Matty Groves

Fairport Convention, 1969, from Liege & Lief. Solo by Richard Thompson.

The extended instrumental coda trades Thompson's modal guitar runs with Swarbrick's fiddle at increasing speed.

Matty Groves tells a grim murder ballad over a steady groove, but the real drama comes in the extended instrumental coda. There Richard Thompson and Dave Swarbrick trade phrases, Thompson's modal guitar runs answering the fiddle as the tempo picks up and the exchanges get faster and tighter. His lines borrow the ornaments and scales of British and Irish fiddle music, translated to electric guitar with a clean, biting tone. It became a template for how folk tunes could carry rock-style improvisation. Listen for how Thompson shadows the fiddle's phrasing, sometimes doubling it and sometimes sliding away, so the two instruments sound like dancers circling each other.

Matty Groves by Fairport Convention is featured in our Folk Rock (#3) list. The solo is played by Richard Thompson and the song was released in 1969.

In our lists

• Beyond the Canon — #17
• The 25 Greatest Folk Rock Guitar Solos — #3
• The Best Fairport Convention Guitar Solos — #2
• The Best Richard Thompson Guitar Solos — #7

Sources