Unhalfbricking
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| Unhalfbricking | ||
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| Studio album by Fairport Convention | ||
| Released | July 1969 | |
| Recorded | January - April 1969 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 39:24 | |
| Label | Hannibal/Island | |
| Producer(s) | Joe Boyd, Simon Nicol & Fairport Convention | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fairport Convention chronology | ||
| What We Did on Our Holidays (1969) |
Unhalfbricking (1969) |
Liege & Lief (1969) |
Unhalfbricking, released in 1969, was the third album by British band Fairport Convention. An important milestone in their history, it marked the moment they discovered the folk rock style for which they are best known. Previously they had been influenced by American psychedelic rock bands like Jefferson Airplane.
After their self-titled debut album, singer Judy Dyble left the group and was replaced by gifted folk singer and songwriter Sandy Denny. Following a second album, What We Did On Our Holidays, the group's male vocalist Iain Matthews also left and Denny took a more central role.
Unhalfbricking was produced by Joe Boyd, who had signed Fairport Convention to his Witchseason roster of artists. He provided them with access to a trove of unrecorded songs written by Bob Dylan (another key influence of Denny's) that were held at the offices of Dylan's British publishers, Feldman's. The band selected "Percy's Song" (an outtake from The Times They Are A-Changin'), the John Wesley Harding song "Dear Landlord" (which didn't make it onto the final album), the Basement Tape composition "Million Dollar Bash," and the Bringing It All Back Home outtake "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" which they translated into French. Their version of "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" (now known as "Si Tu Dois Partir") would provide them with their only British hit single. Denny brought two key compositions to Unhalfbricking: "Autopsy" and her most famous song, "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" and also suggested that the band try the traditional song "A Sailor's Life". This 11-minute epic, featuring a guest appearance by fiddler Dave Swarbrick, would be the album's stand-out song and provide a template for British folk rock.
The title Unhalfbricking is a meaningless invention by one of the band members. The striking sleeve design featured neither title nor band name - rather like The Beatles' Abbey Road of the same year - but simply a portrait of Denny's parents, Neil & Edna Denny, standing outside the family home in Wimbledon, south London, with the band distantly visible through the garden fence.
Shortly before the album was released, while returning from a gig in Birmingham, a serious road accident claimed the lives of drummer Martin Lamble and Jeannie Franklyn, a noted dress designer and the girlfriend of Fairport's guitarist Richard Thompson. Unhalfbricking appeared, therefore, at a difficult time for the group, but was enthusiastically received. After a period of intense reflection about their future they decided to pursue the folk rock idea further and Swarbrick was invited to join full-time for the follow-up, Liege & Lief.
In 2000 Q magazine placed Unhalfbricking at number 79 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
[edit] Track listing
- "Genesis Hall" (Richard Thompson) – 3:41
- "Si Tu Dois Partir" (Bob Dylan) – 2:25
- "Autopsy" (Sandy Denny) – 4:27
- "A Sailor's Life" (Traditional, arr. by Sandy Denny/Richard Thompson/Simon Nicol/Ashley Hutchings/Martin Lamble) – 11:20
- "Cajun Woman" (Richard Thompson) – 2:45
- "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" (Sandy Denny) – 5:13
- "Percy's Song" (Bob Dylan) – 6:55
- "Million Dollar Bash" (Bob Dylan) – 2:56
- "Dear Landlord" * (Bob Dylan)
- "The Ballad Of Easy Rider" * (Roger McGuinn)
* not on the original album, but are on the "remastered" album as bonus tracks.
"Dear Landlord" is a previously unreleased out-take.
"The Ballad Of Easy Rider" was previously released on (guitar, vocal) and is an out-take from Liege & Lief.
[edit] Production
- Produced by Joe Boyd, Simon & Fairport for Witchseason Productions Ltd.
- Recorded at Sound Techniques, London and Olympic Studios, London
- Engineer: John Wood
[edit] Personnel
- Sandy Denny - Vocals, Harpsichord
- Richard Thompson - Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Electric Dulcimer, Piano Accordion, Organ, Backing Vocals
- Ashley Hutchings - Bass, Backing Vocals
- Simon Nicol - Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Electric Dulcimer, Backing Vocals
- Martin Lamble - Drums, Stacked Chair Backs on "Si Tu Dois Partir"
with:
- Iain Matthews - Backing Vocals on "Percy's Song"
- Dave Swarbrick - Fiddle on "Si Tu Dois Partir", "A Sailor’s Life", and "Cajun Woman" and Mandolin on "Million Dollar Bash"
- Trevor Lucas - Triangle on "Si Tu Dois Partir"
- Marc Ellington - Vocals on "Million Dollar Bash"
- Dave Mattacks - Drums on "The Ballad Of Easy Rider"
