Curved Air

Personnel:
Sonja Kristina: lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Darryl Way: electric violin, keyboards, vocals
Francis Monkman: keyboards, guitar, VCS3 synthesizer
Florian Pilkington-Miksa: drums

Taking their name from experimental musician Terry Riley‘s influential album, A Rainbow in Curved Air, this English band occupied a respectable position in 1970s progressive rock scene, though the US market eluded them. Today, they’re usually mentioned in reference to a late-period drummer from the US: a Police-man named Stewart Copeland. Above personnel is the core of early lineups. (Band had revolving door of bass players.)

The nucleus were two classical music students: violinist/keyboardist Darryl Way (graduate of Royal College of Music) and keyboardist/guitarist Francis Monkman. They met in a London music store, discovered they both liked rock, then formed the band Sisyphus in 1969. After introduction to hippie-chick singer Sonja Kristina, veteran of London stage production of Hair (as well as interim singer in Strawbs, post-Sandy Denny), they changed name to Curved Air.

First album, Air Conditioning, was first British issue by industry behemoth Warner Bros., and notable for having one of the earliest picture discs. But bidding war, extravagant signing bonus, radio spot promos, and the gimmicky LP packaging backfired on group, as rock fans smelled hype. Record still managed to climb to eighth position in UK charts, helped by single, “It Happened Today.” Way’s violin and a foxy femme singer invited comparisons to West Coast act, It’s a Beautiful Day.

L to R: Monkman, Pilkington-Miksa, bassist Ian Eyre, Kristina, Way

Second Album (1971) was substantial musical improvement. Monkman focused more on keyboards than guitar, and at least one side is good mix of crafty rockers and melodic psych, Way writing music and Kristina doing lyrics. Second side, however, is Monkman-written, three songs, the extravagant, 13-minute “Piece of Mind” of most interest to hard prog fans. Single “Back Street Luv” from album was band’s commercial peak, hitting #4 on UK charts. (UK sleeve of Second Album is cool pastel diecut, while US has more generic, non-diecut art.)

Phantasmagoria (1972) continued respectable standard of predecessor, with risqué chamber-pop of “Not Quite the Same,” spooky “Marie Antoinette,” and Kristina’s acoustic showpiece, “Melinda (More or Less)” (reminiscent of “The Lady Rachel” by Kevin Ayers). But this third LP again highlighted compositional schism between Way-Kristina and Monkman and band splintered soon after album release. Way formed Darryl Way’s Wolf, Monkman went into session work. His keyboards, however, are highlight of groovy ’72  single, “Sarah’s Concern.”

Way’s classical, occasionally crazed electric violin playing, and his arrangements, were critical element of group sound, as were Monkman’s keyboard flourishes. But Kristina, drummer Florian Pilkington-Miksa, and (third) bassist Mike Wedgwood continued, bringing in 17-year-old violin and piano prodigy Eddie Jobson (future member of Roxy Music and Asia) for 1973 Air Cut album. Then Way and Monkman returned for Curved Air – Live (1975), designed as a tax write-off, before Monkman again exited, joining Phil Manzanera in 801 then forming classical rock outfit Sky with guitarist John Williams. Also exiting were original drummer Pilkington-Miksa (who joined Kiki Dee) and Wedgwood (who joined Caravan).

Final two studio albums were the ones with drummer Copeland. But the music was more conventional, less interesting, and possibly secondary to a budding romance between Kristina and him. They ultimately married (are now divorced) and have several kids.

***

Musically, Curved Air’s trademark is probably Darryl Way’s solo electric violin, a rare instrument in rock even by prog standards. His virtuosic playing betrays his appreciation of the classics, notably on the violin extravaganza “Vivaldi” from Air Conditioning, or “Cheetah” from Phantasmagoria. On top of that you get Kristina’s sexy, vibrato vocals, Monkman’s imaginative keyboard soundscapes, and a very underrated drummer in Pilkington-Miksa.

Curved Air could, and did, “rock out” well (see link below). They truly excelled where they could be slightly strange, principally on the shorter Way-Kristina songs. The best examples – and where Curved Air offered musical paths I wish they’d continued following – are on songs like the swinging sixties pastiche “Not Quite the Same,” seemingly a toss-off tune, but in truth a thoughtfully arranged synth and horns dynamo. Or the floating, carefully paced, autumnal song “Jumbo,” from Second Album. These are both proof that progressive rock could be progressive while also being humble.

Sonja Kristina has kept the flame alive with various lineups, concerts, and live releases. Way regularly releases solo records. After Sky, Monkman composed for film, notably the award-winning The Long Good Friday (1980). He died in 2023. Pilkington-Miksa died in 2021.

Singles:
It Happened Today / What Happens When You Blow Yourself Up (1971)
Vivaldi / It Happened Today (1971) (Italy only)
Back Street Luv / Everdance (1971)
Sarah’s Concern / Phantasmagoria (1972)
Baby Please Don’t Go / Broken Lady (1976)

Original Albums:
Air Conditioning (1970)
Second Album (1971)
Phantasmagoria (1972)
Air Cut (1973)
Curved Air – Live (1975)
Midnight Wire (1975)
Airborne (1976)

Reunion Album:
North Star (2017) (only Kristina and Pilkington-Miksa from original lineup)

Automatic Man

Band Personnel:
Bayeté: keyboards, synthesizer, vocals
Michael Shrieve: drums, percussion
Pat Thrall: guitar
Doni Harvey: bass, vocals
+ Glenn Symmonds: drums (replaced Shrieve)
+ Jerome Rimson: bass (replaced Harvey)

Formed in San Francisco around prodigious percussionist Michael Shrieve, who at age 20 set fire to the 1969 Woodstock festival with his drumming for Santana, with whom he remained for seven albums. In ’75, Shrieve hooked up with a classical- and jazz-trained pianist-composer named Todd Cochran, who had worked with jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Herbie Hancock, and saxophonist John Klemmer, and had made two low-profile solo albums for Prestige. Shrieve and Cochran – now calling himself “Bayeté” – pulled in two unknowns from the Bay Area, Pat Thrall (guitar) and Doni Harvey (bass) to form a band mixing funk-style soul with pop-philosophical space rock (or vice-versa). Think Earth Wind & Fire copulating with Utopia.

