Kevin Ayers And The Whole World - Hyde Park Free Concert 1970 (2007)
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Self-avowed amateur musician Kevin Ayers left Soft Machine because they were too advanced for him. His claim disavowing pop music ran contrary to wanting to make money, and his attitude about writing critical songs flew in the face of his theory that many musical judgments are generally negative. The ultimate flip-flopper beyond the pale of many politicians, Ayers was admittedly a lazy drunk whose disdain for learning technique branded him not only an anomaly, but in many circles charming via an idiot savant persona. ”
So when he left Soft Machine to form his new ensemble the Whole World, what did he do but hire highly skilled players like drummer Robert Wyatt, free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill, bassist Mike Oldfield (yes, he of Tubular Bells fame) and keyboardist David Bedford. As part of a free all-day-long festival at London's Hyde Park that also featured Pink Floyd on their Atom Heart Mother tour, Roy Harper and Edgar Broughton, Ayers presented this band that somehow succeeded to express his folk-rock aesthetic infiltrated with jazz and primordial jam band sensibilities. The production values are honestly rough, the vocals of Ayers distorted, buried and relatively unintelligible. Instrumentally the band holds interest, especially Bedford and Wyatt, while Coxhill's consistently over the top playing can either be rated as innovative or buffoonery. The opener "Clarence in Wonderland" quickly sets the tone in good old raw rock & roll fashion over Coxhill's wailing sax, and into a free noise section. The sense of creating false excitement is palpable. Ayers is not impressive as a lead guitarist or yelling vocalist on any level, but softens his tone on "May I?," clearly hitting on a pretty girl over tambourine and police sirens. "Did It Again" directly cops from the riff of the Dovells hit "You Can't Sit Down" with rock boogaloo organ from Bedford, in a lengthy jam that intensifies into irrelevance. "Why Are We Sleeping?" at over 12 minutes starts macabre, goes loose, detached, plodding, and ends with a fairly decent solo from the guitarist. Held together with gum and barbed wire, the Whole World offered great potential unrealized -- good music generally played poorly (on purpose?) and well at times individually.
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Tracklist:
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01. Clarence In Wonderland
02. Red Green and You Blue
03. May I?
04. Hat Song
05. Did It Again
06. Why Are We Sleeping
*2007 Reel Recordings / KA | RR 002
Personnel:
Kevin Ayers: guitar, vocals
David Bedford: electric piano, organ
Lol Coxhill: tenor sax, soprano sax,
Mike Oldfield: bass;
Robert Wyatt: drums
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