CANTERBURY SCENE

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.

The Welsh multi-instrumentalist Charlie Summers was one such bucker of the trends and delivered a single slice of the 70s Canterbury Scene in 1982. His one-off project THE GHOULIES released the sole album DOGGED BY DOGMA which looked more to fertile musical expressions unleashed in the 1970s rather than the synthpop and heavy metal dominated 80s. After the fall of the once great prog empire, many musicians were scrambling to find something that appealed to them and in the process Summers snatched up some verifiable Canterbury royalty for his single contribution. While basically a solo project of Summers, THE GHOULIES featured 10 musicians and vocalists to join in on varying track including keyboardist Dave Stewart of Arzachel / Egg / Hatfield & the North / Khan / National Health fame and drummer Pip Pyle who served in Delivery, Khan, Gong, Hatfield & The North, National Health, Soft Heap and In Cahoots.

DOGGED BY DOGMA is as strange as the album title and misfitting band name. Even the album cover offers a head scratching moment of uncertainty. The 80s was not kind to the Canterbury Scene with Pip Pyle and Dave Stewart fresh out of the unsuccessful Rapid Eye Movement project and other artists calling it quits. THE GHOULIES was a strange fish swimming upstream in a torrential river of new wave, post-punk, glam metal and MTV hits but sometimes the show must go on even if no one is listening. DOGGED BY DOGMA is one of those strange albums that doesn't ignore the drum machine / synthpop 80s and incorporates some of the aspects of new wave and simpler music into the fabric of Canterbury jazz. The results are mixed with various tracks sounding more like classic Hatfield & The North and others taking on a strange syncopated reggae groove in the vein of the Talking Heads.

The album featured nine tracks with Summers himself playing guitar, organ, flageolet as well as offering his best Richard Sinclair vocal impersonation. The tracks are on the shorter side and the music offered that direct immediacy that the 80s demanded out of listeners but the tones, timbres and especially organ sounds are straight out of the heart of the Canterbury 70s. It's an odd mix of classic Canterbury tinged with a touch of humor only adhering to some of the modernities of the world of 1982. It is a bit frustrating in the fact that the tracks hint at venturing out into more expansive musical compositions but forcibly retreat in the fear of alienating the modern sensibilities of the younger short attention span gen x-ers. In short THE GHOULIES was very much a tug of war between total musical freedom harkening back to a different era while trying to fit in to the completely new paradigm shift.

Despite the support of John Peel and an attempt to modernize the Canterbury sounds of yore, THE GHOULIES was pretty much a flop and DOGGED BY DOGMA sold a miserable 3000 albums making this one of those one and done rarities that have more caught the attention of collectors of rare vinyl rather than lovers of all things Canterbury. It's an oddball album for sure but not without its charm. In some ways it sounds like Summers was trying to revive the Canterbury sound in a similar way neo-prog bands were reviving the symphonic sounds of classic Genesis and similarly minded bands but the album is a bit erratic and even a bit goofy at times which would not have been a good selling point. Personally i kinda like this one. It's unique and it's filled with a passionate dedication to a craft even if some of the fundamentals have been compromised in favor of a more trendy approach. Perhaps not the Canterbury creme de la creme but an interesting little oddball to have emerged in the decadent 80s.

3.5 rounded down

GRINGO was a short-lived act that only existed for a couple years and these days is more famous for hosting future Caravan bassist John G. Perry who appeared on the "For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night" as well as the live release "Caravan & The New Symphonia." Despite being a relative forgotten act today in the 21st century, the band did have a moment of minor success which actually found the band headlining a tour with Barclay James Harvest. The band also toured with Caravan during the "In The Land Of Grey And Pink" album which is how Perry made the connection.

The band released one self-titled album on the MCA label in 1971. The music was a very melodic style of progressive pop that featured an occasional reference to prog but mostly GRINGO's sole offering reminds most of the sunshine pop of the Toast days with cheerful uplifting sugary melodies almost bordering on bubblegum at times. The music though was a bit more demanding delivered organ dominated psych rock. The band could be compared to Carol Grimes' Delivery or even bands or even the German Frumpy at times because of its strong pop hook dominance only with just the occasional references to anything remotely prog. Perry's bass playing is one of the stronger aspects of the album with beefy grooves that clearly qualified him for the role of a Caravan member.

While the majority of the album is mostly based on pop rock, the track "Moonstone" actually emphasizes more demanding workouts with heavy psych-tinged keyboard sweeps and clever use of brass and percussive workouts. Casey Synge delivers some strong vocal performances and the rest of the band offers excellent harmonies to support her. Despite the strong performances the album still sounds more like it should've been released in 1968. GRINGO was clearly not in touch with the modern prog world and how quickly it had developed. This is one of those puzzlers that i don't quite comprehend why this is even considered prog at all because the few moments that hint towards anything progressive are more akin to just plain melodic art rock.

