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- WHAT'S RATTLIN' ?
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:: The Weekly
Digest for Canterbury Music
Addicts ::
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Issue #
108
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Wednesday, October 28th,
1998
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From: "Aymeric Leroy" <bigbang@alpes-net.fr>
Subject: Canterbury in France and Belgium?!
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 22:54:51
Canterbury, the town, is probably not the best place to go
to hear our favourite musicians play their music... I understood
that somewhat bitterly visiting the capital of Kent back in 1991,
hoping to find lots of used Caravan and Soft Machine LPs and CDs
and even to meet Richard Sinclair or Hugh Hopper in the street
around the St.Dunstans area. The only thing remotely close to a
Canterbury souvenir was Camel's "Nude", which didn't even have
Richard Sinclair on it.
Anyway - since then, I've understood that trips to Holland
are much safer bets for my yearly dose of live Canterbury music.
But a few weeks ago I discovered that Belgium would be home to
several Canterbury or related gigs over a period of a few days,
with almost one concert each night - In Cahoots on two occasions,
Present (Belgian band featuring ex-Univers Zero members), Bondage
Fruit (Japanese band) and Magma...
Before taking the train to Brussels I went to Argenteuil,
in the Northwest suburbs of Paris, on October 16th, to see the
sextet version of In Cahoots. Pip Pyle had warned me that the
Belgian gigs would only have the horn-less quartet incarnation.
And I wanted to see both. There is a good account of the gig by
Ian Chippett below. I'm sorry I couldn't meet with either Ian or
Tom Landon as I didn't know they were coming and hadn't met them
before. Too bad! Before the gig and during the interval I briefly
interviewed Elton Dean, and hope to have the transcript of that in
the next issue. As regards Elton's projects, please refer to Age's
very useful contribution to this issue.
Here's the exact setlist played that night:
No Holds Barred - Big Dick - ED Or Ian - Half Life
[interval]
Above & Below - Billow - Digging In
[encore]
Parallel
Of particular note were Peter Lemer's long piano solo on
"NHB"; Pip's problems with his bass-drum pedal in "Big Dick" and
playing drums with mallets during Elton's saxello solo in "ED Or
Ian"; some excellent solos by Phil and Pete in the same piece; my
first experience of "Above & Below" played by the sextet (Jim
Dvorak didn't have anything to play until the reprise of the
introductory theme at the end - and that came after extended bass,
saxello, piano and moog solos); an extended jam during "Billow"; a
splendid guitar solo in "Digging In" supported by great brass
accompaniment from Elton and Jim; and Fred's fuzz bass solo in
"Parallel".
While walking out of the venue I noticed Patrice Meyer's
presence backstage. I later learned that he guested with the band
on the following night's gig. Also worth mentioning is Phil
Miller's plan to work on a guitar quartet project featuring
Patrice alongside Fred Baker and Caravan's Doug Boyle.
On Saturday 17th October I was in Brussels - the
Present/Bondage Fruit gig was very good, despite the bad sonic
conditions. Seeing legendary musicians like Roger Trigaux and
Daniel Denis on stage was great, if a little outside the scope of
this newsletter.
On the next day I moved on to Liege for the first Belgian
gig by In Cahoots, quartet version. No need to mention that the
guys were travelling on their own with Phil's wife Herm (she of
"Dada Soul" lyrics fame) taking care of the merchandising and
general cheering up. For the Liege gig it was not needed, as the
attendance was quite decent. The Cirque Divers is a nice little
bar, with a very small stage, not large enough for the full band
anyway.
The setlist was largely the same as Argenteuil's, although
of course there were more guitar and keyboard solos. Generally, I
found the band's music jazzier and more improvisation-based than
on the previous tour (thus less pieces played, each of them being
substantially longer). There was a bass solo in almost every song
for instance, and on most of them each member took solos in turns.
I for one can't get enough of Miller's soloing; and it's nice to
hear more of Peter Lemer's piano playing.
The setlist :
No Holds Barred - Parallel - Half Life - Digging In
[interval]
Above And Below - Big Dick - ED Or Ian - Your Root 2
[encore]
Eastern Region
The inclusion of "Eastern Region" was a welcome surprise.
Phil told me after the gig that he likes reviving old pieces in
that fashion. "We don't tour that often", he said, "so it's good
to change things a little each time". Peter Lemer's moog soloing
was marvelous on this tune, capturing all the magic of the
original from "Cutting Both Ways".
I spent most of Monday afternoon shopping with Peter
Lemer, who was looking for rap/techno CDs and comics for his
13-year-old son. While walking around town we came upon a "Jazz
Museum" which we visited, and discovered they actually had a copy
of Peter's solo album (a jazz quintet record) from 1966. Peter
told me the original master tapes to that album have just been
recovered, along with bonus material. So a new CD reissue may be
released sometime in the future.
