Unhalfbricking by Fairport Convention released on Island Records, 1969, value: first pressing, pink label £250; second pressing £100

A BAND often referred to as the unchallenged inventors and kings of folk rock, since their formation in 1967, have struggled through tragedy and many changes retaining the name that now represents not so much who is in the band, but what it stands for, writes MICHAEL BROOKES. Unhalfbricking was one of three albums all released in 1969 considered as Fairport Convention's finest work. If you look closely, there is no name or title on the album sleeve, a bold move for a little known band. It shows an elderly couple standing in the foreground while the group themselves are half hidden behind a trellis fence; these are the parents of singer Sandy Denny who lived in Arthur Road, Wimbledon, south London.

Shortly after the album's release, the group's transit van rolled over on the M1 killing drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson's girlfriend Jeannie Frankling, leaving the record release under a dark shadow. The band's early music was heavily influenced by American West Coast style of music covering Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell songs, but on this album they created an individual style of their own which melded folk music with quintessential English tunes and songs. They had their only chart hit with Si Tu Dois Partir (If You Gotta Go, Go Now) by Bob Dylan, sung in French with Cajun style guitar playing and violins in the background. It features a stack of chairs collapsing with a bottle smashing that were left in, making it a really unique recording. Dylan absolutely loved it!

The highlight of the album is the beautiful song Who Knows Where The Time Goes written and performed by Sandy Denny. A demo of the song found its way into the hands of singer Judy Collins who chose to record it as a title track of an album of her own. This song gave Denny international exposure as a songwriter before she had become widely known as a singer. Most of her later songs detail her personal preoccupations, loss, loneliness, fear of the dark, the passing of time and the changing of the seasons. In 1978 she died suddenly from a cerebral haemorrhage after falling down a flight of stairs, a sad loss to the music world.

To date, Fairport Convention have released a total of 28 albums and they are still performing with founder members Simon Nicol and Dave Pegg at the helm of the band. Tour dates are arranged for 2018.