Island Records founder Chris Blackwell was impressed by the quartet’s rehearsals, signing it to a two-album deal. Automatic Man recorded its eponymous album in London at practically same time as Shrieve (an in-demand drummer) recorded an album with Steve Winwood and Stomu Yamashta in fusion supergroup Go. The lion’s share of the group’s compositions were by Bayeté, with minor help from manager-producer Lou Casabianca. Though not as illustrious as Go, the debut LP by Automatic Man is arguably more intriguing.

Shrieve’s intricate drumming is, no surprise, high in the mix (even if the vocal mix is flat). Thrall, also, lays down muscular axe flurries reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix. But the spotlight is on Bayeté. His cosmic compositions, with titles like “Atlantis Rising Theme (Turning of the Axis)” and “Interstellar Tracking Devices,” pick up where Hendrix left off with “Third Stone From the Sun” and “1983 (A Merman I Should Turn to Be).” That’s in addition to his sterling piano and synth work. There’s an opiate-dream seductiveness about the record, slightly conceptual, spacy, phantasmic, but also grounded in soul. The key is to ignore the banal lyrics and get washed along by the funky space rock, Shrieve’s complex percussion, and Bayeté’s and Harvey’s semi-stoned vocals. (And stare into the blank, doe eyes of that androgynous alien on the sleeve.)

“My Pearl” is the LP’s most accessible song and was pulled off as a single (see link below). It did moderately well on some of the cooler free-form rock stations in the fall of ’76, just breaking Billboard‘s Top 100. There was a ton of promise here…a multi-racial band of music prodigies making space rock that could fit snugly with either of the Dons: Kirshner (Rock Concert) or Cornelius (Soul Train).

But Shrieve quit the band soon after the debut album for session work with krautrocker Klaus Schulze and hard rocker Pat Travers. Then he formed another crack quartet, Novo Combo. (Their slick new wave song, “Up Periscope,” hit #43 on the charts in 1981.) Harvey followed Shrieve out. Bayeté and Thrall brought in replacements Jerome Rimson (bass) and Glenn Symmonds (drums) and made a second Automatic Man album…same generic space alien on the cover, but with a shocking-pink background. The music? Not bad, but the imaginative cosmic flourishes were abandoned due to “pressures of the industry,” and replaced by standard, disco-oriented R&B. A dismal critical and commercial reception consigned Visitors, then the group itself, to the scrap heap.

***

I thought Automatic Man would be a good chaser to my previous article on Libra, since both bands dabbled in prog and funk (an odd combination), and each managed only two albums. The difference is, while Libra greatly improved on its second outing, Automatic Man regressed (the ubiquitous “sophomore slump”). Still…on its first outing, this band proved not only that the concept of “fusion” wasn’t restricted to an amalgam of rock with jazz or classical, but that an American band was, indeed, capable of making decent progressive rock.

After Automatic Man, Todd “Bayeté” Cochran worked with Peter Gabriel and Carl Palmer and has supported a multitude of music and film endeavors. Thrall joined up with Pat Travers, Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), and toured with Asia, among other projects. Rimson played bass with Phil Lynott and Van Morrison. Harvey and Symmonds also engaged in session work. (Harvey died in 2011.) Shrieve has played with musicians numbering in the hundreds, rejoined Santana in 2016 for one album, and today is a musical director in Seattle.

(Of note: Glenn Symmonds drummed periodically for the late Eddie Money. In 2015, Money laid off his whole band, and when he later reconstituted his band with his family (without Symmonds), the drummer filed a sordid age and medical disability discrimination suit. In 2019 it was rejected by an appellate court.)

(Thanks to Wikipedia for some of the information here.)

Single:
My Pearl / Wallpaper (1976)

Albums:
Automatic Man (1976)
Visitors (1977)

Libra

Band Personnel:
Federico D’Andrea: lead vocals, guitars, effects
Nicola Distaso: lead guitar, vocals, effects
Alessandro Centofanti: keyboards
Dino Cappa: bass, vocals
David Walter: drums, percussion
Walter Martino: drums (ex-Goblin, replaced Walter after first LP)

The tangled history of Libra revolves around Italian songwriter-guitarist-singer Federico D’Andrea. He began his tragically interrupted musical career in Rome with an unrecorded 1960s band, The Ancients, noteworthy for its singer, Manuel De Sica, son of legendary filmmaker and actor, Vittorio De Sica.

D’Andrea and The Ancients’ bassist left to form Myosotis and released two Italian-only singles. D’Andrea subsequently split to join up with members of the band Genesi (“Genesis” in English, but not that Genesis), featuring 4-octave-range, Scottish singer Alex Ligertwood, later of Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, Jeff Beck Group, and Santana. This new assemblage (minus Ligertwood) called itself Logan Dwight.

Logan Dwight released one LP and one single, with English vocals, in 1972. While their music had patches of promise, it lacks cohesion and is marred by clunky arrangements, abrupt time changes, and weirdly placed strings and horns. D’Andrea may have recognized such, as he once again bolted, another guitarist in tow, to form Libra.

