Side one
"Come All Ye" (Sandy Denny, Ashley Hutchings) - 4:55
"Reynardine" (traditional, arranged by Fairport) - 4:33
"Matty Groves" (trad., arr. Fairport) - 8:08
"Farewell, Farewell"[10] (Richard Thompson) - 2:38

Side two
"The Deserter" (trad., arr. Fairport) - 4:10
Medley (trad., arr. Dave Swarbrick) - 4:00
"The Lark in the Morning"
"Rakish Paddy"
"Foxhunters' Jig"
"Toss the Feathers"
"Tam Lin" (trad., arr. Swarbrick) - 7:20
"Crazy Man Michael" (Thompson, Swarbrick) - 4:35

Sandy Denny - vocals
Dave Swarbrick - fiddle, viola
Richard Thompson - electric & acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Simon Nicol - electric, 6-string & 12-string acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Ashley Hutchings - bass guitar, backing vocals
Dave Mattacks - drums, percussion

Recorded October 16, 19, 22, 29 and November 1, 1969, Sound Techniques, London

Producer Joe Boyd for Witchseason Productions Ltd.

Engineer: John Wood

Released: December 1969.

Label: Island (ILPS 9115) and A&M (SP-4257 - July 1970 USA)

Fairport Convention are without a doubt, the main pepetrators of bringing universal acclaim and sharpened focus into English folk rock where they have remained historically important in not only establishing the genre brand but also in delivering high quality recordings and live performances to that region for each and every step of the way.

Within the realms of English folk rock and electric folk that reined supreme from 1967 to the present day, few albums have the perseverence and landmark weight of Fairport's Leige and Leif released in 1969 and featuring immortal tradional classics such as 'Matty Groves', 'Tam Lin', ‘Come all ye’ and ‘Farewell, Farewel'and the incredible 'Crazy man Michael’. These songs alone are epics beyond belief, even by today's standards, for their encouragingly rich musicianship, highly innovative arrangements, and astonishingly impeccable production.

Dave Swarbrick should have been given a knighthood for his fiddle work, Dave Mattacks deserves nothing less than a granite monument to his incredibly drum work, and Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny, Simon Nicol, and Ashley Hutchings all deserve statues erected in their home towns! Why? Well it's simply because Leige and Leif launched the English 'electric' folk rock shuttle and I am convinced that no-one at the time had anticipated how much of a phenomenal milestone the album would represent with it's reinvention of six traditionals and the presentation of three originals with such care and ingenuity.

Fairpot Convention's Leige and Leif almost single-handedly gave identity and credibility to the genre that would open up the ears of millions to something that was afterall... inherently English.

Colin Lynch