CANTERBURY SCENE

...all of the above incredibly accomplished and experienced musicians and it's audible. "The Rotters' Club" is a very well performed release featuring many great musicial moments and details. Stylistically Hatfield and The North play a soft progressive rock/jazz-rock style, which is often laid-back and pleasant, but definitely not devoid of musical experimentation. Opening track "Share It" is a bit deceiving with it's nice pop melody and Sinclair giving a polished vocal performance (not completely unlike some of his most "light" work with Caravan), but already from track number two "Lounging There Trying", the band start showing their true colors. Jazz/fusion rhythm work, odd time-signatures, and a general disregard for regular vers/chorus structures or normal pop/rock compositional rules. In that respect Hatfield and The North are definitely closer to jazz music than they are to pop/rock. The album features several sections with improvised jamming ("The Yes No Interlude" is probably the best example of that) but also more structured compositions.

While it's a step up from the rather incoherrent debut album, "The Rotters' Club" does suffer from some of the same inconsistency issues as the debut album did. It's predominantly the songwriting which could have been more memorable, because as the case is with the debut album, "The Rotters' Club" is a both well produced and well performed album. There's no arguing that it's through and through a quality release featuring many intriguing musical ideas, but to my ears it often sounds a bit random and it's sometimes hard to know where the improvisation and the structured composed parts start and end. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

I think a good word would be "anarchic", and do not think any of these songs were later recorded in the studio, at least not under these names with these arrangements. Here we had great musicians working under the basis that they had no-one to please but themselves and that they could do whatever they wanted. With multi-instrumentalists in tow they could change instruments between songs to give them a different approach, or even change them during, meaning the audience (and other band members) did not know what was coming next, providing an excitement and vitality to the performance. My album of 2023 was the incredible 'The Baker's Dozen' boxed set of rare live recordings, and I don't think any of these appear on there, so perhaps those nice people at Cuneiform might consider releasing the three tapes as a new set? Please? Here we have a band pushing the limits, not even seeing the boundaries as they take Canterbury to new heights. Superb.

I have not heard all of their studio albums (something I do need to fix), but this album is far more laid-back and constructed than what I have come to expect from their live works. Given that three of the quartet are multi- instrumentalists, two of them ridiculously so, I guess it is no surprise that when time is not an object that the music becomes more reflective and thoughtful, although it is somewhat surprising to realise just how different they can be to the highly improvisational quartet who first came together more than 30 years prior to this recording taking place. I do not know when they decided to call it a day, whether they knew this was going to be their final album or if that decision was made later but coming to this a dozen years after its release one can almost hear the goodbyes as the band wind down with just a few songs, such as "Beat 10" showing a more up tempo and exciting feel to proceedings.

Strangely, even though this is arguably the most commercial album of theirs I have heard, this is one which took me quite a while to get into, but now I have I can honestly say it is one I have enjoyed a great deal. Yet another classic Canterbury infused jazz prog album worth discovering.

The Muffins are a band built on improvisation and bouncing ideas off each other, while at the time of this recording Scott and Allen had been in the same band for 25 years, and it is an absolute delight to hear the interplay between the six of them. The only thing which would make this better would have been if there had been a camera in the studio capturing what was going on, as I can imagine the guys going between smiles and intense concentration as they try to work out where the muse is taking them and what their contribution needs to be to further that. At times there are four saxophones at play, while the rhythm section swaps and changes as they look to further their Canterbury avant garde approach to progressive music.

This will not be to everyone's taste, as it is moving The Muffins in an even more avant-garde direction, yet to my battered ears this is a delight, and I can sit and listen to this all day. Experimental music driven by horns is rarely better than this.

He is also never restricted in what instruments he uses, so arrangements can be very different indeed from one song to the next, and his high presence in the scene means he has access to more music and musicians than the normal person. One song on this album, "Section W", started off life as a piece on the compilation album ' Frets of Yore' which I reviewed recently, here extended and given new life. Another song was originally written for Moon Men and has now been released here.

There is a life and presence in all he is involved with, and even though he is not as young as he used to be, Dave is hugely active in multiple different musical projects as well as continuing with his artwork. This means that although this may be the end of Manna/Mirage, there is still plenty of music left to come from him, and long may that continue. For fans of the Canterbury scene this is a wonderful album which twists and changes so one never knows what is coming yet, all wrapped in the wonderful arrangements and musical sensibilities of Newhouse.

