Hatfield & The North

Hatfield & The North | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 10, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Plate Caroline
• ASIN: B000000I02
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,111 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Big Jobs (Poo Poo Extract)

2. Going up to People and Tinkling

3. Calyx

4. Son of There's No Place Like Homerton

5. Aigrette

6. Rifferama

7. Fol de Rol

8. Shaving Is Boring

9. Licks for the Ladies

10. Bossa Nochance

11. Big Jobs No. 2 (By Poo and the Wee Wees)

12. Lobster in Cleavage Probe

13. Gigantic Land Crabs in Earth Takeover Bid

14. The Other Stubbs Effect

15. Let's Eat (Real Soon) [*]

16. Fitter Stoke Has a Bath [*]

Editorial Reviews

Part of the Charisma series. Japanese reissue packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Originally released in 1974. Virgin. 2004. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHY DOES THIS STILL SOUND BRAND NEW?, June 19, 2001

By 

Kerry Leimer (Makawao, Hawaii United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hatfield & The North (Audio CD)

This release and their second album, "Rotters Club", are the only examples I know of where every musician can easily be called a virtuoso writer and performer, and despite all the enormous talent the music itself is still perfectly unified, original, coherent and moving. With everyone showing off, this is no small accomplishment. Want incredible bass playing: listen to Richard Sinclair. Percussion: Pip Pyle amazes. Keyboards: Dave Stewart moves from style to style without ever sounding contrived. Guitars: Phil Miller defies description. The list goes on: Robert Wyatt lends some singing, as do the Northettes. Geoff Leigh weighs in from Henry Cow. The net result is a who's who in the Canterbury scene, delivering one of a kind music with a very light touch, a lot of self-depricating humor, style, endless depth and substance. How good is it? After the switch from vinyl, this was one of the first CDs I bought, and with it I proved that CDs are not built to last forever: it was played so often that I finally wore it out. And the music still sounds fresh, and probably always will, since its complexities are such a joy to discover. Nothing close has ever come along to replace Hatfield, and probably nothing ever will. Buy this CD, and their second album. Track down the solo releases by Phil Miller, Pip Pyle, Richard Sinclair, Dave Stewart and the others. Get your hands on everything ever released by National Health. Go back and get all the Caravan and Soft Machine you can find. Then listen to Hatfield in context: carefully, whimsically, seriously, casually. People that care this much about the music they create deserve your ear.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest Canterbury albums, October 28, 2001

By 

BENJAMIN MILER (Veneta, Oregon) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hatfield & The North (Audio CD)

I bought the American LP of this on Virgin, the one without the gatefold. Hatfield & the North was a Canterbury supergroup consisting of Caravan bassist/vocalist Richard Sinclair, keyboardist Dave Stewart of Khan and Egg, drummer Pip Pyle of Gong, and guitarist Phil Miller of Matching Mole, and the results turned out to be simply one of the greastest Canterbury bands I have ever heard. Hatfield & the North's music tends to the jazz/fusion side of things, and while I generally write off fusion as a boring wankfest, Hatfield's music is anything but a boring wankfest. Definately not as accessible as the likes of Caravan, but after a few listens, you'll be regarding this album as the Canterbury classic people say it is. While there are the occasional vocals by Richard Sinclair, this album is largely instrumental. There's even some killer female vocals as well from the likes of Barbara Gaskin, Ann Rosenthal, and Amanda Parsons which really gives this album a dreamy atmosphere. At this point, Dave Stewart started to use a lot more electric piano (mostly Wurlitzer) which is way different from his works with Khan, which tended heavily to the Hammond organ. I hadn't heard Hatfield's followup (and final) release, Rotter's Club, but their debut is definately a Canterbury classic, and if you love the jazz/fusion end of that genre, you can't go without this album!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Silly in the Least, August 6, 2004

By 

Jeffrey J.Park (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hatfield & The North (Audio CD)

The music on this debut by Hatfield and the North is arranged in a large suite comprised of 15 parts, which includes lengthy instrumental sections interspersed with a vocalese by Robert Wyatt, excellent singing by the Northettes, and of course proper vocals by Richard Sinclair. Stylistically, a great deal of the music on Hatfield and the North is superficially in keeping with the rhythmic and harmonic practices of jazz-rock, yet there are sections that are more in line with what most folks would consider to be progressive rock proper. Specifically, there is intricate (and occasionally heavy) ensemble playing that emphasizes chord progressions used in European classical, which at times is reminiscent of Dave Stewarts work with Egg, passages that border on avante-rock, and spacey sections dominated by quiet, understated guitar parts, churchy organ, electric piano, and the superb, three-part vocal harmonies of the Northettes. I think it is worth pointing out that the Northettes focus on creating soft soundscapes with their voices, much like a sustained mellotron pad, rather than the traditional backup vocal parts found in much of rock music. In fact, they function as a very disciplined "mini choir". The playing of all musicians is just excellent throughout, and the complexity and deadly seriousness of the suite contrasts sharply with section titles like "Going up to People and Tinkling" and "Shaving is Boring". In addition to the 15-part suite, there are two separate pieces on this version of the CD entitled "Let's Eat (Real Soon)" and "Fitter Stoke has a Bath". Although both of the additional pieces are enjoyable, the latter is much better than the pop of "Let's Eat". This is absolutely excellent music and perhaps one of the best recordings created in the Canterbury style. Recommended in addition to other excellent works of Canterbury rock including "Rock Bottom" (Robert Wyatt, 1974) and "In the Land of Grey and Pink" (Caravan, 1971).