Customer Reviews

Ginger Bakers Airforce

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This release is a travesty. After 2 excellent sounding releases of this concert on CD (The initial Polygram S/T release and the Polygram Chronicles 2CD "Do What You Like"), Lemon Records (hmmmmm, that should warn you)"remastered" this concert from very used vinyl, which is bad enough, but then digitally maximized it to the point of distortion. If they were going to reissue this, why not just reissue the concert as released originally on CD - at least that was from the master tape. Look instead for either of the above mentioned out of print items.

As the other reviews warn, seek out better recorded versions of this material. I will comment mainly on the music itself, assuming you are able to listen to it in its purest reissued form.
This was THE "supergroup performance opportunity" of the day, based on the participants - Ginger Baker (Cream/Blind Faith), Rick Grech (Family/Blind Faith), Stevie Winwood (Traffic/Spencer Davis/Blind Faith), incomparable session men such as Harold McNair on flute, and so on. But, based on the actual performance, there may not seem to be much about this to like. Long jams probably not rehearsed very much, as witnessed by stumbles in the musical "choreography" here and there, feedback screams from the sound system, muffled intros, etc. But who can ignore the percussion locomotive of three drummers that drives this music along, capped off by a plaintive version of "Man of Constant Sorrow" (done decades before "Oh Brother Where Art Thou") by Denny Laine, original Moody Blues singer ("Go Now" era). And the horns contribute mightily to the propulsion. It sounds like the raw influence of Fela Ransome Kuti and his musical aggregations had something to do with the jamming, which may well be true since Ginger did record with him elsewhere. OK, I'm a big fan of the artists that got together here. 5 stars for the music, minus 2 or 3 for the recording.

This group could really rock but the quality of the recording was very poor. The last song even skipped. i should ask for another copy but i did not want to bother getting back in touch. Masterful Musicians, however!

Wonderful music sounding bad ..As other reviewers say .. this is a rip from vinyl , and not a good one at that .VERY bad fidelity and distortion on tracks .. I had to get rid of this one .buyer BEWARE ."Lemon Records" .. may give you a clue .

Hi folks! I've just bought and listened to Ginger Baker's AirForce and it's great! The opening track(DaDa Man)and a variation of "Toad" are my faves(Baker & Seaman rule!). The only drawback is the audio's quality; some voices & instruments tend to be overpowered by the drums & horns, and the stereo mixing's a bit rough(recording technology was atrocious in those days).Overall though, the mix of jazz,rock,and traditional & world music is fun to listen to. If you're a fan of Cream,you'll love it.

A fine, fine album this one is from the legendary Ginger Baker. The sizzling hot saxophone jams are really good, and the keyboards are a nice touch as well. The vocals are muddy and in the back of the mix, but it works well with the dark and eerie singing style. Worth owning.

I expected this album to be great just by the line up of musicians. They truly didn't disappoint. Ginger Baker of course was phenomenal as well as Stevie Winwood's belting voice, and Denny Laine's country soul on "Man of Constant Sorrow". If you're a fan of music, you should have this in your collection. The African percussion provided by Reebop Kwaku Baah adds a layer of primal beat.

Do you need another review telling you that this Lemon release is just that - a lemon? Yes, because you may be tempted to still get it because of the line-up, the history of the concerts and tales of how good the music is but please don't. This particular release is unlistenable even on average equipment. It must sound truly horrendous on top-of-the-line stuff! I love Cream, Winwood, Graham Bond, McNair, et al - I'm a prime candidate for forgiving something recorded by these people that is a little sub-par in the recording quality stakes (check out my review of Graham Bond & co. at Klooks Kleek elsewhere on Amazon) but this is a bridge too far for me. I cannot listen to it all the way through. I start to twitch very early in the piece. Imagine taking the original recordings and processing them through a dirty woollen sock whilst playing them on the cheapest turntable with a worn and dirty needle and you're getting somewhere towards the sound of this cd. I thought I could live with it for the sake of having it but no, I can't. Shame.

Ginger baker has all star cast playing with him on this classic album!!!Steve Winwood,Denny Laine,Chris Wood,Phil Seamen,Graham Bond,Remi Kabaka,Rick Grech,Harold McNair,and Jeanette Jacob's are Ginger Baker's recruits in his Airforce!!! A great blend of musicians make this one great!!! Of course there are plenty of drum/percussion solos on this recording!!! Two thumbs up!!! This performance was recorded live at Albert Hall,London!!!

Okay the recording my not be the best but the collection of musicians was a great idea if only they had recored the album in a studio and live in another auditorium. But I loved the cover that is what drew me to the album in the first place great art work of the time. I bought the album and cd just for that reason.