POP MUSIC REVIEW : An Exquisite Evening of Folk-Rock

Among the inescapable conclusions drawn from Fairport Convention’s show Monday at the Roxy: You can’t keep a good band down.

Over its 20-year career, the seminal English folk-rock group has experienced a potentially crippling number of lineup changes (it would take a ream of paper to chart the Fairport family tree) and uneven--though mostly limited--commercial success, especially in this country.

As if to underscore the generally low-profile and long, labyrinthine history of the band (which plays the Coach House in San Capistrano tonight and Bogart’s in Long Beach on Thursday), singer-guitarist Simon Nicol introduced Monday’s opening number, “Reynard the Fox,” by saying “We’re about to do a Fairport Convention number, whoever they used to be.”

Indeed, let’s just say Michael Jackson has never been looking over his shoulder to see if a Fairport LP might pass him on the charts. In its 2-hour Roxy show, though, the quintet did take every opportunity to plug its current release, “Red and Gold,” executing a very thorough job of record promotion that in the hands of a less charming or humorous outfit would have been shameless hucksterism.

Of course, it helped a lot that the selections from that oft-mentioned album were uniformly strong, whether they were soaring instrumentals written by the band or songs penned by such stalwarts as Ralph McTell . . . or band arrangements of traditional instrumentals or songs composed by Fairport members--well, you get the idea.

Similarly, the group covered considerable--and considerably wonderful--ground when not performing (or plugging) the new material, from Nicol’s gentle and gorgeous “The Deserter” to the fiery, foot-stomping, set-closing medley of, as guitarist Martin Allcock put it, “Celtic dance tune-type things.”

Because Richard Thompson joined Crowded House on stage both nights of its recent Los Angeles stand, one certainly expected the ex-Fairport fret-maestro to turn up at this show. Sure enough, Thompson-- and another former Fairport guitarist, Jerry Donahue--jumped into the fray for a rip-roaring double-encore to cap an exquisite, exhilarating evening.

This would have been a nearly impossible act to follow, but it apparently also was a difficult act to precede, judging by Danny Phillips opening segment. Accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, Phillips performed a handful of songs notable--if that’s the right word--for their uninteresting melodies and uninteresting lyrics (“Why can’t you see something’s gonna change,” “Waves are crashing,” etc.) Strictly Dullsville.