Although D’Andrea’s version of Libra existed a mere three years, 1973 to 1976, it did eke out two interesting albums. After appearing in a musical, Jacapone, Libra went to Milan to make first LP under producer Danny B. Besquet on a Sony Music subsidiary, Dischi Ricordi. This Italian issue had the ingenuous title Musica e Parole, which translates to “Music and Words.” Though Musica dispensed with the strings and horns of Logan Dwight, it still suffered schizophrenia, with awkward mix of jazz fusion, prog, and even funk. There were gorgeous, soft passages by D’Andrea, especially on “Born Today,” but these were compromised by a goodly amount of random soloing and meandering, Euro-style fusion.

L to R: Nicola Distaso, David Walter, Sandro Centofanti, Federico D’Andrea, Dino Cappa

Maybe due to the funk elements, but Besquet managed a whopping 10-album deal for Libra with, of all labels, U.S. titan Motown, which had already made incursions into rock music (and white artists) with its subsidiary Rare Earth (named after the “Get Ready” group). Whatever the reason for signing Libra, Motown released an English-language version of their debut, retitled simply Libra, with vastly improved sleeve art by Peter Lloyd, illustrator of space-themed album sleeves for likes of Rod Stewart, Jefferson Starship, and Kansas.

In 1975 and with Motown support, Libra commenced touring U.S., opening for Frank Zappa, Argent, the Tubes, Steppenwolf, Chicago, and Savoy Brown. They also squeezed in recording sessions in Los Angeles (where Motown had opened offices) and produced the much-improved Winter Day’s Nightmare: tighter arrangements than the debut, with the electric guitars more attuned to D’Andrea’s compositions. Additionally, the light prog/fusion/funk elements meld better. The standout track is the opener, “Nothing Comes, Nothing Goes (Pt. I & II),” with its mellow mellotron, pastoral sound effects, and gently philosophical lyric. The only negatives on Nightmare – if they can be called such – are some head-scratching lyrics (one song title is the classy “It’s Not Tasteful to Fly”…maybe writing in a foreign language is a good thing)…and D’Andrea’s limited Bowie-esque vocalizing. Although his high notes can be painful listening, he makes up for his voice limitations with unbounded enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, Libra had a falling out with Besquet during recording. All returned to Italy except D’Andrea, who stayed to complete his vocals, and the 10-LP Motown deal got lost in L.A. smog. Winter Day’s Nightmare was roundly ignored and hit cutout bins almost immediately.  As with D’Andrea’s previous bands, Libra left this mortal coil while practically infants.

Sadly, D’Andrea’s time was also short. In 1978, in Rome, he was fatally struck by a car. He was only 30.

***

As with Bread, Love and Dreams, I discovered this band inadvertently, and as with B, L and D, I feel they could have been much more successful had they had better management and production – even despite game-changing punk rock looming on their horizon. Unlike most punks, all the members of Libra played their instruments well. And D’Andrea definitely had songwriting talent. Musical peers such as Brian Auger and Billy Cobham certainly recognized this; Cobham is on record complimenting their dynamics, ideas, and composing, all while keeping “their Italian roots intact.”

In 1977, Centofanti, Cappa, and Martino contributed to the soundtrack of horror producer Mario Bava‘s last flick, Schock (or “Shock“), teaming with the keyboardist from Italian prog-rock band Goblin, with the resulting soundtrack album being attributed to Libra. But without D’Andrea’s involvement…well…(I haven’t heard Shock, so I can’t offer an op-ed.) The only other Italian rock band I’m familiar with are legendary proggers Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), the Rolling Stones of progressive rock; still cooking pasta after an incredible 55 years. So, Libra notwithstanding, perhaps not all Italian rock bands expire in infancy.

In fact…per Nicola Distaso, all members minus D’Andrea are still separately active musically.

Albums:
Musica e Parole (1975) (Italy only)
Libra (1975) (English-language re-release of above)
Winter Day’s Nightmare (1976)

Bread, Love and Dreams

Band Personnel:
David McNiven: vocals, guitars, flute, clarinet, harmonica, “moothie,” shepherd’s pipe
Angie Rew: vocals, guitars, organ, African drums
Carolyn Davis: vocals, guitar, bass, buzz-horn, tambourine

Scottish folk-psych trio – fairly obscure despite recording for major label Decca – with one of the best band names in music (borrowed from English title of equally obscure 1953 Italian romantic-comedy, Pane, Amore e Fantasia, starring Gina Lollobrigida). They made only three albums between 1969 and ‘71, but all come highly recommended to those hip to trippy UK folk-rock.

Main mover was David McNiven. Though McNiven’s father had played bagpipes, McNiven himself took up banjo, and upon leaving school took up busking on either side of North Sea. In 1968 he appeared solo at a festival in Edinburgh, preceding singing duo of Angie Rew and Carolyn Davis. Both acts were spotted by a sharp-eyed Decca staffer named Ray Horricks. Horricks convinced the three to team up, then convinced a wary Decca label to sign them.

First eponymous album (1969), produced by Horricks, had trad folk leanings of Pentangle and slight mystical elements of Incredible String Band – both also Scottish – with McNiven composing all but one song. Sleeve photo shows him wearing tricorne hat and staring menacingly at camera, flanked by Rew and Davis, who convey looks of trepidation. Though not as fanciful as ISB or as purist as Pentangle, debut LP is fine acid folk, with tasteful strings, surprisingly bold lead vocals by McNiven, supportive harmony by Rew and Davis, and sprinklings of droll humor (notably on the rollicking “Main Street,” which recalls Delta bluesman Tommy Johnson’s zither-driven “I Wonder to Myself”). Other highlights are “Mirrors,” the drinking song “Switch Out the Sun,” and the bluesy “95 Octane Gravy.”

