led to his film being made, including Sandy Denny, Michael Winner and post-Zulu Stanley Baker…

Conclusion

I`m not a folk man at all, far prefer the more electronic tones of the synthesiser and guitar, but I really enjoyed this. I think it helped that it felt very much more like a jam than a proper gig and also that the setting was so informal, with shots of the crowd just relaxing in a park on a summers day. It was a little bizarre but also somewhat comforting during one point in the film to see the band strike up a running commentary over the Army Air Corps helicopters leaving during the set. The whole thing just felt like such a relaxed affair that you can`t help but be drawn into it.

Clearly from everything I`ve seen and read, this is quite an important document for Fairport Convention fans, the only filmed appearance of the Full House line-up. It could have been a bit of a damp squib, but thankfully it`s looks and sounds great. Clearly it`s not going to be a pin-sharp artefact-free viewing experience but you have to consider the age of the film and it looks great for its age. The sound has been remastered and sounds brilliant as well.

I may never listen to any folk music again, but I can quite happily say that I spent a very enjoyable half hour or so watching this.