Tuesday 20th was Magma day in Brussels. The problem was -
In Cahoots also played in Brussels that night. I'd chosen Magma,
obviously... and so had 99,99% of the potential audience for In
Cahoots' gig... Only I (and my Japanese friend Hiroshi Masuda)
went to the Travers club straight after the end of Magma's
(superb, as always) performance. Only to discover with much
sadness that the audience was almost outnumbered by the players
onstage. Yes - only four people in the audience... and one of them
was Herm Miller. In Cahoots were beginning the second set with
"Above And Below", almost like a rehearsal. Despite the low
attendance, they played superbly, possibly even better than in
Liege. Pip seemed the most pissed off of all. When he briefly
introduced the band to the "audience" at the end, he even included
my name... Hopes that some of the Magma crowd (about 500 people!)
would join us disappeared as the gig went on. Six people was the
maximum crowd that night. In this private session, we were treated
to "Fred's Samba" (a/k/a "On The Up Side Of Things"), "E Dorian"
and "Big Dick". No encores, obviously. And a good opportunity to
chat with the band. Everyone was visibly disappointed, but nice as
ever.
Back to France then, to see "my" band Forgas Band
Phenomena (whose debut album, "Roue Libre", featuring ex-Gong
vibes player Mireille Bauer, was released on my label Cosmos
Music) open for John Wetton's Band. A performance featuring only
brand-new material from the forthcoming second album, to be
recorded in December or January. And some of the best Canterbury
music to be heard these days, in my humble opinion. I had the
pleasure of meeting a Norwegian Canterbury enthusiast who had
learned of the gig via Calyx.
I finally got back home on Monday - in my mailbox, copies
of Brian Hopper's "Canterburied Sounds" volumes 1 & 2; and
Caravan's "Ether Way", the second volume of their BBC recordings.
Wow! "Canterburied Sound" is a must-have for all Canterbury
diehards. The sound quality is rarely above mediocre, I must say,
but hearing the earliest recordings by Wyatt, Ayers, Ratledge,
Hopper and others is a unique opportunity. There's a lot of live
stuff by Caravan (the equivalent of a full album spread over the
four volumes), at last the original version of "Instant Pussy" by
Robert Wyatt... and much much more. As for "Ether Way", it has
recordings from the 1975-77 era, the beginning of the band's pop
period, but still with great progressive stuff. The versions of
tracks from "Blind Dog" are in my opinion superior to the
originals. And the sound quality is superb.
Well, I'll stop here for now. Another big issue of WR
follows, for your enjoyment. Oh, one last thing : on his Musart
noticeboard, Mark Hewins mentions the recent visit of Richard
Sinclair at his London headquarters for a night jam. Hopefully
this means that Rich is keen on doing some music again. I keep my
fingers crossed...
Aymeric
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From: "David Kipling" <dkipling@bcit.bc.ca>
Subject: Canterbury favourites
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1998 13:59:31 -0700
Best Canterbury album and gig(s) = Centipede. My
hair still stands on end.
We're all old guys, right?
Can anyone back up my battered memory: that in 1969 I saw
EGG, with Doctor Strangely Strange play a gig at a CHURCH in
Redhill, Surrey? Vicar was moving on to parishes new and his son
had sweet-talked him into the loan of one C-of-E nave-and-chancel,
loud music for the use of. Bass player in the pulpit. Ring any
bells? (Memory ones, I mean)
Who's alive any more from the old Brotherhood of Breath?
Breaks my heart.
I lived, live, a typical anti-jazz joke experience.
1970-ish, a Keith Tippett trio in Bristol; break for
beer; me and buddy chatting in the front row while
Keith fiddles in his piano sound board, the percussionist adjusts
and tinkers, the bass tunes; after a bit, a lot of SHHH's
from around us. Yes, folks, mister clever jazz fiend was oblivious
to the second session starting. Oh well.
David Kipling
BC, Canada
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From: alanmack@juno.com
Subject: Canterbury favourites
Date: Sun, 18 Oct 1998 14:03:54 -0500
I have been subscibing to What's Rattling for a couple of
months now, and I have finally been inspired to write in.
As I was reading Tom's message (TALandon@aol.com on
10/12/98) I kept asking myself, "Did I write this?". I
wholeheartedly agree witn his three album choices. I can't
say it any better. And for me, the definitive Canterbury
"sound" is that great organ sound(s) as played by Mike Ratledge,
Dave Sinclair and Dave Stewart. I could go on, but as I said, Tom
said it all.
