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- WHAT'S RATTLIN' ?
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:: The Weekly
Digest for Canterbury Music
Addicts ::
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Issue #
95
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Saturday, May 30th,
1998
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From: LuvOf Cici <LuvOfCici@aol.com>
Subject: karl jenkins
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 20:20:44 EDT
Hi,
I am a cellist and i've recently gone to every music store
on the entire starbucks eastern coast music store yada-yada-yada
well every place i've gone to says that they can't find
palladio. I hope you know the song, it's like way
famous. well do u know someplace that i can order this music
by karl jenkins?
~Dan
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From: Rcarlberg <Rcarlberg@aol.com>
Subject: MP3s
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 20:21:27 EDT
Age Rotshuizen wrote:
>> Putting a MP3 on the internet is illegal, but I'm
not doing this to
>> rip off any record-company or artist.
Martin Wakeling commented:
> Out of curiosity can anyone let us know why
MP3's are illegal???
MP3's themselves aren't illegal, but copying and
distributing copyrighted music is. Generally you have to be a
pretty big player however before it's worth it for the copyright
police to squash you. There are (or were ten years ago, when I was
in the business) only 5 enforcement officers for all of the U.S.
-RGC-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: GHodges223 <GHodges223@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Recent WR's
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 02:50:57 EDT
Hello Aymeric-
I will quit my position of lurker for a rapid list of
responses to your fine efforts to keep all of us posted in your
comprehensive newsletter.
I think all Robert Wyatt recordings are brilliant, perhaps
none more so than "Shleep". "Blues in Bob Minor" is
blistering, the "Nayram" piece with Phillip Catherine is
beautiful, and the instruments like trumpet and polish fiddle make
the recording more than great. We're lucky to have access to
this art in this time, in my opinion.
"Rock Bottom" is probably the finest "rock" album I have-
the work with Mongezi Feza, Alfreda Benge, Hugh Hopper, Fred
Frith, Ivor Cutler and Mike Oldfield is inspired. Glad to see the
emergence of more info about this recording. The other South
African side of Mongezi's music is cataloged with great reverence
by Hazel Miller and friends at Ogun Records in England- They
have older and newer recordings by the Dedication Orchestra (great
big band arrangements by friends, of the music of some of these
fine musicians who passed away too soon), Tippett's "Ark",
Brotherhood of Breath, Louis Moholo, Dudu Pukwana, not to mention
a great solo LP by her late husband Harry Miller. Evan Parker,
Mark Charig and many other fine people are featured. Proceeds go
to a worthy South African music school project. She wrote that
they might re-release "Ovary Lodge", long out of print. They also
have a Soft Head-"Rogue Element" recording with Alan Gowen, Hugh
Hopper, Elton Dean and Dave Sheen (someone asked recently about
Gowen-Hopper music).
ASC Records (maybe more on the jazz end of things) with
Steve Plews has some nice releases- The finest being the
"Couple in Spirit 2" Keith and Julie Tippett(s) live
recording very recently to celebrate their 25th(?)
Anniversary. They're in magnificent form- Free-form
improvisation, R&B licks- just when it settles into a major
structure, they shift gears- Keith T. playing impossible runs and
not staying outside of the piano. The recording ends with a
beautiful Julie Tippetts musical description of a rainbow (and
much more...) They say it's all they know- It's
considerable.
Incidentally, someone slighted the LP version of
Centipede's "Septober Energy" - I think it crackles with pure
energy.
