Unhalfbricking

Unhalfbricking
Studio album by Fairport Convention
Released	July 1969
Recorded	January-April 1969 at Sound Techniques and Olympic Studios, London
Genre	Folk rock
Length	39:24 (original release) 48:21 (reissue)
Label	Island ILPS 9102 A&M
Producer	Joe Boyd, Simon Nicol & Fairport Convention
Professional reviews
Allmusic link PopMatters link Robert Christgau (A−) link
Fairport Convention chronology
What We Did on Our Holidays (1969) Unhalfbricking (1969) Liege & Lief (1969)
Singles from Unhalfbricking
"Si Tu Dois Partir" b/w "Genesis Hall" Released: July 1969
Alternate cover
Cover of the 1969 USA release

Unhalfbricking is the third album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, released in 1969. It is seen as a transitional album in their history and marked a further musical move away from American influences towards more traditional English folk songs that had begun on their previous album, What We Did On Our Holidays^[1] and arguably reached its peak on the follow-up, Liege & Lief, released later the same year.

Although featuring several at the time unreleased Bob Dylan songs, the album also marked Sandy Denny's maturation as a singer and songwriter, including "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?", a song covered by many other performers and now regarded as a classic.^[2] The only traditional song on the album, "A Sailor's Life", is seen as pivotal in the development of English folk rock music.

Changes in the line-up of the band, due to not only to its musical direction but also to external events, mark this album as a turning point in the band's history. 1969 was a prolific year for Fairport Convention; from What We Did On Our Holidays to Liege & Lief within twelve months represented a major development.

The album also gave the band their first UK chart success, reaching number 12 in the UK album chart (the second highest position in the band's entire career), while the single release, "Si Tu Dois Partir", achieved number 21 in the UK singles chart.^[3]

Music

After their previous album had seen original singer Judy Dyble replaced by Sandy Denny, the group's male vocalist Iain Matthews left during the recordings for Unhalfbricking,^[4] and Denny took a more central role. The band had been invited to Bob Dylan's London music publishers to hear then unreleased tracks from The Basement Tapes, and of this the band's bassist, Ashley Hutchings, said "this strange, kind of mish-mash of styles and drawled lyrics came out of the speakers. It sounded kind of subterranean; there was this strange cloak of weirdness covering them. We loved it all. We would have covered all the songs if we could."^[5] In the event, versions of "Percy's Song", "Million Dollar Bash" and "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" (retitled "Si Tu Dois Partir") were used on the album. The French lyrics for the latter were created during the interval of a performance at the Middle Earth Club.^[6] According to guitarist Simon Nicol "I think the boredom factor was one of the reasons we came up with this wacky idea. Three or four punters joined us in the dressing room; they were either French visitors or students of French working in London, and happened to be there that night."^[6]

Meanwhile Denny's "Autopsy", "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" (which would become her signature song), and the lengthy "A Sailor's Life" were also included. The latter track had been a traditional English folk song collected by A. L. Lloyd and already part of Denny's club repertoire. In particular, the version on Unhalfbricking has been described as "the turning point of Fairport's history from earlier contemporary Americana to English songs"^[7] and by Allmusic's Richie Unterberger as a "clear signpost to the future".^[1]

	"Si Tu Dois Partir" Sample of "Si Tu Dois Partir", the single from Unhalfbricking "A Sailor's Life" Sample of "A Sailor's Life", the extended song in which folk and rock came together
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Guitarist Richard Thompson contributed two compositions to the album. The opening track, "Genesis Hall", is a slow song in waltz-time, on which he played dulcimer, and Sandy Denny provided the vocals; it was the B-Side of the single release.^[8] "Cajun Woman", which opens the second side of the album, features Dave Swarbrick's fiddle-playing.^[9]

Background

On 11 May 1969,^[10] two months before the album was released, a serious road accident as the band were returning from a gig in Birmingham claimed the lives of drummer Martin Lamble and Jeannie Franklyn (a noted dress designer and guitarist Richard Thompson's girlfriend).^[11] Simon Nicol's later analysis of this event shows the turning-point that the band faced:

That was a big watershed, I think. In the aftermath, we thought a lot about what to do, whether to call it a day. It had been fun while it lasted but it took a definite effort of will to continue. It had given us a lot but now it had taken away a lot: was it worth it if it was going to cost people their lives? Martin was only 18 or 19 years old. He would have gone on to have been so much more than just another drummer, another musician: there was something very special about him.^[11]

Ashley Hutchings also said in relation to the album cover photograph:

My memory of it is bound up with the terrible car crash. On the back cover we're all eating around a table. The shirt and the leather waistcoat I'm wearing are what I had on when the crash happened. I can clearly remember them being bloodstained. You don't forget things like that.^[5]

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 violinist Dave Swarbrick was invited to join full-time for the follow-up, Liege & Lief.^[1]

Title and cover

The title arose from a word-game played by the band while travelling to and from gigs.^[12] The object of the game, named "Ghosts", was to "avoid completing a real word",^[13] and "Unhalfbricking" was Sandy Denny's creation.^[14]

The sleeve design for the UK release featured neither title nor band name, but simply a picture (by Eric Hayes)^[15] of Denny's parents, Neil & Edna Denny, standing outside the family home in Arthur Road, Wimbledon, south London, with the band distantly visible through the garden fence.^[16][17] St Mary's Church, Wimbledon can be seen in the background.^[18] Joe Boyd later said "Unhalfbricking, then, that cover shot was taken in the early spring, right before the crash, I think; and that record came out in June".^[19]

The cover of the American release by A&M Records was even more minimal, featuring circus elephants and a small inset image of the band.^[20]

Reception and influence

Allmusic's Richie Unterberger described Unhalfbricking as "a transitional album for the young Fairport Convention, in which the group shed its closest ties to its American folk-rock influences and started to edge toward a more traditional British folk-slanted sound".^[1]

Rolling Stone's John Mendelsohn, reviewing Unhalfbricking alongside Liege and Lief, was supportive, describing it as "Fairport Convention at its best" and singling out "Percy's Song" in particular as "the album's gem". He was less complimentary about "A Sailor's Life", regarding it as overlong.^[21]

Fairport Convention on Top of the Pops in 1969

The album also gave the band their first UK chart success, spending a total of eight weeks in the UK album chart and reaching number 12.^[22] The single "Si Tu Dois Partir" spent nine weeks on the UK singles chart and reached number 21.^[3] Fairport Convention appeared on Top of the Pops on 14 August 1969.^[23]

Unhalfbricking has been included in numerous "best album" lists over the years:

• In 2004 Q magazine placed Unhalfbricking at number 41 in its list of the 50 Greatest British Albums Ever.^[24]
• The album was described in 2004 by The Observer as "a thoroughly English masterpiece"^[5] and listed at number 27 in its Top 100 British Albums.^[25]
• In 2005 it was listed in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".^[26]

The version of Who Knows Where the Time Goes? on Unhalfbricking was in 2007 voted "Favourite Folk Track Of All Time" by listeners of BBC Radio 2.^[27]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Genesis Hall" (Richard Thompson) – 3:41
2. "Si Tu Dois Partir" (Bob Dylan) – 2:25
3. "Autopsy" (Sandy Denny) – 4:27
4. "A Sailor's Life" (traditional, arranged by Denny, Thompson, Simon Nicol, Ashley Hutchings, Martin Lamble) – 11:20

Side two

1. "Cajun Woman" (Thompson) – 2:45
2. "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" (Denny) – 5:13
3. "Percy's Song" (Dylan) – 6:55
4. "Million Dollar Bash" (Dylan) – 2:56

Bonus tracks on CD reissue

1. "Dear Landlord" (Dylan)^[28]
2. "Ballad of Easy Rider" (Dylan, Roger McGuinn)^[29]

Release history

Unhalfbricking has been released on several occasions and in several formats:^[30][1][31]

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"^[32]

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"

Production

• Recorded at Sound Techniques and Olympic Studios, London
• Engineer: John Wood
• Sleeve Design: Diogenic Attempts Ltd.

References