Extravaganza [Import]

Stackridge | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Rocke
• ASIN: B00000742F
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,624,549 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Spin Around the Room

2. Grease Paint Smiles

3. The Volunteer

4. Highbury Incident (Rainy July Morning)

5. Benjamin's Giant Onion

6. Happy in the Lord

7. Rufus T. Firefly

8. No One's More Important Than the Earth Worm

9. Pocket Billiards

10. Who's That up There With Bill Stokes

Editorial Reviews

Hard work rarely brings its reward, wether in everyday life or music. That must have been how Stackridge felt in 1974. After gigging soildly (300 plus gigs a year for 3 years) while recording three albums, three singles at the same time shoe-horning in appearances on The Old Grey Whistle Test, the John Peel Show and Radio 1 In Concert, they found themselves, in the words of inimitable singer/flautist Mutter Slater, 'becalmed and frustrated'. All hopes were now pinned on the January 1975 release of ""Extravaganza"" which was being released on the newly formed Rocket Record label- a happening place to be for one of England's then brightest young bands. SOUNDS on publishing a review of the CD inearly 1975 wrote ""Don't ignore something too good to be missed. Stackridge are back. And happy days are here again."" Musicians: ANDY DAVIS, MUTTER SLATER, ROD BOWKETT, MIKE EVANS, PAUL KARAS and ROY MORGAN. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great record!, March 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Extravaganza (Audio CD)

Hey, Hedgehog and Stanley, both produced by George Martin, were not on the original record. This is actually the original album as it was released on Rocket label in the UK. Americans, over-inventive as usual, included those two songs (probably a single) on their version of Extravaganza, leaving out Spin 'Round the Room and Highbury Incident, which they later squeezed into Pinafore Days (their version of The Man in The Bowler hat) for some reason. So this one is the original, and I highly recommend it to all lovers of genuine British folk/music hall tradition. Enjoy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extravaganza fan, August 4, 2001

By 

Greg H (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Extravaganza (Audio CD)

I am not so much a Stackridge fan as an Extravaganza fan. The talents that came together briefly to make this album were outstanding and it is quite simply my favourite album of all time, any genre. It is the combination of great songs, many of them written by Rod Bowkett on this album and the interplay of keyboards, sax, clarinet, flute, violin, drums, lead and base guitars that make Extravaganza musically exceptional. There is such a variety here with wonderfully whimsical, humorous lyrics and three great instrumentals. There is a feeling of spontaneity and ingenuity. The overall sound is both very full and intricate. In the thirty years since I first bought this album on vinyl in the UK, I have yet to come across anything as satisfying as a good listen to Extravaganza. As a reference point for those that have not heard Extravaganza, the closest to the feel of this music that I can think of is evoked by 10cc's Original Soundtrack album.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unique album, to say the least!, January 11, 2002

By 

R. Recchia "reck" (blodgett mills, ny) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Extravaganza (Audio CD)

want to escape from all your problems and be entertained for
at least 35 minutes? well, this album is for you. i absolutely
adore this album!I've heard three of their other albums(MR. MICK, FRIENDLINESS and the American version of MAN IN
THE BOWLER HAT, PINAFORE DAYS) and I really don't like them too
much.Their other albums have very funny and original song
titles and song lyrics, but musically I find them very dull and
uninteresting. The singing, while nice and pretty, doesn't grab
me and pull me in, either. Musically, they're a combination of the BEATLES during their REVOLVER, SGT. PEPPERS and MAGICAL MYSTERY era minus the attractive melodies, and boring folk music. The one exception is THE GALLOPING GAUCHO from PINAFORE DAYS, featuring the distinct vocals of my favorite STACKRIDGE singer MUTTER SLATER. Everything came together for STACKRIDGE on EXTRAVAGANZA. This album was STACKRIDGE at their funniest and contains
their best songs. the version i own on lp starts out with the
album's best song and funniest song, THE VOLUNTEER. the singing
is very RINGO STARR-ish and the lyrics and the music are very
clever and very funny! the mellotron gives the song a prog rock feel, while the violin and guitar playing give the song a slight country/western feel.this is a song MONTY PYTHON could've
written! the instrumentals on this album, RUFUS T. FIREFLY and
WHO'S THAT UP THERE...(the title of the 3rd one eludes me at the
moment) can best be described as jazzy, children's carnival
music. another irresistably catchy and hilarious song is HAPPY IN
THE LORD.the little speech at the end is a riot and reminds me of
HAWKEYE'S dream in that M*A*S*H* episode where everyone has
nightmares! on the opposite
end of the spectrum is NO ONE'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE EARTH-
WORM, which was penned by ex-KING CRIMSON singer GORDON HASKELL.
it's a very melancholy song, with a very appropriate guitar solo. The BEATLES influence shows up the most on DO THE STANLEY, which originally appeared on the previous STACKRIDGE album, and BENJAMIN'S GIANT ONION, which also sounds a bit like THE KINKS song SUNNY AFTERNOON. The only track I don't like is
GREASEPAINT SMILES... and I'm a tad on the indifferent side to THE INDIFFERENT HEDGEHOG. A VERY GOOD ALBUM!!
( I just picked this album up on cd and the cd version has the
original U.K. track lineup, which replaces DO THE STANLEY and
THE INDIFFERENT HEDGEHOG with two weaker tracks, SPIN ROUND THE
ROOM and HIGHBURY INCIDENT. I prefer the U.S. version of this,one
because that's the version I'm used to and two because it doesn't
place all three instrumentals so close together. By placing them
so close together, it only showed how similar all three instru-
mentals are and the U.S. version spreads them out a little, giv-
ing the album a much more varied feel.)