Sad to hear about Tom Cora- I have one Skeleton Crew "In
the Land of Blinds"- some very nice pieces there. Nice to
see that Fred Frith was surprised and humbled to see his friend's
fragile state overcome in performance. Fred's music is
really good- I saw him last year at Mills College in Oakland
(composer in residence) where he played barefoot in the halls of
academe. I also had the good fortune to see Lindsay Cooper play an
orchestral bassoon concerto at a Bay Area Women's Philharmonic
concert a few years ago. Some parts of the piece were very
melodic, tonal and structured, while other parts improvised
against orchestral background - she actually took her bassoon
apart (playing different sections of it) on stage as the orchestra
was playing the ground. In a pre-concert composers'
discussion she described the feeling of writing music v.s.
improvising and she said it really felt like she used different
parts of her brain for each. I'd never heard anyone describe
the thinking process so eloquently. (Hope she's doing well- send
donations to: The Bassoonist Club, NATWEST, Marylebone and Harley
St., P.O. Box 2021, 10 Marylebone High St., London W1A 1FH -
Acccount #29 67 22 95, Sort Code 50 -30 -25))
Other random responses: My treasured LP version of
Lol Coxhill's "Ear of Beholder" on Ampex makes no mention of Phil
Miller on guitar (and it is pretty extensive in it's
credits). This double recording is a wonderful mixture of
improv/trains, comedy with Lol and David Bedford singing
"Don Alfonso", and children (I am the Walrus, and Mango Walk).
To the person somewhere in Russia asking about Tim
Hodgkinson recordings- I found "Splutter"- with overdubbed
baritone/alto saxophones, clarinet and keyboards recorded in
1979. Manipulated, gated sound and improvisation- It's a bit
intense- hard to listen to, but I will listen to it again-
The e-mail made me want to dig it out.
Rupert Hine recordings- I really liked Hine/McIver
"Pick up a Bone"- nice orchestrations too, some by Simon
Jeffes whose Penguin Café Orchestra live concert recording has
some nice trombone work by the marvelous Annie Whitehead and even
clarinet by the all-around nice guy Geoff Richardson. I heard a
couple of tracks on radio from Rupert Hine's later recordings, but
I didn't get any- will look for the LP's. Hopefully it's not
too late.
The Robert Wyatt 7" single with the booklet(if it's the
same one I found) is in Italian- with much info and an interview
with Mr.Wyatt and Ms.Benge. If I had a spare couple of hours I'd
offer to type it onto an electronic mail if anyone could
translate. I can catch the drift of the conversation,
reading a bit of French (similarly Latin?), but it's generally a
mystery. There's one funny picture of a Uniroyal billboard,
apparently in Italy, with a young boy along side a road. It states
"He only knows three words of English: "Boy, George and
Uniroyal" (these 3 words are crossed out and underneath the
words are scrawled "Yankee" and "Go" "Home") In the lower
corner is the Uniroyal logo with "we want you to know how famous
we are"(nice humility!). Reminds me of a Marlboro Billboard with
the Marlboro cowboy in a tough way lighting his cigarette with a
kerosene lantern. The company actually built an elaborate
hinged robot arm with glowing lamp and smoke out of the
billboard. Someone must've adjusted the arm position in the
night, because in the a.m. the cowboy was pulling the kerosene
lamp up to his eyes... which were blackened and smoking.
Nice to hear from the man from Random Hold, with all that
behind the scenes info. I liked to hear about Bill McCormick's
bass playing- always a favorite. It's rare to get that
insight in detail. Thanks to him for the time.
Caravan's double Holland set is great- Dave Sinclair's
playing is as fine as ever- Nine Feet Underground is a nice piece
of work. (Hope Jasper is feeling better) Good also to hear about
Pye Hasting's solo album coming up-
Also thanks to this newsletter for providing some nice
moments in concert descriptions- the person wandering into a
Tippetts concert while looking for National Health(?), the
recent In Cahoots review where Pip Pyle's drum with the Hatfield
and the North sticker caused a stir, and Peter Blegvad's extrovert
performance. (I hear there is a new recording coming out from
Slapp Happy Blegvad/Moore with Dagmar Krause). I haven't found any
"In Cahoots" yet, but will purchase any recording I come across.
Glad the crotchety neighbor grew to appreciate the "noise".
