Monday, November 7, 2011

45th... The values of England



Unhalfbricking.

This album is one of the most influential I've ever heard. It (with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan) was my door into folk rock. From the entrancing beauty of this little CD a place was made next to art rock that led me to discover or re-discover such artists as Drake, Mitchell, Cohen and the Thompsons.

In 1969, the album rather marked a tragic turning in the band. Two months prior to release, a car crash killed drummer Martin Lamble (Richard Thompson's girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn also died). While Fairport Convention continued, they dove straight into traditional English folk tunes and left this brief, beautiful era for good.

Besides Lamble, not even 20 years old, the band at the time had Ashley Hutchings on bass; two guitarists/odd instrumentalists, Simon Nichol and Richard Thompson; and Sandy Denny, taking over the lead vocals after the departure of original singer Iain Matthews. It's Sandy who's the star of Unhalfbricking - she invented the nonsense title; it's her parents, Neil and Edna, pictured (in Wimbledon, no less); and it's her coolly restrained yet incredibly warm voice that you'll first notice when you hear the record.

The material is, shall we say, eccentric? Several loopy covers of obscure Dylan tunes, one traditional ballad, two songs each from Sandy and Richard's pens. Somehow they mesh into a beautifully structured, cohesive record where a gentle humour offsets and heightens the grace of the serious songs. And if I was asked what I found so attractive about folk, I would answer twofold: grace and a powerful quietude.

Genesis Hall contains both those elements; a tale of injustice, prejudice and the oppression of the poor. Restraint is evident everywhere, from Richard's lyric, which refuses to exaggerate, to Lamble's drumming, steady and sure, rising to accent the drama without overwhelming it. There have been many self-assured opening tracks on CD. but the only one I can think of to match the somber expressiveness of Genesis Hall is Nick Drake's Time Has Told Me.

Si Tu Dois Partir is one of the most affectionate Dylan covers to grace the list. "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" is sung in French, in a careless harmony. It's like a lovable bunch of partygoers: they laugh, smash the wineglasses, forget the lines and substitute "la la las" and sing together. It's a very peaceful, goodnatured song - heaven knows what it's actually about.

Autopsy is a Sandy Denny original. It begins at a swift tempo, driven along by guitars before slowing down for an extended, jazzy section featuring gorgeous guitar work. Sandy takes up a clinical study of a depressed, perhaps self-involved friend. Compassion is masked under cautionary advice. Vocally, perhaps Sandy's best showcase herein and fascinating to hear on multiple levels.

A Sailor's Life may seem at first too long. The trick to appreciate its length (11 minutes) is to take it as a painting with each note as a stroke of paint. You can hear the prologue, the ship setting out, the waves rolling, the space, Sandy as the tragic heroine of a ballad of near fable-like simplicity, her voice causing chills before she sinks from sight and the sea takes over completely... Unhalfbricking's center, plus, there's great Thompson guitar and it's a one take recording.

Side 2 gets off to a rollicking start with Cajun Woman. Dave Swarbrick guests with spirited fiddle (he also guests for Si Tu and Percy), he'd later join the band proper. Handclaps, slide guitar, "ba-ooms" a-plenty and a fun lyric from Richard. "He grew up in the bayou with a Bible round his neck/and never loved a woman in the way you would expect." These fellows had a sense of humour, and know when to lighten the mood.

Who Knows Where the Time Goes is Sandy Denny's signature song, one she'd been in the habit of performing the past few years, introduced to the world at large by Judy Collins. "Sad deserted shore/your fickle friends are leaving/ah, but then you know/it's time for them to go/but I will still be here/I have no thought of leaving/I do not count the time..." Sandy could do amazing things with covers. but it's in her original material that her voice best shines. A luminous song.

Rounding out the album with Dylan. Percy's Song. Another dramatic prologue, but overall very formalistic, with the verse and chorus endlessly intertwined. A story of outrageous injustice. a man in a car crash sentenced to 99 years in prison for manslaughter. Myself, I've always speculated (superfluously) if the judge presiding didn't lose someone in that crash...

Million Dollar Bash is the last comedy, Dylan's word soup served up in style with Swarbrick on mandolin and a few men in the band chiming in for the raggedy verses. The party from Si Tu Dois Partir in English and a great way to cap off an incredible record.

Fairport's finest, one of my my favorite CDs, and probably in the top five best "folk" albums ever made.

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