UNHALFBRICKING

Another good Fairport "transitional" album. This band was, by this time, miles away from the sound of their first album, but didn't developed their "definitive" folk-rock signature sound. This was Martin Lamble's swan song (he died shortly after this release in a car accident - he was only 19), and the remastered version's booklet shows his picture as background at pages 2, 4, 6, 10, 12 and 14 but, strangely, Ashley Hutchings's notes didn't mention that fact. There are three Dylan songs among eight (and another one as a bonus track), including "Si Tu Dois Partir", a French version of "If You Gotta Go, Go Now", which was a Top 40 single. Highlights: "A Sailor's Life", "Genesis Hall", "Autopsy" and "Who Knows Where Time Goes?". This album is not as good as "What We Did..." or "Liege and Lief", although it's still great. But, how many bands released three great albums in a year?