Other recommended recordings "René Lussier's Now (Big)
Band "Le Tour de Bloc" and the CD release of the 2 recordings by
Les 4 Guitaristes d'Apocalypso-Bar (Lussier/Duchesne/Cutler etc.)
(The precision is staggering). Thanks for more Québec music
information- It would be nice to see a company pick up the great
music of this province.
I will try to make it to the Kevin Ayers concert this
weekend in SF, and report on what I see and hear, though I'm not
real familiar with a lot of his music (have "Bananamour" and early
Soft Machine, and I heard "Joy of a Toy" long ago). I
probably won't recognize much music, but I'd like to see/hear him
perform.
A Bientot,
Gary Hodges/ SF-Oakland Bay Area/ California
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mark Bloch <markb@echonyc.com>
Subject: Robert Wyatt reissues
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 09:21:33 +0100
In response to your questions, Aymeric, I do think the new
versions of Robert's album packaging will be a bit different
though I am not sure how different.
Also I want to publish for the first time here in What's
Rattlin some excerpts from a long interview I recently did with
Robert.
Since you asked I will start with this because he talks
about the re-releases and also about what he did recently:
----------
I wanted to ask you about was your singing in Spanish.
RW: I've just done that twice again. Now the last two
things I've done were in Spanish.
Was it the whole thing with your family and Robert Graves?
Your visits to Majorca? When did you pick up the Spanish?
RW: Well, I suppose it could be, not consciously. It was
one of the subjects I
did at school, one of the few I did, I sort of enjoyed.
Maybe French and Spanish and English, the languages I quite
enjoyed. And I just liked the sound of the language. And it so
happened when I was listening to language outside the
Anglo-American sort of axis, I listened to music and what later
became packaged as world music-- outside of the Euro-American
feedback circuit thing. I found myself listening to a lot of
Latin-American music and really enjoying the songs and hearing
other ways of doing them. I just really enjoyed singing them. I
just liked the language and enjoyed singing it. It suits my voice.
I just feel at home in it.
So you take a song like "Team Spirit" or "Frontera" - and
do two versions of it?
RW: Yeah. There's just so many different angles that you
can have on things.
Is that a direct translation?
RW: No it isn't. It's a completely different thing. The
"Frontera" thing was just, totally, a response to Phil
(Manzanera)'s thing about "Write me something here and sing what
you like." The "Team Spirit" came about quite
differently. I've just been listening to that because we're
repackaging "Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard" and, for the life of
me, I can't work out what on Earth I was singing about. So I have
no idea what that's about. I've been listening to that all week
and I haven't got a clue.
So you listen to your old records?
RW: Well I've got to. Right now I'm listening to the back
catalogue because Hannibal in England and Thirsty Ear in America
are re-releasing most of the stuff I've done in the last 20 years
during the next year on CD. So it will be under one thing-- one
record company. And so I have been listening to it and to check it
and see what needs remastering or make sure the information on the
cover is right and so on. And so I have been listening back to
some stuff yeah.
----
(c) M.Bloch 1998....This is all copyrighted material for
now so please don't use it. I will continue to excerpt the
interview here in pieces. I will keep you posted on where it will
appear in its finished form. If anyone knows some publication that
might be interested in it unedited, please let me know. It is an
incredible interview. He is such a kind, funny and intelligent
man...
Thanks, Mark
PS: Someone asked about the booklet with the Chairman Mao
single. I think it is an Italian publication that came out no
later than 1989 because that is when I saw it. But all I know is
that the Chairtman Mao song is excellent! I had my Italian friend
make a copy on cassette for me...
["Chairman Mao" has since been included on the Robert
Wyatt compilation "Mid-Eighties", which groups together the album
"Old Rottenhat" and various non-album material, released by Rough
Trade in 1993 - AL]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: David Cross <ddcross@us.ibm.com>
Subject: Thirsty Ear reissues
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 10:36:28 -0400
Hey Aymeric - I have obtained copies from Thirsty Ear of
RB and R&R. There is brand new full colour artwork for RB and
a nice essay from Robert. R&R features some new art inside as
well. Here is a press release I received. I wasn't sure of your
stance on spamming so I didn't send this when I got it.
