The Well Worn Path

This ninth solo album from the West Country fiddler and singer-songwriter might well be his equivalent of Fairport Convention's Liege & Lief. From the opening fiddle whine of ‘Bright Smile’, the sound, turn of phrase and the twanging Richard Thompson-esque guitar licks feel like the late 1960s folk-rock revival of Fairport reborn.

This classy album was recorded with Lakeman's trademark Devonshire grit in his garden studio on Dartmoor, and features bassist Ben Nicholls, drummer Evan Jenkins, guitarist Kit Hawes and folk singer Kathryn Roberts. After the rough, pared-back harmonies of 2016's Ballads of the Broken Few, this Ben Hillier-produced release has a rockier feel. Perhaps some of that aesthetic rubbed off on Lakeman from legendary rocker Robert Plant, whom he has accompanied on tour; after working on Plant's last album Carry Fire, Lakeman joined Plant's Sensational Space Shifters. From the wheezing fiddle of ‘She Never Blamed Him’ to the languid blues-rock of ‘Lend a Hand’ to the grooving riff of the title-track, this album nods to greats on both sides of the folk-rock divide.