Alan
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From: Age Rotshuizen <age@cable.A2000.nl>
Subject: In Cahoots live/Seven Year Itch
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 13:14:26 +0100
Hello Rattlers,
Three days ago I went to see In Cahoots in Rotterdam. They
played a gig in a small jazzcafé downtown and the lineup included
Elton Dean & Jim Dvorak (previous time I saw them, it was just
Phil, Pip, Pete & Fred). The gig was well attended, although
that might be due to the fact that there was no entry fee.
The first set was briljant, the second set even better. On
stage In Cahoots sounds much more like a jazz band than in the
studio. There's lots of improvising, soloing and interaction
between the bandmembers and sometimes I was really struck by the
music (for instance when Dean played a freejazz solo with Baker
improvising on fretless fuzzbass behind him. Or watching Pip Pyle
playing polyrhythmic drumpatterns apparantly without difficulty).
The setlist included: Above & Below, No Holds Barred, Digging
In, Your Roots 2 and all tracks from Parallel (except Sitdown).
And a track introduced as "Big Nick" (I must have heard it wrong,
'cause that's a Coltrane tune).
[This is actually Peter Lemer's composition "Big Dick",
dedicated to Colosseum's Dick Heckstall-Smith - AL]
Afterwards I've got a chance to update my Canterbury
collection with Pip's solo album (see review below), Elton's new
CD (Headless Quartet / Culture Press 1998) and Split Seconds (to
complete my Phil Miller collection).
I talked for a short while with Fred Baker, who was
pleasantly surprised I asked him to sign Parallel. He told me his
solo-album "Basically Speaking" will be released on CD by
Voiceprint next year.
Elton Dean told me Voiceprint is going to release a Musart
studio session with Hewins, Baker & Mark Sanders this year and
FMR will release another Dean/Riley Quartet CD early 1999. He's
planning to continue playing with the Headless Quartet (originally
Dean/Maguire/Bellatalla/Sanders), replacing Bianco by Sanders on
drums and there are plans for getting Newsense back together to
play a couple of gigs (although nothing is definitive).
Finally I had a long chat with Jim Dvorak, the mysterious
member of the band. To my surprise he was born and raised in
Brooklyn NY and moved to England in the early 70s to play with
Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath.
Next to In Cahoots (he describes Phil's music as
"extremely hard to play") he plays in Elton Dean's Newsense and in
the Bardo State Orchestra. The BSO is a collaboration of three
well-known jazzmusicians (Dvorak, Marcio Mattos & Ken Hyder)
with a couple of Tibetan monks playing local instruments.
More information on the homepages of Mattos:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/marimattos/
and Hyder:
http://www.hyder.demon.co.uk/
REVIEW: PIP PYLE - SEVEN YEAR ITCH (Voiceprint 1998)
At last it's here, the drummer's solo-album. Seven years
in the making and an all-star cast make this a record to look
forward to. And it pays off well, lots of excellent tracks
including Shipwrecked, Foetal Fanfare Fandango & Strawberry
Fields Forever.
tracks (rating out of 5):
* 7 Sisters - A great ballad which reminds me of RSVP due
to Richard Sinclair handling lead vocals. There's some beautiful
soloing by Dave Stewart on piano and Phil Miller on guitar. And,
yes that's right, it's the original Hatfield together again on
this track!
(rating: ****)
* Chinese Whispers - It took me some time to get used to
Jakszyk's vocal, but after that this song isn't getting much
better. It just gets on and on. Highlight is the guitarsolo by
Phil Miller (15 seconds).
(rating: **)
* Strawberry Fields Forever - Sung by Barbara Gaskin.
Well, they don't outdo The Beatles, but the last part is totally
freaked out (with even Phlâkatön passing by!) and then Pip &
friends (notably Stewart, Hopper & Greaves) outdo The Beatles
after all.
(rating: ****)
* Seven Year Itch - Nightmarish kind of song with John
Greaves on vocals. It can be useful scaring the hell out of your
kids, but it's not my type of music. (rating: ***)
* I'm Really Okay - This is mostly a Stewart & Gaskin
track (with Pierre Marcault on percussion & Pip on cymbals),
although Pip wrote it (of course). It's a nice ballad with a
superb keyboardsolo by Dave that really stunned me the first time
I heard it (actually the first time I noticed it was a keyboard
and not a bassoon or something like that). Gaskin's backing vocals
are kind of like the Beach Boys.
(rating: ****)
* Once Around The Shelves - Instrumental track. Jakszyk's
guitar sounds like Allan Holdsworth is playing on this one. After
his solo it's Fred Baker playing a, well, typical Fred T. Baker
solo.
(rating: ****)
* Long On - This song has Jakko Jakszyk on vocals again.
Pip has the ability to write quite harmonic & melodic brass
sections without getting too slick. Paul Rogers plays a beautiful
solo on double bass using a bow, with Fred Baker joining in near
the end.
