The opening line in the exhaustive booklet in this box set is a quote from the greatly missed John Peel – “Kevin Ayers’ talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it”. This was indeed the case, but as anyone who followed Kevin Ayers career will know, his loathing of the promotional machinations of the music industry coupled with his inability to cope with it sadly led to his talent going largely unheard by the majority of the listening public.
This lavishly tooled box set focuses on Kevin Ayers’ tenure as a recording artiste for EMI’s “underground” offshoot, the then terminally hip Harvest Records. First up is Joy Of A Toy, Kev’s first solo album from December 1969 which intermittently showcases his still lurking psychedelic leanings, left over from his brief tenure with The Soft Machine (mostly with the definite article) especially on the barrelling Stop This Train (Again Doing It). They also occasionally appear in the straighter songs, a lot of which, perhaps inevitably, bear a big Fab Four influence, as did everything back then to an extent. Kev’s innate songwriting talents are strong enough to transcend any misplaced accusations of plagiarism, and on Eleanor’s Cake (Which Ate Her), and on the simply gorgeous Lady Rachel, he lays down the first few miles of his long winding path to instantly recognisable and quintessentially English quirkiness, a trait that marked him out as a true individual talent.
Two of the six bonus tracks are from Kev’s days with Soft Machine (both with and later, without the aforementioned definite article), when they along with Pink Floyd were the royalty of the London psychedelic scene. Their version of Stop This Train, is, shall we say, tight but loose. Why Are We Sleeping? is slightly more controlled and quite eerie with it. That particular song/jam became a perennial fixture in Kevin’s live sets for years to come. Other bonus tracks are culled from singles and Top Gear sessions. Of the three versions of Singing A Song In The Morning (the title is prefaced on the album with “Religious Experience”), the closing track on this CD is the single version and the best, showcasing Ayers’ bonhomie to good effect.
Next up we have the previously unreleased Live In Hyde Park from 18th July 1970, featuring Robert Wyatt on drums and what would become the core of Ayers’ band for the next year or so, namely Mike Oldfield, David Bedford, and Lol Coxhill. Right from the off, a carousing version of Clarence In Wonderland finds Kev and band in full flow, and the sound quality is surprisingly good, given the vintage of the recording. Lol Coxhill on tenor and soprano saxophone is a star throughout, peppering Kev’s goodtime tuneage with righteous skronking, as well as providing some quality melodious riffing.
Extended jamming features on a few numbers, usually to good effect, although the phrase “you had to be there” might apply to We Did It Again! David Bedford gets to manipulate his Hammond in a jazz rock approximation of Keith Emerson on Rheinhardt And Geraldine/Colores Para Delores. All he needed was knives and full prog rock indulgent excess would have been achieved! In a nice contrast, this is followed by the lovely May I?, one of Kev’s most romantic moments. I have always preferred the French version as that language lends itself so well to the wistful lyric. Sadly, the sound quality on this number seems to take a dip, but it’s still listenable enough.
Wacky comedy moments ensue on The Hat Song, as Kev never did take himself too seriously, sometimes to the detriment of his career (he’d have hated it being called a “career” too!). This CD concludes with the 21-minute bonus track The Garden Of Love, from the Queen Elizabeth Hall concert of the same era. An abstract but thoroughly enjoyable lurch through the band’s burgeoning avant jazz chops, morphing into a cacophonous free-form space rock, before ending with Kevin reappearing to sing us out. Lord knows what he got up to while his band were tripping the light fantastic for 15 minutes – with far better sound quality than the concert preceding it, this tune is what you need this disc for.
Shooting At The Moon, released in October 1970 has a more experimental vibe than Joy Of A Toy, despite deceptively beginning with the previously mentioned simple but glorious May I?, here featuring a lovely clarinet solo from Lol Coxhill, interplaying with a teenage Mike Oldfield’s highly melodic bass lines. Ah, Lol Coxhill… anything with him involved must go cosmic exploring at some point, does it not? And Shooting At The Moon doesn’t disappoint, and a few minutes into Rheinhardt… it flies off the rails with impish glee. Underneath all this derring-do, Kev’s band at this point, the understated but highly talented The Whole Wide World emit a distinctive Canterbury vibe, despite only Ayers being from that scene. The tune veers back onto the right track for its conclusion, and we breathe again.