Band toured with Tyrannosaurus Rex (later called T Rex) and Thunderclap Newman (“Something in the Air”) while amassing material summer 1970 for double album, recorded in a mere five days. Decca, however, began having misgivings and insisted on a single LP, which became The Strange Tale of Captain Shannon and the Hunchback of Gigha. Davis similarly had misgivings (due either to lack of success or budding romance between McNiven and Rew) and quit during recordings, though she wrote and played on one song, “Purple Hazy Melancholy.” Captain Shannon, production and liner notes by Horricks, dropped some of the humour of debut, but music was bolstered by Pentangle’s Danny Thompson (bass) and Terry Cox (drums), plus Alan Trajan on swimmy keyboards. (Trajan later made a highly collectible solo LP.) “The Lobster Quadrille” had lyrics derived from Lewis Carroll, but strongest track is title cut, a six-minute story-song. Sleeve art by Yvonne Hughes also excellent.

Third and final album, Amaryllis (1971) featured remainder of songs from 1970 sessions. It actually improved on its predecessor, venturing farther from folk and closer to then-in-vogue progressive rock, and is today often name-dropped amongst in-the-know prog heads. The first side is ambitious title suite in three sections (performed much earlier for an Edinburgh theatre production), while second has shorter songs, with clever arrangements, warm acoustic picking, and sharp harmonies between McNiven and Rew. Highlight is McNiven’s catchy and intriguingly titled “My Stair Cupboard at 3 A.M.” Horricks, Thompson, Cox, and Trajan again assisted.

Regrettably, Decca never had much love for Bread, Love and Dreams (and saw little bread from them) and dropped the group after Amaryllis, using all three albums as a tax write-off. McNiven and Rew eventually married and got involved with Scottish theatre and television. After her departure, Davis went into media studies. McNiven died September 2015, age 70.

***

I first heard about this group while mail-order collecting albums in the 1980s. Some chap somewhere had asked if anyone else knew about them. I liked their name, and mysteries are human catnip, so I made a point of keeping my eyes peeled for their records. In ‘87 I saw their first album buried deep in the classified ads of Goldmine magazine and ordered it. “Weird, but interesting” was my initial reaction. I still feel that way, but my admiration has grown.

Researching this article, I noticed a lot of reviewers comparing the band (usually unfavourably) to Donovan, Incredible String Band, Pentangle, and even Fairport Convention. But those comparisons are unfair. B, L & D were more boutique, closer to Trader Horne and Sallyangie (Mike and Sally Oldield), though not as fey as the latter, and more enterprising than the former. A single LP of their best songs would have enshrined them as legends in the acid folk realm. But we should be grateful for three weird and wonderful records, representative of the kind of music that will never be heard again.

R.I.P. Danny Thompson

Single:
Virgin Kiss / Switch Out the Sun (1969)

Albums:
Bread, Love and Dreams (1969)
The Strange Tale of Captain Shannon and the Hunchback of Gigha (1970)
Amaryllis (1971)

Daevid Allen

A native of Melbourne, Australia, Allen founded whimsical space rock collective Gong, on heels of co-founding prog-jazz-rock band Soft Machine, both forever linked with beloved Canterbury Scene. His solo output is minimal, less recognized than his Gong work, but more lyrical and introspective.

Older than most music peers (born 1938), Allen discovered Beat literature at Melbourne bookshop, added an “e” to his first name, and subsequently pursued itinerant, avant-garde life in Greece, then Paris (moving into room vacated by Allen Ginsberg and learning tape looping under minimalist composer Terry Riley), then Kent, England. Here, he rented room owned by mother of 15-year-old Robert Wyatt, then hooked up with Beat author/icon William S. Burroughs, while also dabbling in free jazz. This prompted first recordings (1963) with Daevid Allen Trio.

Appeared as an extra, with Wyatt, in minor Spanish film Playa de Formentor (1965). In 1966 he formed Soft Machine with Wyatt (drums), Kevin Ayers (bass) and Mike Ratledge (keyboards), Allen himself contributing rudimentary guitar. Softs alternated stage shows with nascent Pink Floyd at underground psych club UFO, Allen developing a liquidy, “glissando” guitar technique – using an echo box and rubbing a metallic object over guitar body (not the neck) – inspired by erstwhile Floyd guitarist/leader Syd Barrett. He appears on early Softs demos and single “Love Makes Sweet Music” / “Feelin’ Reelin’ Squeelin’,” but left group prior to debut LP due to a visa denial.

First post-Softs work was Magick Brother, made with wife Gilli Smyth – who contributed trademark “space whisper” – and labeled as “Gong,” but essentially an Allen solo affair. (Original French, vinyl copies are rare, and major collectors’ items.) First official solo LP, Banana Moon, released on French Byg Actuel label, was less psychedelic and decidedly goofier than Magick, and listed by David Bowie as one of his favourite albums. Highlights include the steaming “It’s the Time of Your Life,” and “All I Want is Out of Here” (both written by future Gong guitarist Christian Tritsch), plus “Stoned Innocent Frankenstein,” and probably the best of several versions of Softs bassist Hugh Hopper’s mood piece, “Memories,” vocals here by Wyatt.

After Gong “flying teapot” album trilogy, which immortalized mythical planet Gong and green “pothead pixie” hero, Zero (inspired by mix of Dadaism and philosophies of Bertrand Russell), Allen vacated Gong and did two solo albums at his “Bananamoon Observatory” in Deia, Mallorca. Both have distinct folk-poet elements, Allen only lightly referencing Zero. The all-acoustic, drummer-less Good Morning employed Spanish group Euterpe as backup. Now is the Happiest Time of Your Life brought Allen’s hippie-poet muse to full fruition, notably on lyrically caustic but musically gentle “Poet for Sale” and title-explanatory “Why Do We Treat Ourselves Like We Do?” Also interesting are  “Only Make Love if You Want To” and 11-minute, meditative “I Am.”