(rating: ****)
* Shipwrecked (with Idle Hands) - This song was previously
recorded on the Hatfield 1990 Live CD. This version has Jakszyk on
vocals, Baker on bass (Sinclair joins on backing vocals) and a
brass section. Terrific soloing again by Phil Miller & Dave
Stewart.
(rating: *****)
* L'Etat Des Choses - Pip & Hugh playing with
keyboards, tapes, fuzz, wahwah and samples. This is my favourite
track on the album, although I think most people find this a load
of bull.
(rating: *****)
* Foetal Fanfare Fandango - This is great too. Pip leading
some sort of drunk fanfare orchestra - This could be a track from
a Carla Bley record!
(rating: *****)
There's a lot of different styles of music on this record,
heavily influenced by the musicians playing on it. That makes it
hard to give a overall opinion. Sometimes it sounds like RSVP
(Sinclair or Jakszyk singing) or a Stewart/Gaskin album (Gaskin
singing). As I've just mentioned the last track sounds like Carla
Bley or Willem Breuker. l'Etat des Choses could be on Hopper's
1984.
Overall score: ****
Ehm, well that's all....
Age
BTW, I've updated my Dean & Hopper discographies &
made an extended list of all albums Wyatt played on.
http://people.a2000.nl/arotshui/
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From: IChippett@aol.com
Subject: Seven Year Itch
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 16:25:40 EDT
On the sleeve notes of the above Pip says (of "Seven
Sisters") that it's the first time the Hatfields have played
together since 1975. I think he's wrong as they all played on
"Dada Soul" on Phil Miller's "Split Seconds" unless I'm
mistaken.
Does anyone have the words of the songs on SYI?
Ian
[You and Pip are both wrong. The piece "Black Hat" on
National Health's "D.S. Al Coda" (1982) had all ex-Hatfield
members on it, plus Jimmy Hastings. "Dada Soul" only has Richard
Sinclair, Phil Miller and Dave Stewart. As regards SYI lyrics, I
will ask Pip to provide them for the site - AL]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: IChippett@aol.com
Subject: In Cahoots in Argenteuil
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 16:25:26 EDT
I know some Rattlers will be interested to hear a little
about the recent In Cahoots gig at Argenteuil. The gig got off to
a flying start at 8 30 last Friday in front of about 30 to 40
enthusiastic fans in a sort of underground cathedral (judging by
the pillars and architecture). The band played:
No Holds Barred
Big Dick (by Pete Lemer)
Ed or Ian?
Half Life
After the break:
Above and Below
Billow
Digging In
The encore was Parallel.
Highlights? Most of the evening was a highlight for me but
I thought the band was in excellent form, soloing with fire and
passion and, as befits a Canterbury band, humour. In "Big Dick",
Pip Pyle, co-creator of "The Lethargy Shuffle" and performer of
"Phlakaton", gave us a new kind of solo dance number cum drum
solo. It begins with the unexpected loss of the bassdrum pedal and
builds up to a climax as the remaining members of the group start
getting down on their hands and knees with Pip to look for it
while Pete Lemer stoically solos on. Pip then finds it and waves
it triumphantly in the air and gets wild applause from the
audience. "Billow" was played almost like free jazz while I
suppose the best performance of the evening was "Half Life" a kind
of jazz reggae.
The playing was absolutely top-class throughout but a
special mention should be made of Fred Baker's contribution. Does
anyone know a better bassist now playing? I don't. Pip Pyle's
drumming just gets better and better while Phil Miller's guitar
playing was, as ever, instantly recognizable. I was a little
disappointed not to hear the synth guitar but in truth it was not
needed since there were no gaps to be filled thanks to Pete
Lemer's keyboards.
After the gig it was a real privilege to be able to have a
few words with the band. They were very approachable and one
regrets not having had the sense to ask a few less inane questions
than one did. Put it down to awe. Fred said that a new album of
duos, if I recall correctly, is in the pipeline but they prefer to
take their time and not rush these things out before they're
ready. This is great news for those of us, like me, who loved
"Double Up". Fred also said that he preferred to play without a
score (unlike the other members of the band except Pip) and
followed Phil's lead. It says a lot about his technical skill as
the lead lines are of daunting complexity.
I suppose the gig finished at about midnight but I'd long
since lost track of the time. To round off a perfect evening, I
bought a copy of "Seven Year Itch" by Pip Pyle (yes it's brilliant
too and nothing like InCa!) and went home singing "No Holds
Barred". Thanks lads and here's to the next time.