I have always thought that Shooting At The Moon was his weakest album, and if it wasn’t for May I? and a few other less sparkling but still decent songs it would drown in its own pretentions. Pisser Dans un Violon is perhaps the most extreme example, and no doubt ironically and intentionally its meaning as “something useless and ineffective” is spot on! One suspects a shortage of material available to our host at the time led to a lot of filler, although this was a liminal period for Kevin, and he was still finding his compositional feet on the constantly shifting musical ground of the early 70s.
The bonus tracks make sitting through that dog’s dinner of an album all worth it though. As well as the unmissable Puis Je?, there’s its rather fetching single A-side Butterfly Dance, a typically laid back number with a big choral backing, that changes tack into a cantering pop romp. Luvvly. And then there’s the studio version of music hall comedy number Hats (better than its live counterpart on the Hyde Park album), with Kev struggling to keep a straight face at times. Another charming little French number, and new to me, Jolie Madame concludes this third disc.
The fourth disc is a real curio, and a draw for fans of Kevin, being a compiled selection of radio sessions and broadcast live recordings recorded for the BBC between 1970 and 1971. A wonderfully loose and unsurprisingly Gong-like We Did It Again from a 1970 John Peel Sunday Concert show is steeped in psychedelia, and the slightly murky recording only adds to its period charm. Lava lamps to the fore! The version of Shooting At The Moon, from a Radio 1 Alan Black session (anyone remember him?) has more pizzazz than the over-fussy studio version, and some fab bass work from Mike Oldfield.
Derby Day is one of Kev’s cheeky chappy throwaway novelty songs. Here it is, in three time, waltzing round your living room, as happy as Larry, and twice as daft. Then there’s another, and the best version of We Did It Again, that almost sounds funky! No, really! It’s all down to Oldfield’s fuzz bass. Add to that some great piano work from David Bedford, and Kev’s improvised lyrics, and a surreal spoken word section starring Kevin, and you have right sticky old musical pudding.
Perhaps of most interest are three songs – Jolie Madame, The Spider And The Fly, and The Oyster & The Flying Fish – from a Radio 1 In Concert programme with Bridget St.John, from January 1971. Just the two voices accompanied by an acoustic guitar make this a charming little interlude, even if the sound isn’t the best on the final track of the trio.
This CD ends with Clarence In Wonderland, played in a country hoedown style, with Gong. And a jolly thing it is too!
The fifth CD sees our Kev in full-on prog mode, in keeping with, even slightly ahead of the times. Whatevershebringswesing, was released in November 1971, when anything not for the pop market was still simply referred to as “Underground”, although the genre splitting had just about started by then, and this album full of twists and turns and marvellous sound collages would certainly have been in the “Progressive Rock” bin in the more switched-on record shops. This being Kevin Ayers he puts his own readily identifiable spin on it. As did every band then, as the thing we now call prog was new, and other than its common influences it had yet to develop the tropes of the form that are so easily spotted these days.
This always been my favourite Ayers LP, as it takes you on a rollercoaster journey through a myriad of styles, from the bad trip psychedelics of Song From The Bottom Of A Well, though to the title track, a reflective bluesy ballad. That these two songs follow one another gives you an idea of the fabulous switchback ride that this album is. And it’s got Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes on it, a rollicking hippy stoner appetiser that Kev sings in his baritone croon with an added knowing smirk. Thank you, very much! 😊
The bonus tracks include the poptastic Stars, which for some inexplicable reason never made the album, and should have been a single A-side in any event! A couple of the more interesting extras are a 1972 extended remake of The Lady Rachel, and the song Sad And Lonely Faces with David Bedford who was part of the now disbanded The Whole Wide World band that made Shooting At The Moon, and subsequently had a few years working with Kev, as both keyboard player and arranger.
The next CD is another tranche of BBC Sessions, this time covering January to May 1972. It kicks off with a BBC Radio 1 In Concert from January 6th, promoting Whatevershebringswesing, and compered by Whispering Bob Harris. With a full band including the David Bedford/Mike Oldfield/Lol Coxhill axis, backing singers, and a Bedford-arranged brass and strings section, Kevin and cohorts turn in a stellar performance.
