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Rating: Think of something truly British... done?
Yes, yes, the pudding. And the Fairport Convention. Now think of the most British cover that comes to mind... nothing? "Unhalfbricking." A play on words, a quiet picnic on the grass. An elderly couple, distinguished, smiles quietly at the gate, unaware of the revolution brewing behind them.
"Genesis Hall," and everything begins. An electrified chant, a lysergic lullaby. Sandy Denny's voice is a whisper that caresses the low tones, and as it rises, it gains body, becoming dense and thick, while swaying, it tells of despair, empathy, and hope. Bread, love, and... fruit jam. And then again and again, Bob Dylan, three more transformed pieces. Still love, innocent unconditional adoration for overseas music. And the innocent, direct, and bold gusto of making music for the simple pleasure of playing. Their version of "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" is a village festival, a tavern chorus in halting French, complete with accordion, triangle, and clapping hands. "Autopsy" gradually reveals its measured elegance as, rarefied, the melody emerges. There are bands that need 20-minute tracks, a thousand notes, a thousand tempo changes to express themselves. And bands that only need a shift in accent, a whisper, a slight inflection of voice to create fairy tale worlds. A reverb lightly cuts through the air, and Martin Lamble's refined 5/4 melts into a simple 4/4, with the snare on the third beat. In the middle, like in a hallucinatory tale, "A Sailor's Life", where almost shyly the words emerge: traditional, arr. by Fairport Convention. A psychotic trip with neither beginning nor end, eleven minutes of trance in a journey to the center of the earth, between India and smoky English pubs, infinite loops of violin and guitar accompany pagan liturgies, Vedic chants on the fields of Albion. In light of what was about to happen, "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?" sounds almost mocking:
in the evening sky
all the birds are leaving
how do they know
it's time to go?
(...)
I am not alone if my love is here with me
I know it will be this way, until it's time to leave
so winter storms will come, and then birds again in spring
I am not afraid of time
who knows where the time goes?
It was 1969. They were five English kids in love with American songwriters and the folklore of their land. And this was an album still unripe, immature. Time would bring them misfortune, maturity, and disillusionment. Soon a terrible car accident would take away Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson's girlfriend. A slap in the face that swept away the innocence from their faces, bringing these shy English boys out of limbo. "Liege & Lief" was the creation of this troubled birth, but that's another story.
"Unhalfbricking" is a quiet revolution, still young and carefree, full of compromises and slight imperfections. A cushioned oasis of incaution. A mild, peaceful revolution, naive and unripe. An ageless album, 100 years old and just born. To be listened to in 10, 20, 70 years, to be listened to when you're old to remember, for a moment, that spark in the eyes, that unconscious enthusiasm, that youth that each of us has grasped and felt full and whole, even just once.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Genesis Hall (03:41)
My father he rides with your sheriffs
And I know he would never mean harm
But to see both sides of a quarrel
Is to judge without hate or love
Oh, oh, helpless and slow
And you don’t have anywhere to go
You take away homes from the homeless
And leave them to die in the cold
The gypsy who begs for your presents
He will laugh in your face when you’re old
Oh, oh, helpless and slow
And you don’t have anywhere to go
Well one man he drinks up his whiskey
Another he drinks up his wine
And they’ll drink ‘till their eyes are red with hate
For those of a different kind
Oh, oh, helpless and slow
And you don’t have anywhere to go
When the rivers run thicker than trouble
I’ll be there at your side in the flood
T’was all I could do to keep myself
From taking revenge on your blood
Oh, oh, helpless and slow
And you don’t have anywhere to go
Oh, oh, helpless and slow
And you don’t have anywhere to go
02 Si tu dois partir (02:25)
C'est pas que je te demande
Que faire que tu ne jamais fais
C'est seulement qu'il fait trop tard
Et il fait trop noir pour trouver la porte
Mais si tu dois partir, va t'en
Mais si tu dois partir, va t'en
Si non, tu dois rester la nuit
C'est pas que je te demande
De prendre part dans ce jeu
C'est seulement je n'ai pas de montre
Comme toujours faire le par contre
Mais si tu dois partir, va t'en
Mais si tu dois partir, va t'en
Si non, tu dois rester la nuit
Tu sais j'aurais des cauchemars
Et aussi mauvaise conscience
Si je t'emp�che de faire
Ce que vraiment tu esp�re
Mais si tu dois partir, va t'en
Mais si tu dois partir, va t'en
Si non, tu dois rester la nuit
03 Autopsy (04:27)
You must philosophise
But why must you bore me to tears?
