Fairport Convention / Unhalfbricking Original 1st Pressing UK Vinyl LP VGC

	£		35
	$		46

Fairport Convention – Unhalfbricking

Re-listed owing to buyer request to cancel.

This is an original 1969 first pressing on the Island “block” label, sporting A1/B1 matrices, highly-prized and sought-after, not just for the fabulous performances and music but for its superior sonics.

A little bit of history about this copy :

It was sold to me by a seller on eBay who was a little more parsimonious in his descriptions than I am. He described it as ‘excellent’, despite being filthy, crackly and above all - warped. Although I challenged him, for whatever reason I did not pursue it, probably owing to a lack of time.

I resolved to do something about it and eventually sent it off to a company who flatten records. In addition to my own efforts, they also professionally cleaned it. It cost 21 pounds to have it flattened and when it came back, it was MUCH better but still clearly warped. So it was with some surprise when recently I pulled it out to play and found that it had continued to improve while stored on my shelves !

There remains the *slightest* warp when playing Side One and none at all when playing Side Two.

So far, so good. Since then I have acquired an ultrasonic machine of my own and have cleaned it many times, it’s now as good as it will ever be.

It plays without skips, jumps, sticks or major scratches. The sound is rich and detailed and as you can see in these photos, it looks great, but then so do most photographed records. My photos do not ‘form part of the description’.

Despite deep cleaning, there still remains a not-insignificant level of crackle which can be heard especially on tracks like “Time Goes”.

In fact , it’s probably wrong to describe it as crackle as that would suggest permanent background noise, rather it is intermittent clicks and pops.

I stress that it does not take away from the music which is powerful ; when the track is busy, like ‘Genesis Hall’ it is barely noticeable but can be heard on quieter passages.

I’d also like to point out that I play it *very* loud, so clearly the clicks increase at the same time as the music. Your listening habits may be different.

To recap, it’s definitely no longer dirty or warped and plays all the way through with NO jumps, skips or horrendous scratches. It does play with clicks and ticks.

I’m now selling it because I have finally acquired a better copy and need to recoup some funds in my quest for an original. I paid 50 pounds on eBay for this and a further 21 to have it flattened. Many copies have an asking price of 100 to 200 pounds in this condition. I am starting the bidding at 34.99.

The sleeve, ever flimsy, is more than decent front and back while the spine has degraded somewhat as can be seen in the photos. It is the original sleeve with the large E.J. Day printer credit.

A more than very good copy going for a … well, nine songs.

A1 Genesis Hall

Written-By – Richard Thompson

3:35

A2 Si Tu Dois Partir

Written-By – Bob Dylan

2:19

A3 Autopsy

Written-By – Sandy Denny

4:21

A4 A Sailor's Life

Arranged By – Fairport*

Written-By – Trad.*

11:09

B1 Cajun Woman

Written-By – Richard Thompson

2:43

B2 Who Knows Where The Time Goes

Written-By – Sandy Denny

5:07

B3 Percy's Song

Written-By – Bob Dylan

6:50

B4 Million Dollar Bash

Written-By – Bob Dylan

2:55

Record Company – Island Records Ltd.

Printed By – Ernest J. Day & Co. Ltd.

Made By – Ernest J. Day & Co. Ltd.

Produced For – Witchseason Productions

Engineered At – Sound Techniques, London

Published By – Warlock Music

Published By – Feldmans Music

Published By – Leeds Music

Published By – Blossom Music

Lacquer Cut At – Philips Records Ltd.

Pressed By – Philips Records Ltd.

Design [Sleeve Design] – Diogenic Attempts Ltd.

Engineer – John Wood

Fiddle – Dave Swarbrick (tracks: A2, A4, B1)

Mandolin – Dave Swarbrick (tracks: B4)

Performer – Ashley Hutchings, Martin Lamble, Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny, Simon Nicol

Photography By – Eric Hayes

Producer – Fairport Convention, Joe Boyd, Simon*

Triangle – Trevor Lucas (tracks: A2)

Vocals – Ian Matthews* (tracks: B3), Marc Ellington (tracks: B4)

First pressing released on pink Island ''block'' logo label design. and large font text ERNEST J DAY & CO LTD on rear sleeve.