Customer Reviews

Mainstream

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

 

 

This recording from January 1975 is remarkable in that it was produced from the same sessions as Manzanera's first true solo album (DIAMOND HEAD). Somehow he managed to record two full (highly acclaimed) album's worth of music in that productive month with two largely different bands! The better known DIAMOND HEAD being all compositions he wrote or collaborated on (4 out of the 9 being instrumentals, including East Of Echo which included some of the QUIET SUN band). The more instrumental (only one song, Hayward's Rongwrong, out of 7 tracks) MAINSTREAM recording is different, more energetic, more experimental, more collaborative (writing credit is spread fairly evenly amongst all four main band members - Hayward, Jarrett, Manzanera and MacCormick), yet somehow ending up more consistent and unified sounding.

When I had this album in the late 70's I always thought it was from earlier in Manzanera's career (the confusion perhaps coming from the fact that QUIET SUN existed for awhile in 1970-71, before ROXY MUSIC, as well as from it's more powerful and fresh overall sound). DIAMOND HEAD was always my favorite solo recording of his, a nice mix of playful and polished, yet MAINSTREAM embodies the progressive era even better- excellent musicianship, creative exploration and carelessness for commercial reward. Perhaps the best, most balanced expression of all this came with the amazing Sept 3rd 1976 concert recording, 801 LIVE.

Nice to hear MAINSTREAM again, some really beautiful and often challenging music here, and to be able to get it at such a good price is a plus.

This one-off album by Quiet Sun (1975) is a nice example of the Canterbury rock style, and I enjoyed it in spite of the fact that the compositions are not highly developed. In fact, the looseness of the recording is somewhat appealing.

Although the band apparently rehearsed beforehand, the tracks on the album were recorded in one take and it shows - there are a few "bum" notes here and there and some dodgy bits. However, the music is passionate, well-played, and presents a nice mixture of the spacey, minimalist side of Soft Machine, the looseness of Matching Mole, a little jazz rock, and some avant-garde experimentation. The album is nearly all instrumental with the exception of one track that has vocals - unfortunately, the vocals are a bit rough, though very charming in a Canterbury sort of way. I generally enjoyed the guitar playing by Phil Manzanera, the drumming (Charles Hayward), and the keyboard work (Dave Jarrett).

This 1999 reissue by Expression Records/Virgin is lacking and does not feature the original cover artwork. The CD booklet is pretty skimpy and includes some descriptive liner notes, black and white photos of the band, and scanned copies of rejection letters from various, big-name record companies accompanied by very positive reviews from music critics (Sounds, Melody Maker, NME etc). The sound quality is not bad at all.

All in all, while very loose, I generally enjoyed the playing and overall "vibe". This is a fine album of Canterbury rock that is certainly worth adding to the progressive rock collection.

This is really 4 & 1/2 stars. Folks that like 801, MacCormick, Mazenara, will like this. Read the history of how this record FINALLY came to be and you will appreciate it more.
Great spin!

First let me remove all confusion about this release. This is the album MAINSTREAM by the group QUIET SUN originally released on LP by Island Records U.K. in 1975. Quiet Sun was Phil Manzanera's fusion super group from the early 70s. The CD is released on Expression Records, Phil Manzanera's artist label within Virgin Records. The transfer to CD is very good, dynamic and full, just how I remember the LP. The music is in a prog fusion style with Enoisms. The first few tracks follow variations on a common musical theme. Fans of early Roxy Music, Soft Machine and Brand X will appreciate this release.
This album has been on my want list for years and previous searches only revealed an expensive Japanese import. The miss-filing of this release both at Amazon and Amazon.uk, with miss-leading references to Phil Manzanera or the Mainstream Sextet, is a severe disservice to their customers. However they are not alone, the Allmusic guide has mangled references to this release. The CD's graphics are titled 'Phil Manzanera Mainstream'. And of course none of this is helped by the severe change in cover photo, that play tricks on one's memory, so there's plenty of blame to go round.
This is a great album. I hope this review clears up some of the confusion.

This is a nice cd of Phil Manzanera and an occasional group.
I had it for years on vinyl, I am very pleased to have it now on Cd.
It is something special between pop and jazz and I like it.