"Nine" : Fairport Convention's 9th album

Formed in 1967, Fairport Convention were on their ninth album by 1973, having already enjoyed what fans and chroniclers ever since regard as four distinct ‘eras’ within that frenzied passage of time. The English-Jefferson Airplane-era lasted one album, then the glory days of Sandy Denny’s tenure (three albums creating the architecture of British folk-rock), then the Full House-era (the mercurial Dave Swarbrick/Richard Thompson partnership, lasting one fabulous studio album), and then the somewhat shaky post-Thompson period, with fiddler Dave Swarbrick taking the front man/ songwriter reins and doing, in retrospect, a fine job in the difficult circumstances of people coming and going around him.

Nine saw the group adding Australian vocalist Trevor Lucas and American guitar-slinger Jerry Douglas, each bringing a distinctive new sound to the table. The group was now an odd mélange of British folk-rock and US country-rock, with two vocalists sharing the chores. It’s still an odd mix, though individual tracks like The Hexamshire Lass and Polly On The Shore are among the group’s all-time best.