DC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THIRSTY EAR TO REISSUE 6 ALBUMS
FROM ROBERT WYATT'S BACK CATALOG
On the heels of the critically acclaimed new release by
Robert Wyatt, Shleep, Thirsty Ear Recordings will be re-releasing
six of Wyatt's solo albums in the next few months. Wyatt's
masterpiece Rock Bottom (1974) and its follow-up, a remastered
Ruth is Stranger Than Richard (1975) will both hit the stores on
May 5.
Recorded shortly after the accident which left Wyatt a
paraplegic, the visionary recordings Rock Bottom and Ruth is
Stranger Than Richard contain some of the most affecting and
emotional works of his career. Both releases contain improved
packaging, new artwork with lyrics, extra photos and, in the case
of Rock Bottom, a short piece written by Wyatt about the making of
the album.
Wyatt?s Nothing Can Stop Us (1982) and Old Rottenhat
(1985) will be reissued on June 9; The Animals Soundtrack (1984)
and a remastered Dondestan (1991) are expected in early fall. More
information on these releases will be available soon.
[Well, I don't consider this spamming. It's promotion for
sure, but information as well - AL]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Stephen Barker" <S.S.Barker@btinternet.com>
Subject: Soft on the BBC - Early 70's
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 06:18:35 +0100
Hi,
I remember Soft Machine appearing on a BBC TV programme in
the early 70's. The programme was hosted by Michael Parkinson and
was entitled "Anatomy of Pop". In this programme clips of the
Softs performing (bits of albums Three and Four?) were compared to
clips of (and this beggars belief) Marmalade that easily forgotten
beat combo.
My question is has anybody got a VHS or sound recording of
this programme? Or, in fact, am I the only sad individual who
remembers it!
Many thanks
Steve Barker
Milton Keynes, UK
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Steve Ashworth" <stash@zen.co.uk>
Subject: Paul Mummery
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 16:14:11 +0100
Dear Aymeric ,
Many Rattlers on the tape swapping network, especially
those who are interested in Magma, Gong and Zappa, will be sad to
learn that Paul Mummery died in March 1998. Paul was a great
friend and supporter of Gong, R.I.O. and the Magma/Zeuhl strands
of our music, and had many friends and contacts worldwide. He was
also a fine human being. As people and archivists, those who knew
him feel a great sense of loss.
Best wishes,
Steve Ashworth
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: alistair.greenhalgh@virgin.net
Subject: Nucleus on CD
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 18:27:07 -0700
As far as I know, I have all the Ian Carr/Nucleus material
available on CD (your listing misses off a slight oddity
called "Sounds & Sweet Airs (That Give Delight & Hurt
Not)", recorded by Ian Carr in 1992 in Southwark Cathedral with
John Taylor on the Cathedral Organ) - however I would LOVE to be
able to acquire the rest of the Nucleus catalogue on CD - would
you be in any better position than I am to know how likely this is
to occur in the future, or put me in touch with anyone who would?
(I did e-mail CMP Records to plead for the release of "In
Flagranti Delicto" on CD (as they had originally released it on
vinyl and have subsequently released the 12 minute track:
"Gestalt" on a CMP retrospective double CD, but they informed me
they have no plans to do so...).
I find it incredible that such an excellent and
influential seventies band can have had so little of their
material re-released on CD!!
Anyway, all the best
ALISTAIR
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: David Layton <davidlayton@earthlink.net>
Subject: Latest acquisition
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 00:36:53 -0700
Greetings once again, from the place where the sunshine
has finally arrived in the land of sunshine, lovely LA CA. I've
probably spent too much on cds recently, so it may be a while
before I next give a review in miniature. Actually, this one will
be a bit longer for reasons that become obvious.
