Simon Nicol & Ric Sanders, “Greetings From Grolloo” (Talking Elephant)- This gentle acoustic celebration of the delights of roots music was recorded at a folk festival in the small Dutch village of Grolloo just over twenty years ago. This is the only time that Fairport Convention’s Simon Nicol and Ric Sanders have captured their activities as a duo on record and the finished product is a delightfully ramshackle and understated joy. The two musicians are nothing if not eclectic in their choice of subject matter, running the gamut from Bach’s “Double Violin Concerto” to Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” by way of poignant ditties such as Huw Williams’ “Rosemary’s Sister” and Ralph McTell’s “The Hiring Fair.
” As an added bonus Simon and Ric also regale their receptive Dutch audience with a classic track from Fairport’s fourth album,”Liege and Lief” in the shape of Richard Thompson and Dave Swarbrick’s “Crazy Man Michael.” Iain Matthews & Ad Vanderveen,”Greetings From Grolloo” (Talking Elephant)- Here’s another musical memory culled from Grolloo’s folk archives, this time focussing attention on a rare performance from the short lived duo formed by Dutch guitarist Ad Vanderveen and former Matthew Southern Comfort frontman Iain Matthews. The latter is probably best known for his chart topping 1970 cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock,” and this memorable ditty also makes a welcome reappearance here, albeit in a much more .