You're red around the eyes
You tell me things no one else hears
You spend all your time crying
Crying the hours in tears
Crying the hours in tears
Come lend your time to me
And you will know that you are free
And when you look at me
Don't think you're owning what you see
For remember that you're free
And that's what you want to be
So just lend your time to me
You must philosophise
But why must you bore me to tears?
You're red around the eyes
You tell me things no one else hears
You spend all your time crying
Crying the hours in tears
Crying the hours in to ears
04 A Sailor's Life (11:20)
A sailor's life, it is a merry life
He robs young girls of their heart's delight
Leaving them behind to weep and mourn
They never know when they will return
"Well, there's four and twenty all in a row
My true love he makes the finest show
He's proper, tall, genteel withal
And if I don't have him, I'll have none at all"
"Oh, father build for me a bonny boat
That on the wide ocean I may float
And every Queen's ship that we pass by
There I'll inquire for my sailor boy"
They had not sailed long upon the deep
When a Queen's ship they chanced to meet
"You sailors all, pray tell me true
Does my sweet William sail among your crew?"
"Oh no, fair maiden, he is not here
For he's been drownded, we greatly fear
On yon green island, as we passed it by
There we lost sight of your sailing boy"
Well, she rung her hands and she tore her hair
She was like a young girl in great despair
And her little boat against a rock did run
"How can I live now? My sweet William is gone"
05 Cajun Woman (02:45)
The baby that the preacher gave you in the Spring
Spent the winter with his finger in the undertaker's ring
Oh Cajun woman, some people still call you a queen
I don’t believe you’re sinking but look at all the trouble you’ve been
He grew up in the bayou with a bible ‘round his neck
He never loved a woman the way you would expect
Oh Cajun woman, some people still call you a queen
I don’t believe you’re sinking but look at all the trouble you’ve been
Don't tell him 'bout his Father, don't tell him 'bout his name
The Gods won't get to Heaven if you crucify his brain
Oh Cajun woman, some people still call you a queen
I don’t believe you’re sinking but look at all the trouble you’ve been
Well it’s welcome to the graveyard and welcome to the throne
Welcome to the orphanage where your family sit and moan
Welcome to the liquor stile and welcome to the poor
Your momma never told you how lucky you are
Oh Cajun woman, some people still call you a queen
06 Who Knows Where the Time Goes (05:13)
Across the evening sky, all the birds are leaving
But how can they know it's time for them to go?
Before the winter fire, I will still be dreaming
I have no thought of time
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?
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
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?
And I am not alone while my love is near me
I know it will be so until it's time to go
So come the storms of winter and then the birds in spring again
I have no fear of time
For who knows how my love grows?
And who knows where the time goes?
08 Million Dollar Bash (02:56)
Well, that big dumb blonde with Gorgeous George
And Turtle, a friend of theirs, with his cheques all forged
And his cheeks in a trunk with a cheese in the cash
You're all gonna be there at that million dollar bash, and it's
(Chorus)
Ooh baby, ooh-ee
Ooh baby, ooh-ee
It's that million dollar bash
Everybody from right now go over there and back
The louder they come, well the bigger they crack
Come now, ?sweet pea?, and don't forget the flash
We're all gonna meet at that million dollar bash
(Chorus)
Well, I took my counsellor out to the barn
Silly Nelly was there, she told him a yarn
Then along came Jones and emptied the trash
Everybody went down to that million dollar bash
(Chorus)
Well, I been hittin' it too hard, you know, my ?sloes? won't take
I get up in the morning, bit too early to wake
First it's "Hello", then "Goodbye", they push and they crash
But everybody's gonna make it to that million dollar bash
(Chorus)
Well, I looked at my watch then I looked at my wrists
Punched myself in my face with my fists and I
Took my taters back a-home to be mashed
But then I made it right on to that million dollar bash
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
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By Mariaelena
How beautiful is "Unhalfbricking" that I can listen to it over and over and never get bored, it’s fantastic, I love it!
The instruments are soft and imprisoned in the dazzling voice.