The only Canterbury item recently acquired is Soft
Machine's "Softs" on the See For Miles label. A controversial
album, mostly because the group's last founding member, Mike
Ratledge, left while this one was being recorded (he appears on
two of the tunes). Karl Jenkins took over leadership of the band,
and formalized it as absolutely a jazz fusion ensemble. One's
response to this album often comes down to whether one believe's
the band could legitimately be called Soft Machine at this point,
and whether one likes jazz fusion. My three cents' worth is as
follows:
Under most conditions one might say that a band is no
longer an entity when its final founding member hits the road, and
that the subsequent ensemble are merely pretenders. This might be
especially true when by that time the band's sound had no
resemblance to the sound it had begun with. Nevertheless, other
bands went on to successful careers under similar circumstances.
Renaissance not only thrived, but became a better band after all
the founders had gone, and most the music that people know from
them is from the second ensemble to record under that name. As
form SM's change in style, it is popular to blame Jenkins for
this, but it was Ratledge and Hopper several years earlier who
changed the direction to a more electric-jazz approach, a move
which caused Robert Wyatt to leave the group. SM never had a
stable line-up, and trying to keep track of its various versions
constitutes a book all its own. So my attitude is: why not call it
Soft Machine? As for the jazz fusion aspect -- There is a large
difference between fusion in the 70s and what passes for fusion
now. Purists may not like their jazz or their rock in this form,
but in the 70s it was a vital and thriving music. The best fusion
outfits - Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Return to Forever,
Potemkine, etc - played at this time. Soft Machine was one of
them, and "Softs" is one of the best fusion albums, period. This
was the first SM album I heard, and I was impressed beyond
description. The musicianship was first rate, but what set this
one apart was the composition technique. Imagine, not merely
blending rock and jazz, but throwing in minimalism as well! And it
transitioned from a spacey jam like "Ban-Ban Caliban" to a
beautiful nonvocal ballad like "Song of Aeolus" with smooth
efficiency. You get the idea. I'm happy indeed to be able finally
to put this into my cd collection.
I await the creative criticisms.
David
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: RonKeenes <RonKeenes@aol.com>
Subject: Caravan concert
Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 17:19:02 EDT
Dear Aymeric
The gig has now come and gone! And it was absolutely
brilliant!! The band played as if they rehearse every week, it was
so tight and professional. The usual live set was performed with
the exception of Hoedown starting the set, and a new feature, a
medley of classic Caravan tunes and songs (plus a small sample of
'Oh Caroline'), was attempted for the first time. It was a great
success and you could see the band really enjoyed playing it.
Dave's keyboard playing nearly blew the roof off at times, and
Doug Boyle's guitarwork was electrifying. Pye's usual vocal skills
were still spot on, complemented by Geoff's incredible viola work.
Jim and Richard's faultless work kept the the whole set rocking in
perfect
time, and the added rythmn section of Simon's percussion
work was an added
bonus. After two encores they were finally allowed to
leave the stage to rapturous applause, leaving everyone begging
for more.
Everyone there was so friendly, from the band to the many
devoted fans who came from all over the UK and Europe. Hopefully
there will be a return gig before too long, but for now it will
just have to be remembered as one of the best live acts I've seen
in many a year. Shivers down the spine right throughout the set!!!
Hope you get to see them on Saturday, or perhaps in Germany?
Best regards
Ron Keenes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: nickl@lsil.com (nick loebner)
Subject: Bizarre Tribute Album
Date: Thu, 28 May 1998 13:38:16 +0100
Just found this interesting news from the US, which may be
of interest
to Facelift and Calyx readers:-
> From the June ICE -- The Fox Lies Down: A Tribute to
Genesis is out
> June 9 on Purple Pyramid. Contributors include John
Ford of The
> Strawbs ("Carpet Crawlers"), Daevid Allen of
Gong/Soft Machine with
> Solid Space ("Visions of Angels") and John Wetton
("Your Own Special
> Way").