Unable to shake his space rock connections completely, MOTIVATION RADIO offered a unique mix of danceable funk rock steeped with the usual glissando guitar fueled psychedelia and art rock. The album also added a bit of punkish guitar heft that surely must've thrown the prog snobs for a loop when this hit the scene. While the funk rock moves dominate the guitar, bass and drum rhythm sections, HILLAGE hired Malcom Cecil from Tonto's Expanding Head Band to produce and engineer the album which in the process kept many of the trippiest moments of classic Gong alive and well. Likewise HILLAGE's vocal delivery is very reminiscent of Daevid Allen's best Gong moments so apparently he was indelibly marked by the experience for life.

This album offered an interesting mix of tracks with some like the opening "Hello Dawn" shouting the fact that HILLAGE had totally funked up his fans sh.i.t and delivered a major curveball but it doesn't take long for his psychedelic roots to steal the show such as the Gong-esque "Light In The Sky" that narrates the arrival of UFOs complete with all those freaky psychedelic excursions heard on "Angel's Egg" and "You" even with a surrogate Gilli Smyth offering some space whispering. Some tracks like "Wait One Moment" take on a Pink Floyd flavor with a chilled space rock sound that reminds me of "Comfortably Numb" from "The Wall" but obviously two years before that album would emerge.

Of all the tracks on board, "Saucer Surfing" is the closest thing to HILLAGE's masterwork "Fish RIsing" with the same trippy layers of glissando guitar accompanying the overly mystical and esoteric lyrics that sometimes border on ridiculous but reflected the new age and Eastern philosophical interests that dominated the 60s and 70s. "Searching For The Spark" prognosticates the style of what Ozric Tentacles would make a career out of and its not unthinkable that the band was inspired by the unique electronica that dances around in a hypnotic yet cyclical manner. "Octave Dancers" must've really rankled prog stalwarts because it almost sounds like dancy disco only with a funk groove yet features STEVE's classic glissando workouts as well as bluesy guitar licks. The closing "Not Fade Away (Gild Forever)" ends the album with rather bluesy funky space rock vibe.

This is an album that i never really liked a lot until i let it sink under my skin. Sure it's not HILLAGE's best of the lot by a long shot but it certainly does deliver some entertaining moments. Like many the funk and simplicity that didn't measure up to "Fish Rising" rubbed me the wrong way but as i've listening to it more and more it certainly has grown on me in a weird way. There are lots of clever moments on this and the production is amazingly crisp and clear (granted i have the 2000 remaster). Sure HILLAGE's vocal performances range from classic Daevid Allen to sometimes sounding like Devo and even a touch of new wave but ultimately the space mix and HILLAGE's own signature style tips it all in my favor of liking it more. Not his magnus opus but personally i like this one better than "L."

A 3.5 star album but i like it enough to round up to 4

Frith was returning the favour here, since the Muffins had served as his backing group on the second side of Gravity (with Samla Mammas Manna doing the honours on the first side); his endorsement of the group to this extent is testament to how well the Muffins "got" the Canterbury/RIO style, and on 185 they further demonstrate an ability to not merely imitate their influences, but innovate and push this style of music forwards, making this album an important link between the European roots of the RIO movement and its later expressions in the US such as Thinking Plague and the Cuneiform label.

Such is the case of the obscure French act OCARINAH which originated in the city of Oyonnax in the Auvergne-Rh�ne-Alpes region of France not too far from the Swiss city of Geneva. This band existed for around seven years and went through various lineups ranging from a mere trio to a beefier quintet. During the band's multi-year run it's primary focus was playing live and organizing concerts but OCARINAH did manage to release one album on the band's private Calypsia label. The band's sole album PREMI�RE VISION DE L'�TRANGE (First Vision of the Strange) was released in 1978 with only 1000 copies being pressed making it one of those rare collectibles sought after by seekers of vinyl rarities. By the time the album was recorded the band was the mere trio of Jean-Michel Valette (synthesizer, guitar), Marc Perdrix (bass) and Charles Bevand (drums). And strange the album was indeed.

Crafting a unique melancholic style of prog, OCARINAH didn't sound like any other act of the day with Valette citing many influences ranging from Magma, Zao, Art Zoyd, Soft Machine, Hatfield & the North and the Mahavishnu Orchestra as ground zero for primary inspiration. Given that diverse array of quality acts to follow, the band crafted a complex array of knotty jazz-fueled prog workouts that delivered a touch of zeuhl martial rhythms, healthy doses of avant-prog angularity and a strong connection to the Canterbury Scene that included keyboard workouts similar to classic Egg as well as more nerdy extravaganzas into abstract Soft Machine territory. The album is completely instrumental and features five tracks that offer extremely demanding musical gymnastics ranging from Keith Emerson synthesizer runs to over the top bass grooves. Included are intricately designed jazz-inspired drum workouts thus showcasing the dexterity and inventiveness of this highly talented power trio.

