(Canterbury) Hatfield And The North - Hatfield And The North 1974, UK - 1974, APE (image + .cue)

Hatfield And The North - Hatfield And The North 1974, UK

Страна: UK
Жанр: Canterbury
Год выпуска: 1974
Формат: APE (image + .cue)
Трэклист:
Studio Album, released in 1973

Track Listings

1. The Stubbs effect (0:23)
2. Big jobs(Poo Poo extract)(0:36)
3. Going up to people and tinkling (2:25)
4. Calix (2:45)
5. Son of "there's no place like Homerton" (10:10)
6. Aigrette (1:38)
7. Rifferama (2:56)
8. Fol de rol (3:07)
9. Shaving is boring (8:45)
10. Licks for the ladies (2:37)
11. Bossa nochance (0:40)
12. Big jobs No 2 (By Poo and the Wee Wees) (2:14)
13. Lobster in cleavage probe (3:57)
14. Gigantic land-crabs in Earth takeover bid(3:21)
15. The other stubbs effect (0:38)
Bonus tracks on Cd:
16. Let's Eat (Real Soon)
17. Fitter Stoke Has a Bath

Total Time: 46:11
Доп. информация: Line-up/Musicians

- Phil Miller / guitars
- Pip Pyle / drums
- Richard Sinclair / bass, vocals
- Dave Stewart / organ, piano
- Jeremy Baines / pixiephone
- Barbara Gaskin / backing vocals
- Geoff Leigh / saxophones, flute
- Amanda Parsons / backing vocals
- Ann Rosenthal / backing vocals
- Robert Wyatt / vocals (4)

The band grew out of a line-up of Delivery in mid-1972 consisting of Phil Miller (guitar, from Matching Mole), Steve Miller(†) (keyboards; Phil's brother), Pip Pyle(†) (drums, from Gong) and Richard Sinclair (bass and vocals, from Caravan).

The band played a few live shows between July and September that year, but with Steve Miller being replaced by Dave Sinclair (from Matching Mole and Caravan), the band soon changed its name to Hatfield and the North. The Delivery line-up reunited for a BBC session in November 1972 with Steve Miller, Phil Miller, Lol Coxhill, Roy Babbington (bass), Pip Pyle, and Richard Sinclair on vocals. (Steve Miller went on to release a couple of duo albums with Coxhill in 1973/74.)

Dave Sinclair left in January 1973, shortly after the band's appearance (with Robert Wyatt on guest vocals) on the French TV programme "Rockenstock", and was quickly replaced by Dave Stewart (from Egg) before the band's first recordings were made.

The band recorded two albums, Hatfield and the North and The Rotters' Club. Backing vocals on the two albums were sung by The Northettes: Amanda Parsons, Barbara Gaskin and Ann Rosenthal. On the Autumn 1974 "Crisis Tour", which Hatfield co-headlined with Kevin Coyne, the opening act was a duo of Steve Miller and Lol Coxhill (also previously of Delivery) and Coxhill usually guested with Hatfield on the jamming sections of "Mumps".

After disbanding, Dave Stewart formed National Health with Alan Gowen from Gilgamesh; Miller was a member throughout the band's existence, and Pyle joined in 1977. (Richard Sinclair also sat in on a couple of gigs and a BBC radio session that year.) Hatfield and the North and Gilgamesh had played a couple of shows together in late 1973, including a joint "double quartet" set, in some ways the prototype for National Health. Miller, Stewart, Pyle and Sinclair also worked together in various combinations on other projects.

Discography
Hatfield and the North (studio LP, Virgin 1974; CD, Virgin 1990)
The Rotters' Club (studio LP, Virgin 1975; CD, Virgin 1990)
Afters (Virgin, 1980)
Live 1990 (live CD, Demon, 1993)
Hatwise Choice: Archive Recordings 1973-1975, Volume 1 (Hatco CD73-7501, distributed by Burning Shed, 2005)
Hattitude: Archive Recordings 1973-1975, Volume 2 (Hatco CD73-7502, distributed by Burning Shed, 2006)

This release and their second album, "Rotters Club", are the only examples I know of where every musician can easily be called a virtuoso writer and performer, and despite all the enormous talent the music itself is still perfectly unified, original, coherent and moving. With everyone showing off, this is no small accomplishment. Want incredible bass playing: listen to Richard Sinclair. Percussion: Pip Pyle amazes. Keyboards: Dave Stewart moves from style to style without ever sounding contrived. Guitars: Phil Miller defies description. The list goes on: Robert Wyatt lends some singing, as do the Northettes. Geoff Leigh weighs in from Henry Cow. The net result is a who's who in the Canterbury scene, delivering one of a kind music with a very light touch, a lot of self-depricating humor, style, endless depth and substance. How good is it? After the switch from vinyl, this was one of the first CDs I bought, and with it I proved that CDs are not built to last forever: it was played so often that I finally wore it out. And the music still sounds fresh, and probably always will, since its complexities are such a joy to discover. Nothing close has ever come along to replace Hatfield, and probably nothing ever will. Buy this CD, and their second album. Track down the solo releases by Phil Miller, Pip Pyle, Richard Sinclair, Dave Stewart and the others. Get your hands on everything ever released by National Health. Go back and get all the Caravan and Soft Machine you can find. Then listen to Hatfield in context: carefully, whimsically, seriously, casually. People that care this much about the music they create deserve your ear.

The music on this debut by Hatfield and the North is arranged in a large suite comprised of 15 parts, which includes lengthy instrumental sections interspersed with a vocalese by Robert Wyatt, excellent singing by the Northettes, and of course proper vocals by Richard Sinclair. Stylistically, a great deal of the music on Hatfield and the North is superficially in keeping with the rhythmic and harmonic practices of jazz-rock, yet there are sections that are more in line with what most folks would consider to be progressive rock proper. Specifically, there is intricate (and occasionally heavy) ensemble playing that emphasizes chord progressions used in European classical, which at times is reminiscent of Dave Stewarts work with Egg, passages that border on avante-rock, and spacey sections dominated by quiet, understated guitar parts, churchy organ, electric piano, and the superb, three-part vocal harmonies of the Northettes. I think it is worth pointing out that the Northettes focus on creating soft soundscapes with their voices, much like a sustained mellotron pad, rather than the traditional backup vocal parts found in much of rock music. In fact, they function as a very disciplined "mini choir". The playing of all musicians is just excellent throughout, and the complexity and deadly seriousness of the suite contrasts sharply with section titles like "Going up to People and Tinkling" and "Shaving is Boring". In addition to the 15-part suite, there are two separate pieces on this version of the CD entitled "Let's Eat (Real Soon)" and "Fitter Stoke has a Bath". Although both of the additional pieces are enjoyable, the latter is much better than the pop of "Let's Eat". This is absolutely excellent music and perhaps one of the best recordings created in the Canterbury style. Recommended in addition to other excellent works of Canterbury rock including "Rock Bottom" (Robert Wyatt, 1974) and "In the Land of Grey and Pink" (Caravan, 1971).

This is probably the most uniformly brilliant and inventive piece of canterburian progressive rock I have ever heard. Every single composition displays extremely intricate arrangement, chord patterns, and amazing virtuosic musicianship. Dave Stewart's keyboard work is absolutely indespensable and the whole band displays some of the most melodic and confoundingly beautiful ensemble work this side of Mozart. Not only does the music improve but it is essential for repeated listening. This is a defining statement not just for canterbury sound but for progressive rock as a whole. One of the most accomplished works of the whole genre!