(credit to Linda M. Darling & Paperlate)
Hmmm, Daevid sings Genesis?
I'll get me coat,
- Nick.
[I was aware of that already - Gilli Smyth is also
involved, covering "In The Beginning" from Genesis' very first
album... - AL]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: PT <normalsf@grin.net>
Subject: Reviews of the Kevin Ayers/Mushroom show
Date: Thu, 28 May 1998 10:57:25 -0800
I have been making advance postings of the Kevin Ayers
& Mushroom show in San Francisco. so now that the show is
over, I thought I'd share some reviews that I picked up from other
postings. For any European readers, please note that there are
discussions for some possible Ayers / Mushroom European shows
later this year. More news as it happens..........
I don't ever remember seeing a live show with a mellotron
before, which was quite cool. It's also pretty rare to see a
two-keyboard setup on stage. I liked the encore of "We Did It
Again," which basically was a Mushroom cover version rather than a
Kevin Ayers performance as he came onstage at the end and didn't
sing anything. I would wager that Mushroom actually did a
much better and more faithful job than would have been done if he
had tried to enlist musicians that had played on the
original records, and probably don't remember any of the
stuff these days.
***********
Did anybody else do see Kevin at the Great American last
night? Thought I'd just chime in to give a review. The
opening band, which also backed Kevin, was a local SF group called
Mushroom. These guys are the real deal. Their lineup is
bass, drums, two guitarists (one of whom doubles on flute), and
two keyboard players, one with a Fender Rhodes and a mellotron,
the other with an analog synth and organ (well, sampled organ).
They play long, roaming, spacey instrumentals without drifting
off into "what are we doing up here" noodling. Anyway, they
played for about an hour, then Kevin came out and did:
Too Old to Die Young
Lady Rachel
Everybody's Sometime & Some People's All-The-Time
Blues
Interview
Decadence
See You Later (very unexpected and fun)
Why Are We Sleeping
Stranger in the Blue Suede Shoes
Ghost Train (the best of the night IMHO)
Didn't Feel Lonely Till I Thought of You
I Don't Depend on You
Eleanor's Cake (Which Ate Her) (just guitar and flute,
great stuff)
Then Kevin and Mushroom took their bow and left, there was
thunderous applause, and Mushroom came back and broke into:
We Did It Again (I shit you not; Kevin sauntered back up
and announced, "that's the best lyric I ever wrote")
With a final performance of "Super Salesman" they were off
(if anybody was there and can confirm the setlist I'd appreciate
it, I think I may have missed a tune or two).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jean-Henry Berevoescu <bjh@netmanage.co.il>
Subject: Reissues of "Rock Bottom" and "Ruth Is Stranger
Than Richard"
Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 02:51:33 +0300 (IDT)
Hello Aymeric,
I found them today and bought them [even though I had the
"older" ones too]. They're reissued by Hannibal [a subsidiary of
Ryko], have new cover designs, booklets with the lyrics and "Rock
Bottom" features also a two page story of the making of the album,
signed by Robert himself. Each of the songs also have the
musicians.
Jean
PS Since it's my first intervention on this list, I feel
this is the place where I have to thank you for all the wonderful
work you are doing, for the CALYX site and for this mailing list.
I'm on the Net for almost 5 years, but I rarely found such a
valuable [valuable for me] web site as CALYX is and a list loaded
with tons of information I'm so interested to receive such is this
Rattlers' list. I love you all!
[Note: The detailed musician line-ups were on the vinyl
versions, but were omitted from the Virgin reissues. Several years
ago, I sent Robert the booklets for him to autograph, and not only
did he autograph them, but he also wrote down the list of all
contributing musicians... Unfortunately, about a year later, these
CD's were stolen in a burglary... - AL]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Doug Boyle
Subject: Interview
Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 10:37:22 +0000
In order to write a profile on Caravan's guitarist Doug
Boyle, I wrote him a letter, asking him several questions about
his career. Here is his reply :
What were your beginnings in music?