N’existe pas! was last of Allen’s 1970s solo releases, title translating to “Does Not Exist.” The Planet Gong website calls it “one of (Allen’s) finest and most poignant albums,” while noting that the only favourable reviews came from, strangely, the U.S. Allen’s entire organic beat-hippie philosophy might be summed up in key album lyric: “Don’t be afraid to live what you believe.”

***

Although a fan of the Canterbury Scene from way back, it took me awhile to get into Gong, and even longer to discover Allen’s great solo records, and I’m not sure why. There’s nothing ominous or avant-garde here. Maybe it’s the English-French-Spanish hybridism, which can be off-putting to a parochial Yank with corncobs in his ears. His solo records are far from what one might call “experimental” and are closer to mildly psychedelic, pastoral folk-rock. His lyrics have insight but are sung with playfulness and are easily assimilated.

I had the opportunity to see Daevid in Cleveland in 1993, “opening” for Kevin Ayers, and I’ll always remember, after the show, his sitting cross-legged on the stage floor, politely chatting with us admirers whilst signing our LPs. All lanky six feet, four inches (193 cm) were clothed in white, and with his flowing white hair and ever-present, beatific smile, it was like sitting in the glow of an amiable space alien. On my copy of Banana Moon, he drew a little cartoon.

Daevid Allen was a rare one. Whatever the validity of Planet Gong and his claim of meeting a space alien in the back of a London taxi, he had a leg up on 99 percent of Planet Earth: he really did live what he believed.

Selected Solo Albums*:
Magick Brother (1969, credited to Gong)
Banana Moon (1971)
Good Morning (1976)
Now is the Happiest Time of Your Life (1977)
N’existe pas! (1979)

*Allen made and participated in numerous albums with multiple variations of Gong, and with other musicians, until his death in 2015.

Gryphon

Band Personnel:
Richard Harvey: recorders, crumhorns, glockenspiel
Brian Gulland: bassoon, crumhorns
Graeme Taylor: bass, guitar
David Oberlé: percussion, vocals

One of the more musically erudite artists in the English folk and progressive rock milieus, Gryphon is remembered for its hearty embrace of medieval and Renaissance music and use of exotic instruments like crumhorn, bassoon, and recorder. Above personnel is core of several lineups.

The group formed in 1972 in London and signed to independent label Transatlantic Records, known for its British and American folk and blues signings. Both Harvey and Gulland were classically trained at Royal College of Music, joined later by Taylor and Oberlé. First self-titled album established their unusual pre-classical leanings. Gryphon is tastefully humorous affair featuring winsome vocals and compositions with titles like “Three Jolly Butchers.”

Second album Midnight Mushrumps saw bassist Philip Nestor’s arrival, with group dropping the vocals and stretching their compositions. Second side, in fact, is one long piece commissioned for a National Theatre production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Third LP, Red Queen to Gryphon Three, was first release in America, on Arista subsidiary Bell Records, whose roster normally concentrated on pop fluff like Barry Manilow and Tony Orlando and Dawn. Red Queen was highlighted by extended (10:45) piece “Lament.”

Fourth album Raindance saw a return to vocals (by Oberlé) and shorter songs. Treason was their last record of initial run. But by this time – and like so many bands with “progressive” inclinations – Gryphon had shifted toward more commercial rock territory, their stock declining with rise of punk rock…a genre for which Renaissance-inspired prog rock was anathema. Band split after Treason for this reason and due to Harvey’s time-consuming solo projects. (He completed his own LP of classical recorder music, has composed scores for over 80 film and TV soundtracks, and played on The Lion King, The Da Vinci Code, and one Harry Potter film. In 1991 he won a BAFTA award for a project with Elvis Costello.)

But you can’t keep a good band down. Continued interest in Gryphon’s singular brand of antiquated folk has resulted in numerous compilation albums. Additionally, in 2016 they performed at Fairport Convention’s annual Cropredy Convention, and they reconvened for two albums in 2018 and 2020, the first of which included all four original members.

***

Gryphon’s medieval folk-rock was far too niche to ever garner anything approaching mass appeal. Nonetheless, they can boast of the rare honour of appearing on all four BBC radio programs in one week, arranging and performing the title theme for the rock festival documentary, Glastonbury Fayre, and maintaining a friendship with and supporting Yes on tour. (Like Harvey and Gulland, Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman attended Royal College of Music.) All the members were gifted instrumentalists, but they weren’t show-offs, playing with taste, restraint, sprightliness, and even humour (note the title Red Queen to Gryphon Three). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock fittingly noted Gryphon’s unique talent of “bringing together the gutsy, bright, rhythmic qualities of early, pre-classical music with a folk-rock approach.”

Original Albums:
Gryphon (1973)
Midnight Mushrumps (1974)
Red Queen to Gryphon Three (1974)
Raindance (1975)
Treason (1977)
ReInvention (2018)
Get Out of My Father’s Car! (2020)

Richard Harvey:
Divisions on a Ground: An Introduction to the Recorder and its Music (1975)

Single:
Spring Song / The Fall of the Leaf (1977)

Compilations:
The Collection (1991)
The Collection II (1995)
About as Curious as It Can Be (2002; BBC radio sessions, 1974-’75)
Glastonbury Carol (2003; BBC radio sessions plus Glastonbury Fayre film theme)
Crossing the Styles: The Transatlantic Anthology (2004)
Raindances: The Transatlantic Years (2018)

Top Critics’ Rock Album Choices

Today’s featured critic is Mike Miller of Ticket to Ride. Mike is from Lawrence, Kansas, USA, near Kansas City, home of Charlie Parker and Pat Metheny, among other jazz legends. I joke that Mike and I are twin sons of different mothers, because we seem to share so many interests: music, old movies, books, classic sports, political leanings, and we have lovely wives. (Mike was recently wedded.)