Ian (or Ed) 8-)
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From: "David Voci" <david_voci@tcibr.com>
Subject: Canterbury Lives On
Date: 19 Oct 1998 11:40:02 U
Greetings Aymeric and Fellow Rattlers,
I would like to again acknowledge See For Miles/ESD
Records/Culture Press/One Way/Cuneiform/Steve F/Hugh Hopper etc
for all the fine work related to the reissues that have been
coming out steadily on aforementioned labels(and of course labels
not mentioned)...great offerings of time capsules that show all
the various sides to the great artists' talents and collaborations
of the period... to be able to obtain these on CD is very
pleasing.
Does Pip Pyle have a brother or relative named Andy Pyle
who plays bass (Ex Savoy Brown + others)??
I noticed on 'National Health-Complete' that when CD2
starts off the sound seems a bit muffled as opposed to disc 1(ESD
Records/American release). I recorded both CD's and when the last
track finished and the 1st track from disc 2 started there was a
noticeable change in sound quality as the songs were a couple
seconds apart and so the difference was quite clear....Anyone else
experience this?
I really enjoy Phil Miller's guitar playing on
Hatfield/Mole/NH. I realise that there's alot more with Phil on in
that I don't yet have. Any suggestions fellow rattlers regarding
some of the better 'In Cahoots' CD's?
In previous issues someone wrote... >Is there a
>definitive album which represents "The Canterbury Sound"???
Put another >way, if someone were to ask you to recommend a
Canterbury CD as an >introduction to the genre and you could
only choose one, which would it >be????
Three CB Albums representative of the CB sound...but by no
means what I would consider the best 3 CB albums as there are too
many excellent albums to make a top 3 list.
*) Soft Machine-Third...Very representative of the style
with emphasis on free jazz instrumentation with all stops pulled
out, even a little electronic sounding at times. Probably, IMO,
the album that clearly defined/created the moniker "Canterbury
Sound". The vox on track 3 are a window into the vocal side of
this genre as well as some very weird sounds that make track 3
very memorable/impressive. There is so much to behold on this
LP!!! I think the intro on track 1 and then the actual jam itself
epitomise what this album will be...too bad this song wasn't 40
minutes long as it ends just when I think it should really begin.
*) Hatfield And The North-ST...Here we are moving away
from the jam intensive style of Softs 3 with more vocals but still
very improvise oriented in another way. Incorporates the pop
stylings of the genre but with more emphasis on the jazz
structuring so common to this style. Dave Stewart's organ is
extremely Canterbury as seen with Arzachel/Egg/and later National
Health. Another point similar to the latter is that the core of
musicians here as well as DS came from and went to so many
essential CB bands.
*) Caravan-Land of Grey and Pink...A geographically
correct band...One of the few actually from Canterbury so a
definite entrant here. Pulls together the pop/vocal spirit of
early CB for a more mainstream vocal/rock approach and very
Canterbury in it's own way. Songs like 'Winter Wine' and '9 Ft.
Underground', the latter of which David Sinclair's organ creates
what I would consider the song to best sum up this smaller
rock-pop side of the genre(as opposed to the more prevalent jazz
inclined style of CB). 9 FT is a true anthem of epic proportions.
In parting: I was listening to Henry Cow's 'Concerts' CD
on ESD records and was very pleased to find that Dagmar does not
sing too much on the selections contained. Mostly instrumental
freak outs that twist and swirl in all directions but
straight...What a fantastic piece of music we have here... The
song on Disc 2 in which we have a screaming girl definitely makes
this a unique Disc. Only complaint or better put, observation, is
that it seems that the Greasy Truckers material has been dubbed
from vinyl...This fact has probably already been mentioned but I
couldn't find this info in my recent reading of old WR's. This
doesn't really take away from the listening experience except on
Track 4/Disc 2 where this is most noticeable.
Have a good one and til next time fellow Canterburians,
dv
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From: David Layton <davidlayton@earthlink.net>
Subject: Favorite Canterbury Recordings
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 23:20:42 +0800
Hello Aymeric and all Rattlers everywhere. I have
been silent, but watching the last two months or so, and thought
I'd now bring a little tinseltown glitz to the proceedings by
offering my own list of favorite Canterbury and near-Canterbury
recordings. This is not in order of what I think is the
"best" as that changes a bit now and again, but these are the ten
that I think hold up best to repeated listening. In order of
issuance (more or less) they are:
1. Soft Machine - Third
2. Soft Machine - Fourth
3. Caravan - In The Land Of Grey And Pink
4. Khan - Space Shanty
5. Gong - Angel's Egg
6. Caravan - New Symphonia
7. Gong - You
8. Hatfield And The North - The Rotters' Club
9. Steve Hillage - Fish Rising
10. National Health - Of Queues And Cures
There they are. Take it for what it's worth. I notice a
definite 70s leaning here, certainly the high time for Canterbury
recordings. This does not denigrate other fine, later recordings
(Shleep, Hugh Hopper's Hooligan Romantics, and Richard Sinclair's
Caravan of Dreams come to mind), but merely shows that my ears
detect the most vitality and originality, though not necessarily
musicality, lay in the early 70s. I find other people's choices
interesting, and their reasons even more so. Nevertheless, there
is probably something of the gut and heart as well as the brain
which directs me toward these recordings.