DB: I was born in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, on September 6th
1962. In retrospect this was a golden era musically for young
impressionable ears. The Beatles and Stones were happening and
most of the records came into our house (with great, glowing
electric guitars). My parents had met at music college and they
also had Bartok, Stravinsky and Miles Davis records. I still enjoy
all that music, but for me, the electric guitar has always been
*it* !
I began playing seriously when I was about 11. Learning
from various music books, and when my ear improved, taking things
off records. I pretty much locked myself away for the next few
years, inspired at different times by players such as Hendrix,
Blackmore, McLaughlin and Holdsworth. After I left school, I
formed and joined various bands for the next few years, trying on
different musical hats and always learning...
Then you joined Robert Plant's band. I remember seeing you
with him in 1990 at a concert in Lyon...
DB: I joined Robert Plant in 1987 for five stormy years.
He respected the fact that I could play, but not that I was trying
to find my own style. For my own part I was pretty arrogant and
uncompromising at the time and didn't respect the fact that he was
paying me good money to do what he felt was right! I remember the
Lyon gig very well. It was at the 'Transbordeur', n'est-ce pas ?
[Yes, it was - I even recorded the gig on my portable tape
recorder! - AL]
Then I freelanced for a while after getting kicked out of
the Plant band - sessions and odd gigs, etc., including touring
and recording with Nigel Kennedy whom I had met through his
girlfriend Jacquie Turner who used to go out with Roy Harper. I
have been playing with him again in the last couple of months,
playing concerts in Europe. This is an immensely satisfying gig
for me, covering a huge range of music and utilising unusual
groups of instruments (accordion, oboe, bassoon etc.) as well as
combining improvisation with very arranged and complicated
sections, somewhat in the 'Canterbury' style!
In 1996 you joined Caravan. Were you familiar with their
music ?
DB: Yes. I can't remember when I first heard them, but I
remember being impressed by the combination of whimsical song
forms allied to long evocative instrumental sections, and truly
inspired keyboard work. I think the strength of the music comes
from its unique aural identity and a sense of wide open spaces
coupled with intimacy. As with most 'Canterbury' music it seems to
exist in a place away from the trends and machinations of the
music industry - pure... I have been a fan ever since. My
favourite albums are "In The Land Of Grey And Pink" and "For Girls
Who Grow Plump In The Night".
Are you familiar with the rest of the Canterbury scene?
DB: Yes, I also love the music of Egg, Hatfield and
National Health. Dave Stewart and Mont Campbell are hugely
important musicians as far as I'm concerned, as well as Phil
Miller, whom I play with sometimes. His compositions are as
poignant as they are fiendish to learn and execute. A most
enjoyable challenge. All these people remain an inspiration to me,
and I feel really privileged to have been able to play with some
of them. I should also not forget Henry Cow and Soft Machine. My
feeling is that what unites these people is the intention to
create music without the limitations and confines of labels like
rock, jazz or classical. It exists purely for its own sake, under
the umbrella of ART.
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THE LAST WORD... FOR NOW
- Several subscribers have asked me where they could get
the Forgas Band Phenomena CD (featuring Mireille Bauer) that I
produced, with the financial help of some WRers... Well, I can
only recommend that you order it from Steve Feigenbaum's Wayside
Music mail-order service. The price is 15 dollars and Wayside also
have a great catalog with lots of items of interest for Canterbury
music fans. Contact Steve at <CuneiWay@aol.com> for details.
May I quote Steve's review in the latest Wayside catalog:
"This record is led by drummer/composer Patrick Forgas,
best known for his _Cocktail_ lp of 20 years ago, a minor French
progressive classic. After a couple of semi-mediocre CDs for
Musea, this is a VERY STRONG return to form of composed,
definitely Canterbury-influenced progressive/fusion music by a
sextet of fine musicians on guitar, saxes/flute, keyboards, bass,
vibraphone/marimba [by Mireille Bauer] & Patrick's drumming.