This is an OK album to check out. The melodies are strong and the tracks are performed very well however it's not anything to get overly excited about for sure. Sometimes the harmonies remind me of The Mamas & Papas and the album definitely feels dated. While it's loosely affiliated with the Canterbury Scene there are no traces of jazz or the abstract whimsy that bands in that scene were known for and certainly none of the complexities. This is pretty much psychedelic pop rock with a few moments that hint at prog. Overall not a bad album but honestly not one that really warrants hunting down at all costs as it is a fairly average representation of what the era had to offer for bands that were behind the times a bit.

LP 1 - Live Album (41:45) 1. "Fanfare" (0:42) 2. "All white" (4:46) 3. "Between" (2:24) 4. "Riff" (4:36) 5. "37 1/2" (6:51) 6. "Gesolreut" (6:17) 7. "E.P.V." (2:47) 8. "Lefty" (4:56) 9. "Stumble" (1:42) 10. "5 from 13 (for Phil Seamen with love & thanks)" (5:15) 11. "Riff II" (1:20)

LP 2 - Studio Album (34:40) 12. "The soft weed factor "(11:18) Mike Ratledge and Karl Jenkin's minimalist motif on multiple tracks of electric pianos. Nice weave but it's no Phillip Glass or Steve Reich. Bass and drums kick in during the fourth minute, then soprano sax and organ doubling up the melody line over the top. Seems there are nice multiple contributions from each of the band members but the song never really amounts to much besides a jazz-rock weave with the original minimalist tracks--which alone cover the final two minutes. (17.5/20)

13. "Stanley stamps Gibbon album (for B.O.)" (5:58) a more aggressive and sinister motif based once again on a minimalist piano arpeggio turns a little funkier in the second half of the first minute and yet Ratledge's left hand of his piano continues to maintain a short, two-part arpeggi as the song's foundation for the whole of time that Karl Jenkins solos with an heavily-treated/effected soprano sax (three plus minutes)--or is it a celesta keyboard? (8.75/10)

14. "Chloe and the pirates" (9:30) a mild sonic landscape that definitely perpetuates a Canterbury sound and sound over the spacious three minute opening. Karl Jenkins' treated oboe is the lead instrument on this one while Mike maintains a free and frisky support from his seat at the electric piano. John Marshall's drumming is simple but nuanced and supplemented by some conga and other percussion additions while Hugh Hopper's bass is rolling and deep as if perhaps fretless or using extra thick strings. At 6:46 there is a glitch leading into what feels like a loop/repeat of two note electric keyboard riff while the organ rises and performs just beneath the oboe. A "Tomorrow Never Knows"-like reverse track of some instrument also rises to the top, actually ending the song as the lead and only forward sound. Interesting. (17.5/20)

15. "1983" (7:54) nefarious and slightly-bombastic dual pianos and bass play a cinematic motif of suspense while John's heavy ride cymbal play and Hugh's weird "speeded up" bottle-metallophone riff gets repeated to death on top. (13/15)

Total Time: 76:25

With my distrust and aversion to live recordings, I make it a habit to not review live albums, so only LP 2, the studio recordings, earn my attention here.

B/four stars; a fairly good though consistently experimental Still, the studio LP of this release feels as if the boys were very curious and somehow satisfied with releasing to the public the results of their curiosities and experimentations with little regard for any kind of "finished song" product.

It is incredible how often they change things up on every track. They can't sit still. Hyper, complex music that takes some serious props from Frank Zappa, HATFIELD AND THE NORTH, STUBBS, SOFT MACHINE and MOVING GELATINE PLATES. This is a stew of sounds that sounds unique to my ears but there's also those constant familiar sounds that bring Zappa and SOFT MACHINE especially to mind.

So much to process on every track and so I'm not surprised at how long it's taken me to actually enjoy this. Jazz based and that sax can be daunting especially the electric sax, yes sort of like Elton Dean back in the day. And sure this could be Ratledge on keyboards but the way this is all arranged come on! I don't know I'm just so fascinated with this record. The guitar is often angular but always expressive and out front with the sax. Distorted organ to my delight is all over this plus electric piano. The bass pops and the drummer is jazzy. They're like a free jazz band at times but Canterbury style. Avant in the Zappa mode at his most complex. Not easy listening! Oh yeah the bass player adds cello and we get a guest adding flute on the opener and closer.

One of the very best from 2019.