Release date: 03.07.1969
Label: Island Records
Production: Joe Boyd, Simon Nicol and Fairport Convention
Length: 39:24
Genre: British folk rock
Rating: 9/10
In 1969, English folk rock champions Fairport Convention were in dream form and on such a roll that they cranked out three studio albums in a single year, something they would never repeat. After the arrival of the phenomenal singer Sandy Denny, who made sure their second album “What We Did on Our Holidays” was recognized as one of the first classics of British folk rock, it seemed like nothing could stop them. But the first dark clouds started gathering when tragedy hit the band hard: a van crash killed Martin Lamble, their barely nineteen-year-old drummer, along with Jeannie Franklyn, then-girlfriend of guitarist Richard Thompson. Bassist Ashley Hutchings (later of Steeleye Span), who was in the van too, got away with injuries and a blood-soaked shirt, while the rest of the members were so traumatized that the future of Fairport Convention hung by a thread in 1969.
Just a few months after “What We Did on Our Holidays” and the tragic crash that nearly broke them up, they pushed on anyway and recorded yet another top-notch transitional album, “Unhalfbricking”, on which they pushed their transformation even further: from a group that mostly played covers of American folk names, led by Bob Dylan, into an ambitious collective sworn to a blend of traditional British folk music and rock.
“Unhalfbricking” features three covers of Dylan’s then-unreleased creations: “Si Tu Dois Partir”, which was the least interesting moment of the whole album but still got a great commercial response as a single, “Percy’s Song” and “Million Dollar Bash”, while “A Sailor’s Life” was a rearranged version of a traditional sailors’ folk song. Thompson, Simon Nicol, Hutchings and Lamble turn the latter, with a long instrumental jam, into one of the first examples of prog folk rock.
There was no getting around lineup changes this time either. Iain Matthews only took part in “Unhalfbricking” as a guest with extra vocals, while flutist Dave Swarbrick and drummer Dave Mattacks showed up as guest musicians and soon got invited to become official members. The melancholy opening comes courtesy of Thompson’s “Genesis Hall”, one of the best pieces of his long and rich career, steeped in magical Celtic arrangements, while Denny’s ethereal vocals delivered the real nostalgic drama. Denny’s biggest showcase on “Unhalfbricking” was her own ballad “Who Knows Where the Time Goes”, which, largely thanks to her wistful vocal performance, quickly became one of Fairport Convention’s classics.
Even though “Unhalfbricking” was made in a grueling, traumatic period for the English folk rock titans, it turned out to be one of their finest achievements and gave them fresh energy to carry on with their career. As awful as it may sound, it was precisely the trauma they’d been through that fed the incredible expressive power of most of the lyrics on “Unhalfbricking” and the strongly melancholic atmosphere of the lion’s share of this album. Fairport Convention kept ramping up their remarkable creative drive and, before the end of 1969, made their first folk rock masterpiece, “Liege & Lief”, which brought them a short-lived, bittersweet international success.
Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Genesis Hall (3:35)
2. Si Tu Dois Partir (2:18)
3. Autopsy (4:20)
4. A Sailor’s Life (11:08)
5. Cajun Woman (2:42)
6. Who Knows Where The Time Goes (5:08)
7. Percy’s Song (6:46)
8. Million Dollar Bash (2:54)
Fairport Convention:
Sandy Denny – vocals, harpsichord
Richard Thompson – electric and acoustic guitar, electric dulcimer, accordion, organ, backing vocals
Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar, backing vocals
Simon Nicol – electric and acoustic guitar, electric dulcimer, backing vocals
Martin Lamble – drums
Guest musicians:
Iain Matthews – backing vocals on “Percy’s Song”
Dave Swarbrick – whistle on “Si Tu Dois Partir”, “A Sailor’s Life” and “Cajun Woman”, mandolin on “Million Dollar Bash”
Trevor Lucas – triangle on “Si Tu Dois Partir”
Marc Ellington – vocals on “Million Dollar Bash”
Dave Mattacks – drums on “Ballad of Easy Rider”