He is also an accomplished poet…something that eludes yours truly. Mike said his top 10 could really be in any order. Since I closely follow his blog, I anticipated his list would be hefty with ‘70s rock. I wasn’t disappointed:

1. The Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers
2. Jethro Tull, Aqualung
3. Steely Dan, Aja
4. Genesis, Selling England by the Pound
5. King Crimson, In the Court of the Crimson King
6. Yes, Close to the Edge
7. Carole King, Tapestry
8. Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon
9. The Beatles, Abbey Road
10. The Who, Who’s Next

These are all albums that would do any collection proud. Five progressive rock (prog) albums? Yeah! The two that jump out for me are the Genesis and King Crimson LPs. Even though my breath doesn’t smell and I don’t wear Coke-bottle glasses (yet), I love high-quality prog, and the two platters Mike lists are arguably the best by either band, and best in the entire genre. (Though Genesis’ Foxtrot is also pretty darn good.) They’re also adorned with sleeve paintings by Betty Swanwick (Genesis) and Barry Godber (Crimson) that are the stuff of dreams…or maybe nightmares.

Mike on In the Court of the Crimson King: “Jagged, distorted, ethereal and cosmic. An amazing blend of jazz, folk, hard rock and progressive, a sonic masterpiece. King Crimson pushed progressive rock beyond the boundaries where other musical pioneers were awaiting. It doesn’t sound like anything else.”

And Selling England by the Pound: “Another progressive rock masterpiece. Sterling writing and performance, this album is a master class in blending diverse musical ideas into a sweeping, yet intimate, listening experience. Creatively, the band never topped this.”

I could be wrong…and nothing against Phil Collins, one of rock’s greatest drummers…but it doesn’t require brain salad surgery to surmise that most critics here probably prefer Peter Gabriel-era Genesis.

But now for Mike’s numero uno, the Stones’ Sticky Fingers. Better than Jim’s Exile on Main Street? Lacking continuity, maybe? Mike makes a good case for his selection: “This album had everything the Stones were known for. Ballads, soulful blues, funky grooves and incendiary guitar interplay. The Stones set the urban sound with this album: sweaty, druggy, raw, jiving and unapologetic.”

I dig both Sticky and Exile, and I can think of at least two more Stones LPs of comparable quality. For me, what absolutely make this album are Sir Mick’s “Brown Sugar” and not-Sir Keith’s, Mick Taylor’s, and Bobby Keys’ impromptu guitar and sax extravaganza on “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.” But look what else it offers: “Bitch,” “Wild Horses,” “Dead Flowers,” “Sway,” and more. To top it off, a fucking Andy Warhol cover with metal zipper! (Always keep the fly open, folks; yet another reason why CDs suck.)

Great choice, Mike. Now, how ‘bout a poem ‘bout Mick and Keith?

Next week I’ll feature another top rock critic and his or her list of favorites. It’s looking like classic rock is dominating our lists. Will next week prove differently? Will “cult,” indie, punk, grunge, or – dare I say it – Phil Collins make appearances? How about fifties favorites like Chuck, Buddy, or Elvis? Hmm. Could get interesting. Thanks again, and if you haven’t already done so, get me your list!

Peace,
Pete

Judy Dyble

Luck. Some say it’s an illusion. But luck is just favorable or unfavorable chance, and everyone’s crapshoot is different. In music, there are “journeymen” who are lucky. They land in the right place at the right time. One who comes to mind is Ron Wood (Jeff Beck Group, Faces, Rolling Stones).

Other musical journeymen, however, might be in the right place, but at the wrong time. While Judy Dyble’s name may be unfamiliar to many, her musical pedigree isn’t.

Dyble certainly had great taste in musician boyfriends. She was brought into Fairport Convention in 1967 on arm of lead guitarist Richard Thompson, his Jefferson Airplane-styled band needing a female lead singer. There are stories that she used to sit at edge of stage knitting during Thompson’s 10-minute solos. Despite some adequate covers (Emitt Rhodes’s “Time Will Show the Wiser” and Joni Mitchell’s “Chelsea Morning”), Fairport’s UK-only debut album didn’t do much. Group made directional change, moving toward traditional British folk, which necessitated a more earthy lead vocalist, this decision encouraged by producer Joe Boyd. Exit the angelic-voiced Dyble; enter earthier Sandy Denny.

Dyble also quit Richard Thompson. She began dating a soft-spoken multi-instrumentalist named Ian McDonald. McDonald’s musical and compositional talents somehow came to attention of an eccentric three-piece named Giles, Giles and Fripp, who had recorded one flop album. Dyble was on board to provide vocals – lyricist Peter Sinfield tagging behind her and McDonald – for several songs, including GG&F’s 1968 demo of her boyfriend’s introspective and elegant “I Talk to the Wind.” Song reached full treatment only after Greg Lake replaced Dyble (GG&F now an embryonic King Crimson) and during recording of thunderous album, In the Court of the Crimson King.

Next venture was psychedelic-folk duo Trader Horne. She teamed with Irish keyboardist/guitarist Jackie McAuley (Them, Belfast Gypsies) and session guitarist Pete Sears (Sam Gopal Dream, Jade, Steamhammer, Rod Stewart) in trio. But Sears soon decamped for San Francisco, eventually joining Jefferson Starship. Trader Horne now a duo, it issued charming album Morning Way, Dyble contributing vocals and autoharp, McAuley on guitar and writing bulk of material. LP was quickly followed by equally delightful single “Here Comes the Rain” / “Goodbye Mercy Kelly.” Both, however, were ignored on release…though album and single are now drooled over by psych collectors.

