Fame and Glory

Fairport Convention's Fame and Glory is an album given over entirely to compositions by Breton songwriter Alan Simon, who proves to be a good fit for the venerable British folk-rock outfit. The band is well served by material that delves back into the Middle Ages and beyond, referring to the Arthurian legend more than once. A third of the tracks are instrumentals; four are live recordings; and there are guest vocalists including Jacqui McShee and John Wetton. All that said, this remains a characteristic Fairport Convention album, with the violin and flute pacing folk-rock arrangements and Simon Nicol handling most of the singing. Using the Simon songs is just a way of coming up with an album's worth of music to play in their typical style. ~ William Ruhlmann