ROSIE

"Rosie" is the 8th full-length studio album by British folk rock act Fairport Convention. The album was released through Island Records in February 1973. It´s the successor to "Babbacombe Lee" from 1971 and there have been several lineup changes since the predecessor. Simon Nicol left the band and former Fotheringay members Trevor Lucas (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Jerry Donahue (guitar) joined. Simon Nicol was the last remaining member from the original lineup which meant that the lineup on "Rosie" didn´t feature a single original members of the band. The album was produced by new member Trevor Lucas. "Rosie" was re-released in 2004 with five bonus tracks. All bonus tracks were recorded Live In London on the 23th of April 1973.

Even though no original members are left in the lineup the music is still unmistakably the sound of Fairport Convention. Folk rock with a warm sound and great clever humour. Just listen to the witty "Hungarian Rhapsody" for evidence of the mentioned humour. The music features lots of acoustic (and electric) guitars, mandolin, and fiddle and some pretty strong vocal performances too. The addition of the skilled lead guitarist Jerry Donahue means a lot for the music. His contributions to the songs provide an extra dimension to the music. But the addition of Trevor Lucas is also a treat. The musicianship is overall very strong from all involved. The tracks are vers/chorus structured and there are not many instrumental parts in the music. This is predominantly vocal and song oriented music.

The sound production is very warm, organic, and pleasant. One of the best sounding albums from the band up until then. So upon conclusion "Rosie" is another strong album by Fairport Convention. Following up the bizarre concept story of "Babbacombe Lee (1971)" and the incredibly high quality of that album was always going to be a difficult task, but Fairport Convention reach port with at least half the gold. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

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