Despite opening for Genesis, Yes, and Humble Pie, Dyble became fatigued with touring, which in those days could be ramshackle at best…and in the case of former band Fairport Convention, fatal. In May 1970 she quit Trader Horne on eve of major festival in northern England. Several years later she joined DC & the MBs: Dyble, Lol Coxhill, Phil and Steve Miller, the latter three associated with Canterbury Scene artists Kevin Ayers, Caravan, Matching Mole, and Hatfield and the North. Unfortunately, this intriguing lineup never recorded.

Marriage and family then kept Dyble away from music. But starting 1981 she became occasional surprise guest at Fairport’s annual festivals at Cropredy, England. Then in 2000’s she returned to music with a vengeance. In 2004 she released first solo album, Enchanted Garden, followed by several more, including the highly publicized Talking With Strangers, which included guests Jacqui McShee (Pentangle) and Celia Humphris (Trees), in addition to old compatriots McDonald, Robert Fripp, and Fairport’s Simon Nicol. 

On November 29, 2015, at Bush Hall, London, Dyble reunited with Jackie McAuley for filmed, one-off performance of Morning Way. It was ecstatically received. She stayed busy with music for next several years, and in 2016 published an autobiography, An Accidental Musician. But on July 12, 2020, at age 71, she succumbed to lung cancer.

***

One of many things I love about British rock are its family trees and interconnections. The British Isles, unlike the 50 states, are small enough that musicians there always seem to be bumping into each other. It was only recently I learned that Peter Frampton’s dad was David Bowie’s art teacher.

Maybe because of this geographic tightness, there’s also a lot of liquidity between artists. And this liquidity brings cross-fermentation that only enhances the music. Judy Dyble was like a musical butterfly, flitting from flower to flower. In her own words she was a “catalyst.” Without her, the exploits of Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, King Crimson, Greg Lake, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pete Sears, and Jefferson Starship might be very different. She fertilized the soil for two of the greatest vocalists in rock (Denny and Lake). And that’s not to slight her own vocal capabilities. Her singing had a crystalline clearness, virtually without flaws, and she maintained her beautiful voice even as late as her final solo works.

As often happens, writing this profile has gotten me excited about pulling out my musical “shovel.” I’ve heard some of Dyble’s late solo work, which has touches of prog, New Age, and raga. But I plan to dig deeper. I also now want to read her autobiography, of which I’ve read a favorable review. If you’re familiar with Ms. Dyble – or if my essay prods you into examining the great Morning Way, or other – please, let me know your thoughts.

Selected Discography

With Fairport Convention:
If I Had a Ribbon Bow / If (Stomp) (1968 single)
Fairport Convention (1968)
Live at the BBC (2007 compilation)

With Giles, Giles & Fripp:
A Young Person’s Guide to King Crimson (1976 compilation)
The Brondesbury Tapes (2001 compilation)

With Trader Horne:
Sheena / Morning Way (1969 single)
Morning Way (1970)
Here Comes the Rain / Goodbye Mercy Kelly (1970 non-LP single)

Solo:
Enchanted Garden (2004)
Spindle (2006)
The Whorl (2006)
Talking With Strangers (2009)
Flow and Change (2013)
Gathering the Threads: Fifty Years of Stuff (2015 compilation)
Anthology: Part One (2015 compilation)
Summer Dancing (with Andy Lewis) (2017)
Earth is Sleeping (2018)
Live at WM Jazz (2014 live)
Weavings of a Silver Magic (2016 live)

Egg

If I ever find
What I’m looking for
I will be absorbed
And never write again

Egg, “I Will Be Absorbed”

Band Personnel:
Dave Stewart: organ, piano, tone generator
Hugo Martin Montgomery (Mont) Campbell: bass, vocals
Clive Brooks: drums

Solidly ensconced in progressive rock’s beloved “Canterbury Scene” (due to later associations), Egg was actually hatched in London as a four-piece known as Uriel, above lineup plus flash guitarist Steve Hillage. The latter quit to attend University of Kent, other three changing band name and signing with Decca’s prog-rock label, Deram. Issued quirky, punningly titled single “Seven is a Jolly Good Time” b/w “You Are All Princes” in August 1969, but not before ex-Urielite Hillage briefly returned, group making one-off psychedelic LP as “Arzachel” for a tiny fly-by-night label (members using creative assumed names and bios for contractual reasons, and all only 17 to 19 years old). The original vinyl of Arzachel has attained legendary status and today exchanges hands for a king’s ransom.

Self-titled debut Egg album recorded October 1969, blues producer/historian Neil Slaven overseeing. A power trio with singer Campbell’s Stravinsky-inspired compositions providing bulk of material, Hammond organ chops by Dave Stewart (no relation to the Eurythmics musician), and Brooks’s dextrous drumming, comparisons to Nice and Emerson, Lake & Palmer were hardly surprising. Egg, however, were much less flamboyant as performers, seemingly more interested in challenging audiences – and themselves – with complex arrangements and meters.

Second album, The Polite Force, continued the dark, dense vibe of the debut, with mix of short melodic pieces featuring Campbell’s erudite singing and long, faux-classical instrumentals. The multi-segmented opening cut “A Visit to Newport Hospital” dealt lyrically with an early residency on Isle of Wight and became a favorite amongst fans. Though major commercial success would remain elusive (Egg seemingly priding themselves on being enigmatic), critics held band in fairly high regard.

L to R: Brooks, Campbell, Stewart

But lack of label support mixed with restlessness of members effectively cracked Egg after only two albums. Drummer Brooks joined The Groundhogs. Campbell became a plumber and graphic designer and studied mysticism. Stewart joined Canterbury all-star group Hatfield and the North (which later transitioned into National Health, Campbell also briefly contributing to this band in beginning). A reunion LP, The Civil Surface, appeared in 1974, comprised of tracks Campbell had composed prior to breakup. A confident effort, it nonetheless indicated band moving away from earlier intriguing prog arrangements and closer to complex electronic fusion typical of late-period Canterbury Scene.