From the place where all that glitters is gold paint,
David
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Ely Rabin <rabin@BINAH.CC.BRANDEIS.EDU>
Subject: musart was mean to milos and the rest of us
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 18:57:28 -0400
[In a previous issue of WR, Milos wrote:]
>Finally I'd like to use this open forum for one my
desire. I'm looking for the >following ELTON DEAN titles mostly
released on vinyl only:
>
>El Skid, Happy Daze, Oh! For The Edge (I have only
cassette recording, despite >good quality), Welcomet, Bologna
Tape, Intercontinental Express, EDQ Live,
>Equip Out's first, Keith Tippett Septet (and every
other Ogun release, this
>company does genial music).
>
>If someone can help me somehow, I'll be happy. Ideal
would be straight from >vinyl DAT recording plus cover scan or
photo copy. In return I can send you
>CD-R or DAT copy of my rare vinyls - if you want to
know my collection,
Musart's intimidating message inserted into Milos's
message on its WR archieve was:
----------------------------------------------
Friendly Message from MUSART and a few of the Musicians
you mention;
THIS IS SERIOUS DIGITAL BOOTLEGGING * BEWARE * ITS ILLEGAL
"Do any of the Canterbury Musicians you are listening to
and SHOPLIFTING from agree you can ADVERTISE their Music for
barter worldwide, Milos?
How about some THOUGHT, friend."
----------------------------------------------
New and old recordings are available legitimately on the
WWW
A brief recap:
Milos: "I'm looking for the follwing ELTON DEAN
titles mostly released on vinyl only:..... In return I can send
you CD-R or DAT copy of my <<<rare
vinyls>>>" [<>emphasis mine]
Friendly Musart: "New and old recordings are
available legitimately on the WWW"
Me (to Musart): In the context of Milos's request,
Musart's message is an UNfriendly nonsequitor. Where are El
Skid, Happy Daze, Oh! For The Edge, Welcomet, Bologna Tape,
Intercontinental Express, EDQ Live, Equip Out's first, Keith
Tippett Septet available legitimately on the WWW?
Is Elton Dean angry that Milos wants to appreciate all of
his records (a pretty substantial undertaking for Elton Dean's
catalog, so Milos must be quite a fan of E.D.)? Does Elton
Dean imagine that if Milos has resorted to swapping over the
internet for "RARE VINYLS" that Milos has probably done his
best to get whatever are "legitimately available"?
Have any of the "Canterbury Musicians you are listening to
and SHOPLIFTING from" owned any cassette copies of rare recordings
that might have otherwise been unavailable to them? Do they
feel terrible about this?
Trading out of print material is not bootlegging, it is
benevolence. Your message to Milos (and the rest of us) protects
no one's interests, and discourages Milos's (and everybody's)
pursuit of interest in this wonderful music.
Chris Cutler, Richard Sinclair and Phil Miller have all
stated that they've recieved no royalties from Virgin, even in the
digital age. If this is true Musart should take its frustrations
out on management, not fans.
Therefore, as Daevid Allen says "piss off purchasers", so
I say "piss off Musart", (and before you can say it "piss off
Ely"). But I do NOT say "piss off Milos" for his wholly
justifyable interest hearing music that is not "legitimately
availible" (whatever that means).
Placated by the excellent "Just Us" release, but still
anxiously awaiting reissue of "Oh! for the edge", etc,
Ely
rabin@binah.cc.brandeis.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Raze" <raze@mweb.co.za>
Subject: Did you know?
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 22:15:53 +0000
Gilgamesh is resurected in a new form, The Gilgamesh
Ensemble have completed their first album. Cape Town South Africa
raze
tel 083 261 0688
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Takeo Matsui" <o-tsq@mvf.biglobe.ne.jp>
Subject: FROM JAPAN
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:59:35 +0900
Hello,Mr Aymeric Leroy. I am going to be at Astoria on the
30th of this month! I have been waiting for this time
comes around. I can't sleep until I meet them. If you
find a Japanese singing and dancing with tears coming from
the eyes,that's me. Hopefully will meet you there and have a
great time with CARAVAN.
Takeo Matsui
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: PT <normalsf@grin.net>
Subject: Mushroom show in San Francisco
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 16:13:42 -0800
Mushroom: the band that you saw both open and play with
Kevin Ayers at the Great American Music Hall in May is back again.
