Label: Hux Records (UK), HUX 037
Style: Jazz Rock, Progressive Rock
Country: Canterbury, England
Time: 66:50, 60:54
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 414, 401 Mb
For
a band who, in their 'classic' guise, only released four (handily
numbered) albums, the recent flurry of releases surrounding the Soft
Machine may seem like an unwarranted bit of nostalgia. Especially as
many of these have been some rather unpleasant bootleg-quality
travesties. But this is most definitely not one of them. Hux Records
have finally completed a job attempted by the label, Strange Fruit (The
Peel Sessions) in the early 90s. At last those in the know can luxuriate
in the lost aural treasures that have been mouldering in the BBC
vaults. And for the rest of you, here's as good a place to start digging
the Canterbury scene as any...
The aforementioned Peel Sessions
album featured most of the same material, but, sadly, missed out on the
really early gems from 1967 that still featured Kevin Ayers on bass. At
this point the band were more psychedelic fledglings than soaring prog
jazz birds of paradise. Yet it's interesting to see how, even at this
early stage, the bands' shorter songs seemed oddly bereft when shorn of
their live extemporised (and chemically enhanced) surroundings. Work
such as ''A Certain Kind'' or ''Hope For Happiness'' operate far better
in the context of their first album, blended into continuous, more
jazzy, pieces. In fact,when the Softs returned to the BBC with new
bassist Hugh Hopper they were performing nothing under 12 minutes. That
aside, Ayers' quirkiness is light relief compared to the growling,
humourless beast that the band had become just prior to drummer Robert
Wyatt's departure.
After Kevin only Wyatt's Mockney ramblings kept
the eccentric flag flying. Just compare his classic post modern
re-writing of ''Moon In June'' ('We're free to play almost as long and
as loud as a jazz group, or an orchestra on Radio 3. There are
dancehalls and theatres with acoustics worse than here, not forgetting
the extra facilities such as the tea machine, just along the corridor')
with the admittedly marvellous, yet po-faced dissonance of ''Neo-Caliban
Grides'' or ''Eamonn Andrews/All White'' on disc two.
It's obvious
that it was only Hopper who was bridging the gap between Wyatt's wayward
approach and Mike Ratledge's virtuoso noodling. One can only imagine
Mike's chagrin at performing Robert's early, full vocal version of the
erotic song, "Instant Pussy".
However, this is music of a wholly
original hue. As an overview of a band rapidly expanding its horizons
(and line-up, as we get the full seven-piece with brass section stuff as
well) it's well-nigh unbeatable. Beginners may well be scared by the
intricacies and oddly emotionless explorations contained herein. But
perseverance is recommended. You won't be sorry...
(bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/2gdp/)
01. Clarence In Wonderland (02:57)
02. We Know What You Mean (03:11)
03. Certain Kind (03:38)
04. Hope For Happiness (04:37)
05. Strangest Scene (AKA Lullaby Letter) (04:55)
06. Facelift / Mousetrap / Noisette / Backwards / Mousetrap Reprise (11:54)
07. The Moon In June (13:02)
08. Instant Pussy (03:19)
09. Slightly All The Time / Out Bloody Rageous / Eamonn Andrews (19:14)
01. Virtually (09:58)
02. Fletcher's Blemish (12:11)
03. Neo-Caliban Grides (07:34)
04. Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening (02:46)
05. Eamonn Andrews/All White (07:11)
06. Mousetrap:Noisette:Backwards:Mousetrap Reprise:Esther's Nose Job (21:11)
CD1: TurboBit FikPer FilesPayout DailyUploads
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