I'll have to say that Richard Thompson is my favorite guitarist. Fairport Convention is pretty sweet, but I really like his stuff with his (ex)wife Linda Thompson, in addition to a lot of his solo stuff.

He's not happy about the world, but his lyrics always feel right somehow. And his guitar-playing never ceases to make me happy.

Linsaholic, I sort of agree with you about Fairport. Some of their stuff seemed a bit clunky and a bit forced/ contrived mixing of folk and rock rather than a naturalistic aproach
Pentangle had a very crisp, clear sound & I liked their music alot. You can hear every instrument distinctly

^ I`m glad I`m not the only one with reservations about Fairport.

Of Richard Thompson`s solo career, I only know the Bright Lights album, which seemed to me like a classic one-track album : apart from the title track nothing really caught my attention.

Anyway, here`s a very faithful live version of that track, with R and L Thompson re-united with FP for the occasion:

i only have Unhalfbricking

it's fab

I think to credit them as the band who invented folk rock would be a vast exaggeration as they were preceded by proto folk rockers like Davy Graham and also by acts like Bob Dylan, The Incredible String Band and Simon and Garfunkel. Simon and Garfunkel released "Sound of Silence" in 65 and "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" which included their rendition of english ballad "Scarborough Fair" in 1966 while Fairport Convention's debut wasn't released until 67.

But yeah, they're pretty important in british folk rock, I'll give them that :) Not my favourite, but admittedly very good still. Sandy Denny's story is also pretty tragic and an interesting read ..

I bought this a couple of years ago

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...bL._SS500_.jpg

Definitely worth a listen.

I think Simon & Garfunkel & those guys were way ahead of Fairport in the way they expanded the boundaries of Folk Music.

Sady Dennys story was pretty tragic. She passed away at Atkinson Morley hospital, which is about five minutes walk from my place (tho I was not in the area back then!!)

Hey, Moshe! :wavey:
I lived TEN minutes walk from the Atkinson Morley, down by Putney Bridge !!

Linsaholic, I live just down the road from it! Just off the Ridgeway!!!
Mind you, they've knocked the hospital down & have some big building project there now. More houses, I presume!!