Two long tracks + a 6 minute track equals 45' of musical pleasure!
Recommended".
- Another project that needs & deserves support is
Jasper Smith's double live CD of Caravan's gig in Utrecht last
September. I was in the audience that night (and even onstage for
a few seconds... wow!) and this was an excellent gig. The CD set
is released in order to cover the costs of bringing Caravan over
again in the future (which will happen no later than next
Sunday!). Special care has been made during the mixing process to
recreate the classic Caravan sound, with special emphasis on Dave
Sinclair's keyboards. And indeed, it sounds great! Of particular
note is a wonderful version of "Nine Feet Underground", with
incredible interplay between guitar, organ and viola. So far "Back
On The Tracks - Caravan Live On The Continent 1997" is only
available directly from Jasper. It is a strictly limited edition
of 500 copies. The price is 55 Nlg for Europe (payment by
Eurocheque or IMO), and I guess an IMO for 60 Nlg is OK for the
rest of the world (provided it's sent by IMO, bank charges on
foreign cheques are incredibly high).
Contact Jasper Smit / CoCaCamp* :
Tielstraat 112, 1107 RC Amsterdam, Holland (until June 30)
Kleingouw 34 A, 1619 CB Andijk, Holland (from July 1)
Fax: 0031 299 42 99 85
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
*
FORTHCOMING CANTERBURY-RELATED
CONCERTS
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
[for more info : check out the 'Concerts' page of CALYX -
see URL below]
CARAVAN - EUROPEAN DATES
[Hastings-Sinclair-Richardson-Coughlan-Leverton-Boyle-Bentall]
May 31 - Utrecht (Netherlands), Tivoli (also Hugh Hopper
Band)
Jul 19 - Burg Herzberg (Germany), festival appearance
[headliner]
HUGH HOPPER BAND
[H.Hopper-P.Meyer-F.vdKooy-C.Strik]
May 30 - Deventer (Netherlands), Het Ei van Columbus [tel:
0570.635.030]
May 31 - Utrecht (Netherlands), Tivoli (also Caravan)
DAEVID ALLEN - UK TOUR
Jun 5 - Cheltenham, Axiom Centre
INVISIBLE OPERA COMPANY OF TIBET
Jun 1 - Leigh-On-Sea, Zero Six Club
PETER BLEGVAD TRIO
[Peter Blegvad-John Greaves-Chris Cutler]
Jun 05 - Kyoto (Japan), University
Jun 06 - Kyoto (Japan), University
Jun 07 - Kyoto (Japan), University
Jun 12 - Tokyo (Japan), Star Pines Cafe
Jun 13 - Tokyo (Japan), Star Pines Cafe
Jun 14 - Tokyo (Japan), Star Pines Cafe
Jun 15 - Tokyo (Japan), Star Pines Cafe
FORGAS BAND PHENOMENA
Jun 15 - Paris (France), Peniche 'La Balle Au Bond'
Jun 29 - Paris (France), Duc des Lombards
Sep 3 - Paris (France), Petit Journal Montparnasse
Sep 11 - Paris (France), Le Glaz' Art
Sep 18 - Paris (France), Studio des Islettes
Sep 19 - Paris (France), Studio des Islettes
Oct 09 - Paris (France), Peniche 'Le 6/8'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
END OF ISSUE 95
_________________________________________________________________________
WHAT'S RATTLIN' ?
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RATTLIN' ?
_________________________________________________________________________
CALYX - The Canterbury Website
http://www.alpes-net.fr/~bigbang/calyx.html
THE ULTIMATE ONLINE CANTERBURY DISCOGRAPHY
http://www.alpes-net.fr/~bigbang/cantdisco.html
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http://musart.co.uk/watrat/watrat.htm
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Send all correspondence regarding 'CALYX' and 'WHAT'S
RATTLIN' ?' to :
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_________________________________________________________________________