Valette admits the band's ambitions were to forget a new path in prog and from just one single exposure to PREMI�RE VISION DE L'�TRANGE it becomes immediately clear that OCARINAH did indeed succeed in forging its own way in an era when many bands were already starting to copy the bigwigs of the early 70s while the super-stars themselves were either disbanding or selling out. In this sense OCARINAH can be placed in the same camp as other inventive French latecomers such as Shylock, Pataphonie or Potemkine. It's hard to believe but this album was basically recorded live in the studio with no overdubs or editing, a true rough draft yet sounds amazingly precise with crazy instrumental interplay zigzagging around like a flock of drunken birds making one hairpin turn after another. The complexity of the album is really too intense to soak in on a single spin and this one is definitely reserved from the difficult music section of the prog university.

Despite little attention being paid to the album the band still existed for a few more years until the early 1980s before officially disbanding. The band was modest in its goals and never was in it for the money or the fame and focused exclusively on the music and that is apparent in how mind blowing the musical complexities are on this one. In fact this is one of the craziest complex prog albums there is to be found especially in the watered down prog scene of the late 70s. OCARINAH is one of those underground cult acts that really did deliver something extraordinarily special that remains totally unique even some 45 years after its initial release. Sure the synthesizer tones are a little strange but the overall effect of this excellent album is one of true originality and the highest degree of musical dedication. OCARINAH deserves a medal. Maybe it'll take another 50 years for the world to catch up but eventually this will be a classic.

MR SIRIUS' first release BARREN DREAM emerged in 1987 in perhaps one of the years least friendly to progressive acts however in the middle of the BARREN desert called the 80s lay a veritable DREAM to rekindle all those classic sounds that made the 70s so magical. Long associated with England's Canterbury jazz scene, MR SIRIUS was a bit more eclectic than performing a mere tribute to Hatfield & The North or National Health and rather crafted an extremely unique style that was just as much about classic Genesis, the 70s Italian symphonic prog scene and the classical leanings of French composer Gabriel Faur� as it was about Canterbury jazz.

This album is indeed dreamy and features six bonafide prog workouts with the opening and closing tracks (and middle track "Eternal Jealousy") consisting of multiple suites and thematic developments. While officially a trio, three guest musicians added extra layers of guitar, piano and mini-moog. Showing no traces of its Japanese origins musically speaking, MR SIRIUS sounded like a true anomaly of European prog emerging in the most unlikely of times. The music is extremely soft and pastoral led by piano, acoustic guitars and a bit of jazz complexities. Musically speaking the album sounds a lot like Anthony Philips with a bunch of friends joining in however the trio's distinct sound lies not in its pastoral symphonic prog approach but rather by the excellent feminine vocal charm of lead singer Hirako Ohki (aka Hiroko Nagai). Lyrics while mostly presented in English did find a few moments in the Japanese language. At times the album even sounds like an opera.

While comparisons have been made to the album sounding like a hybrid between The Enid's "Aerie Faerie Nonsense" and Camel's "Snow Goose," MR SIRIUS defies comparisons due to its ability to shape shift into multiple musical areas seemingly at the drop of a hat. While one moment the band evokes a soft mellowness reminiscent of Genesis' most placid moments, the band has no problem breaking into demanding musical territory that explores knotty angularities and crazy instrumental interplay that is up to par with the best of the best as far as musical complexities are concerned. The addition of guitar sweeps and sensual flute runs remind me a bit of early Focus however the knotty more rock oriented parts sound utterly unique to the band itself with exquisite syncopated idiosyncrasies.

In many ways despite the band's European flavors in every form, the album does make you think of one of those beautiful paintings of Mt Fuji in the springtime with all the fruit trees in blossom. It's a breezy light affair with the occasional eruption into the knottier adventurism of avant-prog but for the most part is dominated by the sensual vocalizations of Nagai and lush acoustic passages in full pastoral mode. Overall this album ranks as one of Japan's most interesting contributions to the world of progressive rock as it stands the test of time for its unique approach of amalgamating so many disparate styles while preserving its own identity. The band would release one more album, "Dirge" and then disappeared ironically before the whole prog world seemed to resurrect from its cryogenic time out. An eclectic mix of prog styles that will surely please Canterbury fans but BARREN DREAM is so much more.