They recently played a show with David Allen of Gong as
their lead guitar player - and Mushroom will debut an expanded
line up on
Sunday November 1st
at the
Make Out Room in San Francisco
3225 22nd street at Mission street
2 sets starting at 9:30 pm
see you there
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: jasiu@slo.zary.pl
Subject: from POLAND
Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 11:02:34 +0100
Hi, I'm JASIU from Poland.
I didn't know anything about this kind of music, but
it looks interesting.
How can I get any sample of it.
Maybe you can help me?
jasiu@slo.zary.pl
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Roger Farbey <mmr@easynet.co.uk>
Subject: The top three CB albums?
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 11:47:31 +0000
Aymeric,
I was pretty amazed when I saw Tom's top three album
choices representing the Canterbury music scene in WR #107. I had
spent a while trying to determine the almost impossible - the top
three CB albums. But Tom had come closer than anyone else so far
inasmuch as it coincided with my opinions. Also, I really enjoyed
reading his articulate critique. However, on reflection I would
say Softs must be included but maybe not 2. This is therefore my
choice with reasons:
Soft Machine 1. This is the album that whilst not
necessarily my all time favourite (I'm more into the jazzier
stuff) must in my opinion be a # 1 desert island Softs album
choice because it has Kevin Ayers on it (as well as R.Wyatt and M.
Ratledge). IMO Ayers is a quintessentially important figure in the
CB scene. His Whole World which I caught at London's Roundhouse
way back in the very early seventies was just unbelievably amazing
(probably the best band I ever saw live). Can't remember exactly
who was playing but I definitely remember Lol Coxhill was and
think David Bedford and Mike Oldfield were. Not sure of the
drummer. Anyway, Soft Machine 1 has on it 'Why are we sleeping?'
which was sort of the Whole World 'anthem'. The version on Softs 1
is much more restrained than the Whole World's live concerts but
it still has those amazing lyrics and Ayers' deep growl. Also, on
the album was the important track and arguably another 'anthem'
for Kevin and the Softs, 'We did it again'. I also seem to
remember that Robert Wyatt was experimenting even at this early
stage with echoed drums but I may be confusing this with Softs 2.
Caravan. The Land of Grey and Pink. For all the reasons
Tom mentioned and because out of all the Caravan albums it seems
the most consistently interesting and well produced (to me). I
think Caravan have to be included in any list like this because of
their jointly important influence on the CB scene along with Soft
Machine.
Hatfield and the North - First album. This is difficult
and I think I again have to agree in part with Tom but go for the
first album which in a way represents a sort of CB 'Supergroup' .
Robert Wyatt is even for some of it with his photo presiding in an
almost avuncular way on the inside sleeve of the vinyl album. I
hesitated with this because I really wanted to include a Daevid
Allen or gong album as number three because his influence has been
so important on the CB scene. If I was allowed a joint third
choice I would select either Daevid's first album with Gilli Smyth
(Magic Brother or however you spell it) originally on the French
Byg label, or Gong's Camembert Electrique. Pip Pyle was on that
album and it is partially for that reason that I would choose
Hatfield's first with Pip Pyle, Richard Sinclair (ex Caravan) Dave
Stewart (ex-Egg) and Phil Miller of course. Apologies if I've
missed anyone out and that includes Barbara Gaskin (whose vocal
contributions on Pip Pyle's new album Seven Year Itch are just
stunning). The first Hatfield album was such a good one, and had
an amazing feel to it. I won't go through it track by track but it
just gelled the whole way through. I like the second album The
Rotters Club just about as much but I think in the nostalgia
stakes it would have to be the first. Pip Pyle's excellent
drumming presence on the Hatfield albums I would also take to be
(for the purposes of this top three album list only) a token
representation of Gong even though I assume he had left Gong by
this time.
In a way assembling a list like this is virtually
impossible because one's favourite CB albums are always subject to
change and mood. I have to choose just one track that most
influenced me for a jazz history night class that I'm attending
and I'm finding that equally difficult. I guess like the CB sounds
they are ALL my favourites!
BTW Excellent news from Brian Hopper about the impending
Canterburied releases on Voiceprint. Sounds really interesting.
Cheers
Roger Farbey
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gary Davis <artshop@artist-shop.com>
Subject: News
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 13:57:03 -0500
Hello fellow Canterbury Fans:
The latest Artist Shop newsletter is out and you'll find
it in its entirety at
<http://www.artist-shop.com/news.htm>. Here's a couple
of snippets specifically of interest to Canterbury fans.
