UNHALFBRICKING

This was the very first Fairport Convention album I ever owned. My parents were mentioning me about them in the early '90s as they apparently owned Liege & Lief at one time, likely in the early '70s. I noticed how much the rock critics were praising this band, at least when Sandy Denny was with them (they weren't so keen on the stuff after she left). In 1993 I bought Unhalfbricking on cassette. Ian Matthews had already left, with Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Ashley Hutchings, Martin Lamble, with Dave Swarbrick as guest. When I listened to it, I thought it wasn't bad but I failed to understand the hype. "Genesis Hall" and "Autopsy" were nice songs, and they obviously weren't taking themselves too seriously singing a Dylan tune in French, "Si Tu Tois Partir". Then there's "A Sailor's Life", a traditional song that clearly points at the direction they would be heading on their next album. The band really gets serious on jamming at the end, never going into one of those lethargic Grateful Dead type jams. "Cajun Woman" is obviously rather Cajun sounding, complete with accordion. "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" wasn't originally recorded by Fairport, as Judy Collins did a version of it in '68 from the album of the same name, so it looks like Sandy Denny, like Joni Mitchell, were known by singer/songwriters before they started recording albums and becoming known to the public. I really have a difficult time with "Percy's Song", a Dylan song. It's just way too repetitive and goes on for far too long, with a rather annoying chorus. This, in itself, makes me feel Unhalfbricking was overrated. Then you have another Dylan song, "Million Dollar Bash" which is much more fun to listen to. I have to say, for the prog inclined, "Genesis Hall", "Autopsy" and "A Sailor's Life" are worth hearing from a prog-folk point of view. Most of the rest is still good other than "Percy's Song". Mainly good album, but little did I know what's in store with their next album.