Posted by............: Beolab1700 on 04/08/2014
Tracklisting
1. Fairport Convention - Genesis Hall [03:39]
2. Fairport Convention - Si tu dois partir [02:21]
3. Fairport Convention - Autopsy [04:22]
4. Fairport Convention - A Sailor's Life [11:10]
5. Fairport Convention - Cajun Woman [02:45]
6. Fairport Convention - Who Knows Where the Time Goes [05:08]
7. Fairport Convention - Percy's Song [06:48]
8. Fairport Convention - Million Dollar Bash [02:55]
Playing Time.........: 39:13
Total Size...........: 367.88 MB
2014 limited edition Japanese pressing SHM-SACD in a papersleeve. Unhalfbricking was, if only in retrospect, 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. That shift wouldnâ™t be definitive until their next album, Liege & Lief. But the strongest link to the American folk-rock harmony approach left with the departure of Ian Matthews, who left shortly after the sessions for Unhalfbricking began.
The mixture of obscure American folk-rock songs, original material, and traditional interpretations that had fallen into place with What We Did on Our Holidays earlier in the year was actually…
still intact, if not as balanced. Sandy Dennyâ™s two compositions, her famous “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” and the far less celebrated but magnetically brooding “Autopsy,” were among the recordâ™s highlights.
So too were the goofball French Cajun cover of Bob Dylanâ™s “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” (here retitled “Si Tu Dois Partir,” and a British hit) and the magnificent reading of Dylanâ™s “Percyâ™s Song,” though the bash through Dylanâ™s “Million Dollar Bash” was less effective. Richard Thompsonâ™s pair of songs, however, were less memorable. The clear signpost to the future was their 11-minute take on the traditional song “A Sailorâ™s Life,” with guest fiddle by Dave Swarbrick, soon to join Fairport himself and make his own strong contribution toward reshaping the bandâ™s sound.