Babbacombe Lee (studio album) by Fairport Convention
Top albums of 1971 (
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Fairport Convention bestography
Babbacombe Lee is ranked 12th best out of 42 albums by Fairport Convention on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Fairport Convention is Liege & Lief which is ranked number 941 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,858.
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Babbacombe Lee track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 72 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
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Babbacombe Lee rankings
All 13 charts that this album appears in:
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 |  Fischman | Top 100 Music Albums of 1971 | 99/100 | 0 |
| 2025 | mostlymor | Top 100 Music Albums of 1971 | 80/100 | 1 |
| 2025 | dukeboxkool | Top 100 Music Albums of 1971 | 92/100 | 0 |
| 2024 | vruslov | Top 81 Music Albums of 1971 | 63/81 | 1 |
| 2024 | TonyF12345 | Top 45 Music Albums of 1971 | 8/45 | 4 |
| 2023 | cmoshier | Top 100 Music Albums of 1971 | 57/100 | 2 |
| 2021 |  Jameth | Top 89 Music Albums of 1971 | 40/89 | 3 |
| 2020 | cronadigallina | Top 92 Music Albums of 1971 | 78/92 | 1 |
| 2020 | hahol | Top 78 Music Albums of 1971 | 54/78 | 2 |
| 2020 | Rovers | Top 67 Music Albums of 1971 | 16/67 | 4 |
| 2018 | Ashmark | Top 75 Music Albums of 1971 | 69/75 | 0 |
| 2017 |  bertrandu | *All Time* Progressive Folk | 54/100 | - |
| 2014 | pvthappy | Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | 27/40 | - |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 13 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 19 | |||
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!
Babbacombe Lee collection
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Babbacombe Lee ratings
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
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AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 22 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
60/100  | 01/09/2025 18:55 | dukeboxkool | | 72/100 |
65/100 | 11/30/2023 20:39 |  Sandrof1969 | | 68/100 |
80/100 | 01/14/2023 18:13 | Rovers | | 76/100 |
70/100 | 04/11/2022 03:36 | dhbarrett | | 65/100 |
30/100 | 03/02/2022 05:11 | Taosjohn | | 69/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album has a Bayesian average rating of 69.8/100, a mean average of 68.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 68.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.7.
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Babbacombe Lee comments
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"Babbacome Lee" was Fairport Convention's second album in 1971; this was a period when the band was at the height of their creativity. The album was their only "concept" album, telling the stunning story of John "Babbacombe" Lee; the man who survived the gallows three times.
Musically they continue in the direction laid out on their two previous albums "Full House" and "Angel Delight". They combine traditional British folk-music with electric melodic rock. The line-up is the same as on "Angel Delight" and the playing is tight and inspired.
Apart from the traditional "The Sailor's Alphabeth" all songs are Fairport originals and they are obviously closely connected to the context of the Babbacombe Lee story; this does not mean that the songs cannot stand alone; outside the concept of the album . "Breakfast in Mayfair", "John Lee", "Cell Song" and "The Hanging Song" are great tracks on their own.
The two bonus-tracks are low-fi tape-copies of BBC recordings. It seems that the BBC has erased the original tapes, which is a big shame. "Farewell to a Poor Man's" is a Swarbrick ballad; probably a song that was never included on the original album; a great song. "Breakfast in Mayfair" is recorded after Simon Nicol's departure from the band; so his vocals are taken over by Sandy Denny.
The remastered sound is great on the whole original album.
The booklet contains all the original lyrics and the long magazine story of the life of John Lee. Unfortunately there are no new comments from the band-members to the creation of the album; like on the other Fairport CD re-issues. This is only a minor complaint and I can only highly recommend the album.
https://www.angelfire.com/nv/Badfinger/BANDfairport.html
A noble project which didn't come off. It happens.
neilgee 11/20/2015 22:49
At times this music sounds more real and honest than punk; just a band making no frills music they have a genuine feeling for.
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