There is a moment in the singer Tracey Thorn’s autobiography, Bedsit Disco Queen, where she credits Fairport Convention with being more DIY, indie and autonomous than any punk rocker. She’s not being facetious, she simply admires the way they’ve built their career, most especially the annual Cropredy Festival, as a cottage industry among friends, connecting directly with their fanbase, maintaining the root values of folk hippiedom intact for decades. I can only concur with Thorn. Fairport are an entirely admirable entity. I have not, however, made as much progress with most of their music.
Then again, this live album from the Albion Christmas Band is very likeable. The project, annually active for a decade and a half, is a break-off tendril of Fairport’s Ashley Hutchings’ original Albion Band, also featuring Fairport’s Simon Nicol, as well as singer Kellie While and melodeon player Simon Care. The idea behind the Christmas Band’s concerts, recorded at Kings Place in London last year, is to create a communal celebration that combines ancient solstice vibes with Christian music and a sense of fun. Given that the set-up is ripe for easy, jaded mockery, they succeed surprisingly well.
While’s voice is shiveringly lovely, whether haunting on “The January Man” and Tears For Fears’ “Mad World”, or boisterous on strummed and friendly versions of carols such as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “The First Nowell”. There’s an earnest aspect to it all, background is given to Border midwinter Morris dancing, for instance, by way of introducing “Mr Trill’s Song”, but it’s genial and interesting rather than dry and worthy. A “How The Internet Started” skit sequence is entirely groan-worthy, but in the knowing way of Christmas cracker jokes. There are couple of hoedowns – notably the closing “Seven Joys of Mary” but mostly, One for the Road, despite its cornball cover art, stays to the more ethereal end of folk, providing an affable, if usually formal, evening’s entertainment.
Overleaf: Watch the Albion Christmas Band perform "Mad World" live in session