The venerable Fairport Convention could be the poster band for that singular genre, as this curious live collection makes plain. Originally recorded as the soundtrack to a short documentary film about a charity concert, Live in Maidstone opens with some fairly obtrusive narration that introduces the band members and explains that Fairport’s set took place “between a team of performing chimpanzees and a team of helicopters from the army.” So, yeah – it was that kind of show.

On first listen, it would be easy to dismiss Live in Maidstone as a “fans only” production. Most of the material is far from hooky, the sound seldom rises much above bootleg quality, and the overlong snippets of narration and stage banter range on obnoxious. With repeated spins, however, a few solid recommendations emerge.

After slogging through the opening “Various Jigs & Reels” – which delivers exactly what the name suggests, for better or worse – the band launches into “Sir Patrick Spens,” a fairly ideal summation of the Fairport appeal. Using an old Scottish seafaring ballad as a basis, the band neatly interweaves elements of traditional English dance music – harmonized, singsong vocals and Dave Swarbrick’s lilting fiddle – and the day’s dominant rock sound – the deft interplay between Richard Thompson’s crisp lead guitar and Simon Nicol’s catchy rhythm work. It’s a fine example of a group bridging the gap between old and new folk styles without sounding too crass or Renaissance Fest-y, and most of the album follows in the same vein.

The middle of the disc features two cuts from the lesser-known Matthews Southern Comfort, fronted by former Fairport vocalist Iain Matthews. These hew a little closer to the ‘70s sound, with the jammy “Southern Comfort” in particular adding a welcome Allman Brothers vibe to the mix.

Then it’s back to Fairport for the undistinguished jig “Flatback Caper” and the much livelier “Jenny’s Chickens & the Mason’s Apron,” a fast-paced instrumental that that presumably got some hippie feet to stomping back in the day. As the tempo gains speed over the course of the track, it’s easy to picture the festival crowd cutting loose and dancing in the grass, and that’s part of the appeal of the album. Unless you’re a devoted fan of the band or the genre, it’s not a must-hear by any means, but the immediacy and vivacity of the music makes it at least an intriguing document of a pretty particular moment in time.

Recommended tracks: “Sir Patrick Spens”, “Southern Comfort”, “Jenny’s Chickens & the Mason’s Apron”

- Ira Brooker