LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

• Packaging: Gatefold sleeve with an eight-page LP-sized colour booklet

Essen 1970 captures Fotheringay performing at the Grugahalle in Germany on 23 October 1970, only a few months after the release of their sole contemporary studio album. Led by former Fairport Convention singer Sandy Denny, the short-lived group combined traditional British folk music with original songwriting, American country influences and the power of a full electric rock band.

The line-up features Sandy Denny on vocals, twelve-string guitar and piano, Trevor Lucas on vocals and guitars, Jerry Donahue on lead guitar, Pat Donaldson on bass and Gerry Conway on drums. Their contrasting musical personalities are clearly heard throughout the concert, from Denny's expressive singing and piano work to Lucas's earthier vocals and Donahue's fluid electric-guitar lines.

The programme draws heavily from the group's 1970 debut album while also introducing material intended for its unfinished follow-up. Traditional songs such as “Eppie Moray” and “Gypsey Davey” sit alongside Denny compositions including “The Sea,” “Nothing More” and the intense “John the Gun.”

Trevor Lucas takes the lead on “The Ballad of Ned Kelly,” while the band also performs Bob Dylan's “Too Much of Nothing” and Gordon Lightfoot's “The Way I Feel.” The concert closes with a spirited version of Chuck Berry's “Memphis, Tennessee,” revealing the group's ability to move easily beyond the boundaries of British folk rock.

The recording was made through room microphones at an indoor festival, giving it a more distant and archival sound than a professional multitrack concert recording. Nevertheless, Jerry Donahue's careful remastering preserves an important complete performance by a group whose original career lasted barely a year and whose surviving live recordings remain scarce.

Presented in a gatefold sleeve with an eight-page colour booklet, Essen 1970 is a valuable historical document for admirers of Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention and the classic British folk-rock movement.

Track listing:

Side A

1. Eppie Moray – 5:03
2. The Sea – 6:10
3. The Ballad of Ned Kelly – 3:37
4. Gypsey Davey – 3:59
5. Too Much of Nothing – 3:47

Side B

1. Nothing More – 4:59
2. The Way I Feel – 5:11
3. John the Gun – 5:47
4. Memphis, Tennessee – 4:13