Stewart has since achieved major success with wife Barbara Gaskin (ex-Spirogyra), their 1981 cover of Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party” hitting #1 in U.K., and has authored music books and articles. Brooks became drum technician for Pink Floyd percussionist Nick Mason, before passing away in 2017. Campbell received music degree, became expert on ethnic wind instruments, and has done film soundtracks and two solo albums as “Dirk” Campbell, supplementing music activities with political and environmental activism and work. (He was in national news in 2018 after daughter, Anna, was killed by Turkish air strike in Rojava, Syria while fighting for the Kurds.)

***

My favorite prog is the Canterbury Scene: Soft Machine, Caravan, Gong, and their multiple offshoots. I find this music mature, clever, and melodically rewarding, with occasional dollops of sly humor and without the pseudo-profundity of many other prog bands. Mont/Dirk Campbell, along with Kevin Ayers, Richard Sinclair, and Robert Wyatt, is in my view one of the Scene’s (and prog’s) most talented composers/writers. For some reason, though, Egg seemed to fall through the cracks and are deprived of the accord they richly deserve. If you aren’t put off by rock music that leans toward sophistication, or you appreciate classical-influenced groups like ELP or Renaissance, or the organ tones of early Soft Machine, I highly recommend you sample some Egg. It’s highly addictive (in a good way), and sonically nutritious.

Single:
Seven is a Jolly Good Time / You Are All Princes (1969)

Original Albums:
Arzachel (as “Arzachel,” with Steve Hillage) (1969)
Egg (1970)
The Polite Force (1971)
The Civil Surface (1974)

Compilation Albums:
Seven is a Jolly Good Time (first album plus single) (1985)
The Metronomical Society (archival live) (2007)
Arzachel Collectors Edition by Uriel (remastered Arzachel LP plus demos) (2007)

Dando Shaft

(Note: this blog was previously known as longitudes: Thoughts in Woods on Snowy Evening and was devoted to general interest. The revamped longitudes: Navigating the Sea of Music is now a music discussion forum.)

Band Personnel:
Dave Cooper: acoustic guitar, vocals
Kevin Dempsey: acoustic guitar, vocals
Martin Jenkins: mandolin, violin, flute, acoustic guitar, vocals
Ted Kay: tabla, hand percussion
Roger Bullen: acoustic bass
Polly Bolton: vocals

Formed in Coventry, England in 1968 (without Bolton) around talents of Dempsey and Cooper. Their odd name was from title and character of a minor 1965 novel. Slowly built a reputation playing folk clubs when that music was still popular and exciting. First album An Evening With Dando Shaft (1970) received warm reviews and showcased three strong songwriters (Dempsey, Cooper, Jenkins, with two-thirds material written by Cooper); clean and precise acoustic playing; and confident vocals. Initially compared to more illustrious The Pentangle, although Dando was less esoteric and featured more original compositions, plus flurried Bulgarian rhythms, with slight psychedelic edge assisted by the tablas, flute, etc. Also notable for considerable talents of multi-instrumentalist Jenkins.

Second eponymous album (1971) built on the first and added fairly unknown vocalist Bolton, who’d worked with June Tabor, and gifted with one of clearest, most expressive voices in British folk (tone and style reminiscent of a less husky Sandy Denny). Venerable BBC presenter John Peel was an early fan, and Dando Shaft (aka “Carousel”) made top 50 of U.S. magazine “Cashbox,” significant for an English folk-rock group.

Standing: Bolton, Bullen, Dempsey, Kay. Seated: Cooper, Jenkins

Lantaloon continued the flawless playing, though on arrangements slightly less imaginative, and was marked by band tensions, group splitting up soon after release and concentrating on side projects (notably Whippersnapper, with Jenkins and Dempsey, the former also teaming with Bert Jansch in his three-piece, Conundrum). A well-received reunion release, Kingdom, saw bassist Danny Thompson (Pentangle) and Rod Clements (Lindisfarne) guesting. Shadows Across the Moon is a live reunion affair from 1993. As of this writing, all but Dempsey, Cooper, and Bolton have passed on.

***

I chose Dando Shaft for my first essay of “longitudes II” because it’s been awhile since I’ve flipped out such over an artist…and I’ve still heard only their first three albums. I’m a huge Pentangle fan, but I consider the Dandos a better band (the genius of Bert Jansch notwithstanding). They were graced with not one, or two, but three excellent songwriters, with mesmerizing guitar interplay between Cooper and Dempsey. They played their acoustic instruments cleanly and with dexterity. All the main members were fine vocalists. Martin Jenkins was a virtuoso and wood instrument polymath, and in my view Bolton ranks right up with Tabor, Denny, McShee, Prior, Collins, Briggs and other Brit folk chanteuses. (Check out her shimmering vocalizations on “Riverboat,” from the second LP.) And the rhythm section of Kay and Bullen was ever-supportive, with Kay’s tablas and hand percussion providing a tasty Eastern element.

I’m flabbergasted that this group isn’t better known. Even sites normally sympathetic to underground acts have scant information on Dando. (I had to start a thread for them on the almost-always-reliable Steve Hoffman Music Forums.) Fortunately, their songs and records are now getting a second chance with at least two anthology albums, and with small but hip reissue labels like Trading Places and Sommor.

An example of their impressive music is their last performance together, from 1993, with link below.

Original Albums:
An Evening With Dando Shaft (1970)
Dando Shaft (“Carousel”) (1971)
Lantaloon (1972)
Kingdom (1977)
Shadows Across the Moon (live) (1993)

Compilations:
Reaping the Harvest (1990)
Anthology (2002)

Whitefriars ‘The Last Note’