On our ReR Recommended Page
<http://www.artist-shop.com/rer> you'll find a new release
from Peter Blegvad. Peter Blegvad/Hangman's Hill - Musician,
songwriter, author and illustrator, Peter Blegvad was born in New
York City, but spent most of his life in the UK. Today he finds
himself with one foot in the avant-garde music scene (as a
collaborator with Faust, Henry Cow, and Slapp Happy) and the other
in pop music. He is joined on his new CD, Hangman's Hill, by
old bandmates John Greaves on bass and Chris Cutler on
drums. This trio recently finished a tour of the states,
playing much from this CD, that got rave reviews from the fans!
In the last newsletter I listed a whole bunch of new
releases from Voiceprint
<http://www.artist-shop.com/voiceprt> and their associated
labels. Since that last newsletter I've added all sorts of
cover graphics and soundbites for artists like Pip Pyle
(Seven Year Itch is definitely Hot), Blegvad & Greaves (long
awaited reissue of Kew Rhone), Elton Dean, Soft Machine, and
others. Be sure to check them out!
Also in our imports section
<http://www.artist-shop.com/catalog/imports> you'll find the
following forthcoming releases:
CARAVAN-ETHER WAY-PEEL SESSIONS 1975-1977
Three complete John Peel sessions cut between 1975-1977.
12 tracks, including "The Show Of Our Lives", "Stuck In A Hole"
and "All The Way".
DEAN,ELTON-HEADLESS QUARTET
Solo release by Soft Machine's sax player.
And the following reissues that are available now:
CARAVAN-LIVE
Reissue of live album featuring the prog act's favorites
"Nine Feet Underground", "If I Could Do It All Over Again", "In
The Land Of Grey & Pink", "Head Loss", "For Richard" and
"Winter Wine". Seven tracks total.
GONG-LIVE 1990
Reissue of concert recording featuring the line-up of
Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth & Didier Malherbe performing
excellent versions of 11 of their classic '70s songs. Includes
"Pot Head Pixies", "Gorbachev Cocktail" and "Flying Teacup".
HATFIELD AND THE NORTH-LIVE 1990
Reissue of concert album featuring virtually all of the
original members powering through a collection of classics &
newer numbers. Nine tracks, including "Shipwrecked", "It Didn't
Matter Anyway" and "Cauliflower Ears".
Gary
**************************************************************
Gary Davis
The Artist
Shop
The Other Road
http://www.artist-shop.com
artshop@artist-shop.com
phone: 330-929-2056
fax:330-945-4923
SUPPORT THE INDEPENDENT ARTIST!!!
**************************************************************
Check out the latest
Artist Shop newsletter at
http://www.artist-shop.com/news.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
*
FORTHCOMING CANTERBURY-RELATED
CONCERTS
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
[for more info : check out the 'Concerts' page of CALYX -
see URL below]
CARAVAN
[Hastings-Sinclair-Richardson-Coughlan-Leverton-Boyle-Bentall]
Oct 30 - London, Astoria
POLYSONS FEAT. HUGH HOPPER - SOFT MACHINE COVERS
Dec 08 - St.Germain-en-Laye (France), La Clef
MARK HEWINS/SHYAMAL MAITRA/CAROL GRIMES
Nov 12 - London Jazz Festival, Lansdown House
DIDIER MALHERBE/PIERRE BENSUSAN
Nov 27 - Paris (France), New Morning
Dec 05 - Alençon (France), La Luciole [tel:
02.33.32.83.33]
Jan 22 - Elancourt (France), venue unknown [tel:
01.30.51.53.54]
Jan 23 - Montereau (France), venue unknown [tel:
01.64.70.44.14]
Feb 26 - Valenciennes (France), Théatre le Phoenix [tel:
03.27.32.32.00]
Feb 27 - Faches-Tumesnil [near Lille] (France), Les
Arcades [tel: 03.20.62.96.96]
Mar 06 - Jarny (France), Espace Gérard Philippe [tel:
03.82.33.12.25]
CHRIS CUTLER with various projects
Nov 14 - Berlin (Germany), venue unknown [with Lutz
Glandien]
Nov 16 - Krakow (Poland), Audio Art Festival [with P53]
Nov 19 - Paris (France), Instants Chavirés [with Tony
Buck/JM Montera/JJ Pauvros]
FORGAS BAND PHENOMENA
Nov 13 - Paris (France), Le Glaz'Art [tel: 140.364.849]
Nov 17 - Paris (France), Peniche 'Le 6/8' [tel:
143.807.454]
And a plug for our Kobaians friends:
MAGMA
Nov 07 - Torcy (77) (France)
Nov 27 - St.Nazaire (44) (France)
Nov 28 - St.Quentin (02) (France)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
END OF ISSUE 108
_________________________________________________________________________
WHAT'S RATTLIN' ?
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RATTLIN' ?
_________________________________________________________________________
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http://www.alpes-net.fr/~bigbang/calyx.html
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