(Fairport Convention - before they were an institution)

Early Fairport Convention tonight from a session recorded for the BBC on May 28th, 1968 and not issued commercially until the late 1980s. This track, I Don't Know Where I Stand is a Joni Mitchell title that didn't appear on any of their early albums. Fairport had only been together since the year before and there was still growth and fine-tuning to take place. However, the voice of Sandy Denny was unmistakable and, even at that early stage in their careers it was evident Fairport Convention were not just another folk/rock band doing American singer-songwriter covers. They had their own sound and their own material. Although it took a good long time for Fairport to get recognition here in the states, they had an almost instant following in the UK and Europe and one that continues to this day.

So here is a taste of what they sounded like almost from the beginning, performing a song they never recorded commercially.