Fairport Convention – Unhalfbricking (Island 1969)

‘Unhalfbricking’ is the second album by Fairport Convention – the most well known folk rock band ever. It is by many people considered a masterpiece and a cornerstone in folk rock, but personally I have always found it to be a wildly uneven album. Which is a crying shame, because the best songs here are absolutely phenomenal! Let’s get the negative points out of the way first. As I mentioned: The songwriting here is certainly uneven. ‘Cajun Woman’ and ‘Million Dollar Bash’ are both pure fillers, and irritating as well. But the worst one is ‘Percy’s Song’. This song is WAY to repetitive, and the fact that it’s nearly seven minutes long doesn’t exactly help! Also, the melody in itself is simply weak and unengaging to my ears. The short ‘Si Tu Dois Partir’ could also be considered filler, but this one I like a bit better at least. It’s simply a cheerful little song, and the glassbreaking midway through always gives me a smile. Now, on to the really GREAT songs: The opener ‘Genesis Hall’ is laidback and slightly melancholic folk that grabs you. Even better is ‘Autopsy’, which has to rank among their best songs ever. Wonderful singing by Sandy Denny (R.I.P.) on this one, and I especially like when the song turns into this jazzy thing. Great guitar work by the legendary Richard Thompson here. But his greatest moment on the album is without a doubt the epic, 11-minutes long ‘A Sailor’s Tale’. It just builds and builds, gets louder and louder, and features awesome melodic themes as well. This is driving folk rock of the highest order! But my personal favourite on the album (and I would guess most folks’ favourite) is clearly ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes?’ Sandy Denny – certainly one of the best and most well respected folk singers that have ever walked on this earth – sings it with so much feeling, so much resigned sadness, that it cannot help but move even the coldest of hearts. It’s simply one of my all time favourite songs by anyone. Truly legendary stuff. So, there is much to enjoy on this album, but the uneven songwriting drags the overall impression down for me, I’m afraid. Thankfully, the band would strike back and create some totally flawless albums already the same year.