Customer Reviews

Hatfield & The North

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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).

Hatfield and the North was a progressive, quasi-supergroup. The members previously played with Caravan, Matching Mole, Soft Machine, Gong and Egg. I used to consider them a mature version of Caravan. The music is a nice mixture of all the styles of the parent bands. It is progressive, without being too pretentious or bombastic, and jazzy, without being discordant like some of Soft Machine or Matching Mole. This album also features the "Northettes", a trio of female vocalists. They add a nice, unique touch. Some of the songs are reminiscent of Chick Corea's early Return to Forever. Other songs are more energetic progressive tunes.

Hatfield and the North recorded a second album (Rotter's Club) which wasn't quite as good. They had a reunion tour in 1990 and released a very good live CD, that is even better than this album. Near the end of the seventies, they evolved into National Health. Alot of the National Health material sounds alot like the music here. Other National Health material is less successful, being tedious structured jazz pieces.

Note: Phil Miller never played with Caravan. The Miller on Waterloo Lily was keypboard player Steve Miller.

This is the first of two by this incredible band that plays some great and indulgent 70's progressive rock, but without any pomposity. The music is much more jazz influenced (using keyboards, guitar) than other prog bands, and it has a beautiful wistful quality that isn't often heard...

The CD also contains the two bonus tracks: the A&B sides of their 45. Even the cover art is beautiful.

If you long ago outgrew bands like "Yes," "ELP," and "Genesis," and have crossed over to jazz but secretly still like progressive rock, then by all means give "Hatfield & the North" a try - for my money, they remain one of the greatest bands of all time...and that is something I don't espouse lightly...

This is probably the most uniformly brilliant and inventive piece of canterburian progressive rock I have ever heard. Every single composition displays extremely intricate arrangement, chord patterns, and amazing virtuosic musicianship. Dave Stewart's keyboard work is absolutely indespensable and the whole band displays some of the most melodic and confoundingly beautiful ensemble work this side of Mozart. Not only does the music improve but it is essential for repeated listening. This is a defining statement not just for canterbury sound but for progressive rock as a whole. One of the most accomplished works of the whole genre!

When I first heard Hatfield and The North back in -73, the music made a distinct impression on me. I love the sound of this band, with the easily recognizeable sound of the Northettes, arrangements Rhodes el-piano, solos with the Lowery organ (***** to Dave Stewart), the sleepy voice of Richard Sinclair and overall atmosphere. Great work, still after all these years I keep this band as one of my favorites....

I purchased this album when it first came out in the 70s, partly, it must be admitted, out of amusement at the name (coming from Hatfield, as I do). I have never tired of it in all this time, and even today, I can sit down and give it my undivided attention, and quite possibly pick up on something in it I never noticed before! Staggering musicianship (drummer Pip Pyle in particular), highly original composition, where the transitions between improvised and composed passages are almost seamless. When you consider how pompous and devoid of ideas a lot of the bigger prog. rock bands had become by the mid 70s, I suppose the punk "revolution" was by and large a good and necessary thing, but the simultaneous discrediting (by association) of the more "left of centre" artists such as the Hatfields, Henry Cow, Robert Wyatt etc. was an instance of throwing out the baby with the bath water, and really shouldn't have happened. This music deserves a revival.

This cd would require more active listening but generally the results are very rewarding. I've listened to this more than 20 times and I still discover new sounds and new twists. Dave and crew must've been into some kind mind enhancing potion to create such complex music.

Richard Sinclair was my favorite member of Caravan, and the band was never the same after he left to form Hatfield.

The whole family tree which grew from the Canterbury groups (Soft Machine and Caravan) made their best records at a time when jazz was going nowhere and jazz-rock had collapsed into fusion-funk.

I recommend that the neophyte start with Caravan's "If I Could Do It All Over Again" and Soft Machine's "Volume Two". If you like those, then bump it up a notch for Hatfield and the band it became, National Health.