I owned this very elusive disc in cassette and open-reel 9 i.p.s./2 tracks formats for most of my (musical) life - the record dates back to 1971 - and only recently I found a copy, a nice copy on Deram label - Made in England, a truly gorgeous pressing.
Well, must say I wasn't prepared to the enjoyment I experienced this afternoon, when I had a listen, a careful, loving listening to the vinyl, at last.
It's music I've really been exposed to for decades, it's part of myself, BUT, nonetheless, the legendary Decca's recording quality made the miracle I discovered literally WORLDS of never heard sounds, the music passed at a completely different level of perception than other lesser medias, period.
The disc is simply AMAZING: Ian Carr's trumpet shines, while orchestra and prog-jazz musicians who recorded in three days - imagine they were well rehearsed - the masterpiece are in seldom heard league.
... not a cheap disc... BUT, folks, it's worth every sum, believe me.
For anyone interested in classic British jazz and prog-jazz, I listed some records I own and which recently listened to with great pleasure... consider them a sort of compendium to The Chitinous Ensemble (I'm listening to it right now...), an enlarged memory soundtrack to those magical early '70s, where all happened.
McLaughlin, Holland, Stu Martin, Surman - Where Fortune Smiles (Dawn)
Michael Gibbs - Just Ahead (Polydor 2lps)
Mike Westbrook - Love Songs (Deram)
McLaughlin/Okley/Surman - Extrapolation (Immediate)
Mike Westbrook - Marching Song Vol. 1 e 2 (Deram)
Michael Gibbs - Tanglewood '63 (Deram)
Michael Gibbs - First (Deram)
Keith Tippett's Centipede - Septober Energy (RCA 2lps)
Mike Westbrook - London Bridge is Broken Down (Venture/Virgin 3 LPS)
Ian Carr - Belladonna (Vertigo)
Norma Winstone - Edge of Time (Argo)
Keith Tippett/Marc Charig- Pipedream (Ogun)
Coxhill/Miller-Miller/Coxhill (Caroline)
Mike Westbrook - Metropolis (RCA)
Surman/Oxley/Skidmore - S.O.S. (Ogun)
Michael Garrick - Troppo (Deram)
Keith Tippett - Blueprint (RCA)
John Surman - Morning Glory (Island)
Hugh Hopper - 1984 (CBS)
Robert Wyatt - Ruth is Stranger than Richard (Virgin)
The Chitinous Ensemble (Deram)
Elton Dean (CBS)
John Surman - Westering Home (Island)
Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (Virgin)
John Surman - Tales of Algonquin (Deram)
You can't be wrong on the above... Enjoy!
Nice to see so many Westbrook albums on this list. One attributed to Mike Gibbs is also by Mike Westbrook. I don't think that Mike Gibbs ever made an album called Metropolis but Mike Westbrook certainly did.
ReplyDelete... thanks for reading my Blog and correcting the typo...
ReplyDelete;-)