Hatfield & The North CD

Hatfield & The North: Richard Sinclair (vocals, bass); Phil Miller (guitar); Dave Stewart (piano, organ, synthesizer); Pip Pyle (drums).
Additional personnel: Robert Wyatt, Amanda Parsons, Barbara Gaskin, Ann Rosenthal (vocals); Geoff Leigh (flute, saxophone); Jeremy Baines (pixiephone).
Personnel: Robert Wyatt (vocals, drums); Ann Rosenthal, Amanda Parsons, Richard Sinclair, Barbara Gaskin (vocals); Phil Miller (guitar); Geoff Leigh (flute, saxophone, wind); Dave Stewart (piano, organ, keyboards); Pip Pyle (drums); Jeremy Baines (wind).
Recording information: 10/1974-??/1975.
One of the Canterbury scene's most revered bands, Hatfield and the North made up for the brevity of their career with some fascinating music. Always adventurous, the quartet had the keen sense to realize that only the most hardened jazz fans respond to numerous key changes and exceedingly complex time signatures, and thus enlivened their live set with the odd gnome smashing, suggestive lyrics, and jokey song titles. It worked a charm, with the band quickly amassing a large, loyal following at home in Britain and across the continent. On their eponymous debut, Hatfield stunningly succeeded in translating both their sense of fun and their musical brilliance onto disc. After a bit of light humor, the band slide into "Going Up to People and Tinkling", which glides gloriously across the keys and rhythm shifts. Both "Calyx" and "Aigrette" experiment with vocals as an instrument, while the exuberant "Rifferama" is a master class on the use of riffs. However, it's the expansive "Son of `There's No Place like Homerton'" that is this side of the album's centerpiece, a propulsive, keyboard driven piece that still awaits a modern dance troop's attention.
Hatfield and the North were the supergroup of England's Canterbury progressive rock scene, with bassist and vocalist Richard Sinclair from Caravan, guitarist Phil Miller from Matching Mole, keyboardist Dave Stewart from Egg, and drummer Pip Pyle from Gong and Delivery. This brilliant and inventive debut album is a cross between sophisticated, precisely executed jazz-rock and dry-humored, often surreal pop. The album consists of short pieces blended into a Zappa-like collage, providing a thematic work that bests even the most eccentric jazz-rock by bands like Soft Machine. ~ Nick BurtonRecord Collector (magazine) (p.88) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[E]ssential....[With] the extra thrill of Robert Wyatt's wordless, weightless guest vocal on 'Calyx'..."