As well as tracks from the album, a fair few old favourites are given a good workout, including a fabulously arranged Lady Rachel with all musical guns blazing. A similar full-on treatment is given to All This Crazy Gift Of Time, from whence this box set takes its title, and the show ends with a great 11-minute version of Why Are We Sleeping in full pomp. This CD is worth the admission price alone already! The rest of the CD is given over to a radio session for the Bob Harris show, aired on 17th May. The strength of Kevin’s songwriting is amply illustrated in the stripped back version of Whatevershebringswesing, which is just Kev’s voice, his guitar through a chorus pedal and Oldfield’s melodically languorous bass line, with occasional harmonica on top. It’s near eight minutes passes in no time.
We’re getting near the end of this marathon set now, and disc seven of eight is another BBC In Concert presentation from September 1972. The band again feature David Bedford and Lol Coxhill, and are now billed as “Banana Follies”. Those two get their own turn under the spotlight with Pretty Little Girl, another Vaudeville number, starting a whole section of music hall entertainment including a spoken word Goon-ish comedy interlude by David Bedford and George Wilkins called Murder In The Air!
The other “normal” tracks are from the Whatevershebringswesing album and sessions, with a few from Bananamour, which was being recorded at the time of the gig. The arrangements are very sparse, which only adds to their charm. The songs chosen for this gig lend it a light-hearted and carefree vibe, and this is the just sort of thing that Kevin Ayers excelled at, especially when he suspected he might be getting too popular for comfort. On the penultimate song Falling In Love Again, our hero sounds inebriated, but it is entirely possible he might be acting up on his reputation as a bon viveur. Could anyone tell?!
The CD ends with an April 1973 radio session for Bob Harris, showcasing three tracks from the by then current album Bananamour, including a great version of Shouting In A Bucket Blues, which shambles along effortlessly in the by now long-established Kevin Ayers manner.
The eighth CD in the box features Ayers’ last album for Harvest Records, Bananamour, which was released in May 1973. Kicking off with the very late-period Beatles-sounding Don’t Let It Get You Down, the album is something of a forgotten pop gem in Ayers’ catalogue. Followed by the confessional Shouting In A Bucket Blues, which gives us an insight into his insecurities and self-doubt, “a whole mountain range of misunderstanding” in fact, and then the Dr John-like earthy R&B of When Your Parents Go To Sleep (sung by bass player Archie Legget), this trio of songs is probably the strongest opening of any Ayers album, and shows how far he had travelled since the flickering night light in a dark room experimental searching of Joy Of A Toy, only three and a half years previously. Time seemed to move faster back then.
The rest of the album couldn’t live up to that opening, but it is still a good listen, and includes the rambling Velvets drone of Decadence, the light-hearted throwaway Oh! Wot A Dream, the pastoral whimsy of Hymn, and the lovely short-but-sweet orchestral arrangement that accompanies Beware Of The Dog, courtesy of David Bedford.
As for the bonus tracks, the less said about the cod-reggae of Connie On A Rubber Band, the better! The following Caribbean Moon is only slightly less cringeworthy. The most interesting bonus track is a live We Did It Again which starts out as a soul revue, only to get all spacious and psychedelic on our asses, and then takes us on a nice long trip for over 15 minutes. The set concludes with a second previously unreleased live track from the same November 1972 gig, this time the perennial live favourite Why Are We Sleeping, and blummin’ ‘eavy it is too!
Disc nine is a concert from London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, on 25th May 1973. Kevin introduces the gig with “We’re going to start with some music that I can only describe as marvellous. I can only describe it as marvellous, as my vocabulary is rather limited”, in typical self-effacing manner, I imagine, with a twinkle in his eye. Thus follows a humorous eulogy to the banana! The concert lollops along in a confident shambles and includes a handful of Kevin’s by then most well-known tunes as well a few from the then current album Banamour.
The tenth and final disc of this gargantuan slab of musical history goes unheard and unseen by this reviewer, who is working from a promotional download, as it is a Blu-ray “featuring previously unreleased live appearances recorded for French TV and the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test (including three unseen session out-takes), and the Caribbean Moon promo film”. Also included is “a lavishly illustrated 68-page book with a new essay”, and judging by the pdf version I have, lavish it certainly is! Cherry Red have come up trumps yet again with this set, and if you are unsure about getting it, remember, it’s the season of goodwill, I’m sure a loved one can be given the appropriate prezzie hint. 😊
While in commercial terms Kevin Ayers never lived up to his promise, in artistic terms his time at Harvest was an unqualified triumph and left us with several memorable songs, and you can’t say fairer than that.
TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE
Joy of a Toy
01. Joy of a Toy Continued
02. Town Feeling
03. The Clarietta Rag
04. Girl on a Swing
05. Song for Insane Times
06. Stop This Train (Again Doing It)
07. Eleanor’s Cake (Which Ate Her)
08. The Lady Rachel
09. Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong
10. All This Crazy Gift of Time
~ Bonus tracks
11. Religious Experience (feat. Syd Barrett)
12. Soon Soon Soon
13. Religious Experience (Take 103)
14. Clarence in Wonderland (BBC Session 10.02.1970) 15 Stop This Train (Again Doing It) (BBC Session 10.02.1970)
16. Why Are We Sleeping? (feat. Soft Machine) (BBC Session 10.02.1970)
17. You Say You Like My Hat (BBC Session 10.02.1970) 18 Singing a Song in the Morning (single)
DISC TWO
Live at Hyde Park July 1970 Mixed by Stephen W Tayler
01. Clarence in Wonderland
02. The Lady Rachel
03. Rheinhardt and Geraldine/Colores Para Delores
04. May I?
05. Hat Song
06. We Did it Again
07. Why Are We Sleeping?
~ Bonus track
08. The Garden of Love (live Queen Elizabeth Hall 1970)
DISC THREE
Shooting at the Moon
01. May I?
02. Rheinhardt and Geraldine / Colores Para Delores
03. Lunatics Lament
04. Pisser Dans un Violin
05. The Oyster and the Flying Fish
06. Underwater
07. Clarence in Wonderland
08. Red Green and You Blue
09. Shooting at the Moon
~ Bonus tracks
10. Hat (recorded May 1970)
11. Gemini Child (recorded June 1970)
12. Butterfly Dance (A-side of single)
13. Puis Je? (B-side of single)
14. Jolie Madame (recorded November 1970)
DISC FOUR
BBC Sessions May 1970 – November 1971
01. Love Is (John Peel Concert 17.05 1970) (previously unreleased)
02. We Did It Again (John Peel Concert 17.05 1970) (previously unreleased)
03. Gemini Child (BBC Session 20.05.1970)
04. Lady Rachel (BBC Session 20.05.1970)
05. Shooting at the Moon (BBC Session 20.05.1970)
06. Derby Day (BBC Session 09.06.1970)
07. The Interview (BBC Session 09.06.1970)
08. We Did it Again / Murder in the Air (BBC Session 09.06.1970)
09. Jolie Madame (with Bridget St. John) (In Concert 31.01.1971)
10. The Spider and the Fly (with Bridget St. John) (In Concert 31.01.1971)
11. The Oyster and the Flying Fish (with Bridget St. John) (In Concert 31.01.1971)
12. Clarence in Wonderland (feat. Gong) (BBC Session 09.11.1971)
DISC FIVE
Whatevershebringswesing
01. There is Loving/Among Us/There is Loving
02. Margaret
03. Oh My
04. Song from a Bottom of a Well
05. Whatevershebringswesing 6 Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes
07. Champagne Cowboy Blues
08. Lullaby
~ Bonus tracks
09. Watching the Sun Go Down (recorded May 1971)
10. Whatevershebringswesing (first version) (recorded May 1971)
11. Stars (B-side of single)
12. All This Crazy Gift of Time (1972 remake)
13. The Lady Rachel (1972 remake)
14. Sad and Lonely Faces (with David Bedford)
15. (Don’t Sing No More) Sad Songs
16. Fake Mexican Tourist Blues (recorded September 1972)
DISC SIX
BBC Sessions January – May 1972
01. May I? (In Concert Jan 1972)
02. There is Loving / Among Us / There is Loving (In Concert Jan 1972)
03. Margaret (In Concert Jan 1972)
04. Whatevershebringswesing (In Concert Jan 1972)
05. Clarence in Wonderland (In Concert Jan 1972)
06. Colores Para Delores (In Concert Jan 1972)
07. Lady Rachel (In Concert Jan 1972)
08. All This Crazy Gift of Time (In Concert Jan 1972)
09. Why Are We Sleeping? (In Concert Jan 1972)
10. The Oyster and the Flying Fish (BBC session 17.05.1972)
11. Butterfly Dance (BBC session 17.05.1972)
