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 wouldn't be definitive until their next album,
Liege & Lief
. But the strongest link to the American
harmony approach left with the departure of
Ian Matthews
, who left shortly after the sessions for
began. The mixture of obscure American
songs, original material, and
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 Denny
's two compositions, her famous
"Who Knows Where the Time Goes?"
and the far less celebrated but magnetically brooding
"Autopsy,"
were among the record's highlights. So too were the goofball French
Cajun
cover of
Bob Dylan
's
"If You Gotta Go, Go Now"
(here retitled
"Si Tu Dois Partir,"
and a British hit) and the magnificent reading of
Dylan
"Percy's Song,"
though the bash through
"Million Dollar Bash"
was less effective.
Richard Thompson
's pair of songs, however, were less memorable. The clear signpost to the future was their 11-minute take on the
song
"A Sailor's Life,"
with guest fiddle by
Dave Swarbrick
, soon to join
Fairport
himself and make his own strong contribution toward reshaping the band's sound. ~ Richie Unterberger