Unhalfbricking - Fairport Convention (1969)
Fairport dropped 3 records in 1969. This was the second of them, recorded before their drummer’s untimely death later that year.
Singer Sandy Denny (o_O) takes lead vocals on most tracks. Her voice is plaintive and honest, and gives kind of a haunting feel to the songs.
Speaking of which, there are several Bob Dylan songs here including a couple that had come from the Basement Tapes sessions and wouldn’t be released by Dylan for several years. In fact, they wound up with nearly half the record made up of Dylan songs. Percy’s Song is a standout, as well as Si Tu Dois Partir, an ad hoc French translation of If You Gotta Go, Go Now. Not originally on the album but now included is their version of JWH’s Dear Landlord, another excellent Dylan tune.
The guitarist, Richard Thompson, I might have talked about here and there. This was early in his career, and he only contributes a couple of songs he wrote. He was already finding his unique folk rock guitar sound.
Tracks I Liked
Genesis Hall - an early template for Thompson’s songwriting: an emotional lyric about the struggles of life
Who Knows Where The Time Goes - a signature tune
Percy’s Song - an acoustic era Dylan tune, done up with some fantastic harmony.
