Old New Borrowed Blue

Old New Borrowed Blue represents a significant milestone in the Fairport Convention discography, marking their first fully acoustic studio-and-live hybrid project since their early years. Billed as 'Fairport Acoustic Convention,' the lineup features Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg, Ric Sanders, and Chris Leslie, notably excluding long-time drummer Dave Mattacks. This absence defines the album's sonic character, forcing a reliance on intricate string interplay and vocal harmonies. The tracklist is a curated mix of new material, covers (such as James Taylor's 'Frozen Man' and Loudon Wainwright III's 'The Swimming Song'), and radical reworkings of Fairport staples like 'Matty Groves' and 'Genesis Hall.' By stripping these songs of their electric grit, the band highlights the enduring strength of the traditional British ballad structures they helped popularize. The album was recorded primarily to support a US tour, resulting in a production style that is dry, intimate, and remarkably transparent.