12. Whatevershebringswesing (BBC session 17.05.1972)
13. Falling in Love Again (BBC session 17.05.1972)
14. Queen Thing (BBC session 17.05.1972)
DISC SEVEN
BBC Sessions September 1972 – April 1973 Banana Follies In Concert September 1972
01. Introduction (In Concert Sept. 1972)
02. (Don’t Sing No More) Sad Songs (In Concert Sept. 1972)
03. Pretty Little Girl (In Concert Sept. 1972)
04. Two Pigeons (In Concert Sept. 1972)
05. Murder in the Air (In Concert Sept. 1972)
06. ‘Orrible Orange (In Concert Sept. 1972)
07. Whatevershebringswesing (In Concert Sept. 1972)
08. Take Me to Tahiti (In Concert Sept. 1972)
09. Oh! Wot a Dream (In Concert Sept. 1972)
10. Marlene (In Concert Sept. 1972)
11. Ball Bearing Blues (In Concert Sept. 1972)
12. Fake Mexican Tourist Blues (In Concert Sept. 1972)
13. Interview (In Concert Sept. 1972)
14. You Say You Like My Hat (In Concert Sept. 1972)
15. Falling in Love Again (In Concert Sept. 1972)
16. The End (In Concert Sept. 1972)
17. Interview (BBC session 11.04.1973)
18. Oh! Wot a Dream (BBC session 11.04.1973)
19. Shouting in a Bucket Blues (BBC session 11.04.1973)
DISC EIGHT
Bananamour
01. Don’t Let it Get You Down
02. Shouting in a Bucket Blues
03. When Your Parents Go to Sleep
04. Interview
05. Internotional Anthem
06. Decadence
07. Oh! Wot a Dream
08. Hymn
09. Beware of the Dog
~ Bonus tracks
10. Connie on a Rubber Band (B-side of single)
11. Caribbean Moon (A-side of single)
12. Take Me to Tahiti (B- side of single)
13. Decadence (early mix)
14. We Did it Again (live Mile End 1972) (previously unreleased)
15. Why Are We Sleeping? (live Mile End 1972) (previously unreleased)
DISC NINE
After the Show – Live at Queen Elizabeth Hall May 1973
01. Banana Introduction
02. Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes
03. Interview
04. Whatevershebringswesing
05. Oh! Wot a Dream
06. Shouting in a Bucket Blues )
07. Caribbean Moon
08. Don’t Let it Get You Down
09. We Did it Again
10. Why Are We Sleeping?
11. After the Show
DISC TEN – Blu-ray
Video Vaults 1970-1973
01. Clarence in Wonderland (Pop Deux ORTF France 31.03.1970)
02. Why Are We Sleeping? (Pop Deux ORTF France 31.03.1970)
03. Oh My (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 04.04.1972)
04. May I? (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 04.04.1972)
05. Why Are We Sleeping? (Pop Deux ORTF France 13.01.1973)
06. Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes (Rockenstock ORTF France 30.01.1973)
07. Why Are We Sleeping? (Rockenstock ORTF France 30.01.1973)
08. Shouting in a Bucket Blues (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 12.06.1973)
09. Oh! Wot a Dream (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 12.06.1973)
10. Caribbean Moon (Promotional film 1973)
~ Bonus content
11. Oh My (take 2) (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 04.04.1972)
12. May I? (take 2) (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 04.04.1972)
13. Oh My (take 4) (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 04.04.1972)
MUSICIANS
Way too many to fully list here, but appearing in roughly chronological order are Richard Sinclair, David Sinclair, Richard Coughlan, Syd Barrett, David Bedford, Robert Wyatt, and the rest of early 70s Soft Machine, Gong, Mike Oldfield, Lol Coxhill, Archie Legget, Steve Hillage, and more!
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Esoteric Recordings | Cherry Red Records
Country of Origin: U.K.
Date of Release: 18th October 2024
LINKS
Kevin Ayers – Cherry Red Records Info
