Present from Nancy/To the Highest Bidder [Import]

Supersister | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 11, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Universal/Polygram
• ASIN: B000056B3X
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,597 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Introductions

2. Present From Nancy

3. Memories Are New

4. 11-8

5. Dreaming Weelwhile

6. Corporation Combo Boys

7. Mexico

8. Metamorphosis

9. Eight Miles High

10. Dona Nobis Pacem

11. Girl Named You

12. Np Tree Will Grow

13. Energy (Out Of Future)

14. Higher

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Canterbury scene in the Netherlands?, April 21, 2005

By 

Jeffrey J.Park (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Present from Nancy/To the Highest Bidder (Audio CD)

Stylistically, Supersister is very similar to English Canterbury bands like Egg and Soft Machine, yet hails from the Netherlands. Interestingly enough, the two recordings on this CD were released in 1970 and 1971 (i.e. around the beginning of the Canterbury "movement"). Although it can be debated whether this band alone provides evidence that a legitimate Canterbury style developed outside of England, it is certainly compelling. The pieces on "Present from Nancy (1970) are jazzy, with several shorter pieces lumped into three "song-suites" along with the 8'34" Dona Nobis Pacem and the extremely brief Corporation Combo Boys. Straight Hammond organ parts in addition to Mike Ratledge (Soft Machine) influenced distorted organ parts abound, along with various flute parts and spacey, minimalist sections, with excellent playing by all members. The Egg approach is obvious as well, as reflected in the dense ensemble work and the usage of odd time signatures (in fact one of their pieces is entitled 11/8). There is also the whimsical side of the Canterbury scene too, which is very much in evidence on Corporation Combo Boys. Although largely instrumental, there are some vocal parts which are reminiscent of Robert Wyatt at times. "To the Highest Bidder (1971) is comprised of four pieces that range from 2 to 15 minutes in length. The music is similar to their excellent debut and continues their jazzy, virtuosic approach to experimental rock with a healthy dose of the European avant-garde. Although these first two recordings are excellent, by the time of Spiral Staircase (1973) Supersister had pretty much tanked.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Dutch treat for the aural senses..., September 24, 2009

By 

Squire Jaco (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Present from Nancy/To the Highest Bidder (Audio CD)

I used to erroneously believe that another Dutch band (Earth and Fire) were some kind of funk band, and that this Dutch band was a disco band fashioned after Rick James! ;-)
So much for questionable choices in band names.

First, the negatives: The cd cover art here is lousy, and you get basically zero information in the liner notes about the band or the making of these albums; that would have been a nice plus. But I don't mark off for it...

The big positive is that you get two fantastic albums (probably the band's two best) in one affordable package. And this is a band that should be known to all progressive lovers. If you're a fan of Canterbury bands like Caravan and Hatfield & the North, this should please you. Lots of flute and sax, and the vocals are well done - I'm not even a huge fan of the wackier or "avant garde" stuff out there, but I do find this band a joy to listen to. There's a fair amount of dissonance and jazzy rock moments, especially on the "To The Highest Bidder" half of the cd. That second album seems to be a little more mature or thought out, but I love the way the first album ("Present From Nancy") sort of segues seamlessly from track to track. This is very fun progressive music with a surprising show of virtuosity and songwriting. Find it cheap on eBay and give yourself a "present to the highest bidder"!....

I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:
Music quality = 8.4/10; Performance = 9.1/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 10/10.
Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 9.1 ("4-1/2 stars")

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These two albums are my first try in to Supersister, March 7, 2005

By 

BENJAMIN MILER (Veneta, Oregon) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Present from Nancy/To the Highest Bidder (Audio CD)

I have been aware of Supersister for a number of years, but for some reason didn't try any of their stuff until I got this 2-for-1 CD. I think it has something to do with the band name, one might get the impression they might be a disco act. But of course that's far from the truth, and the band pre-dated disco. Instead they were one of the top prog rock bands to come out of the Netherlands, along with Focus, Earth & Fire, Trace, Ekseption, and Alquin. I kept hearing they were a Dutch answer to such Canterbury acts as Caravan. I have always felt Caravan was one of the more accessible Canterbury acts, and Supersister's music is much more twisted, and there's often a strong Soft Machine feel. I hear comparisons to Hatfield & the North, but the band had yet to exist. Supersister at this point consisted of keyboardist/vocalist Robert Jan Stips, flautist Sacha van Geest, bassist Ron van Eck, and drummer Marco Vrolijk. There is no guitar player, but the heavily fuzzed organ (much in the style of Mike Ratledge or Dave Stewart) more than makes up for it. The vocals are often compared to Richard Sinclair, but equally they remind me of Pye Hastings. Present From Nancy, released in 1970 was their debut, and this is a prime example of a prog rock band getting right the first time (where bands like Yes and Genesis had to take three albums for them to really take off). Most of the album is full of really twisted jazzy prog rock, with some more atmospheric numbers like the flute/organ dominated "Dreaming Weelwhile" and the gloomy "Dona Nobis Pacem". The latter features a little chanting in Latin, but mainly a mellow, organ-dominated piece that suddenly turns to circus music near the end of this piece before fading out in about one minute. "Metamorphosis" is one truly twisted piece, an almost minamalist piece with tons of fuzz organ. "Eight Miles High" is an odd, but very short piece (20 seconds). You might think this is the band doing a short cover of the Byrds. Well partially true, they combined the lyrics of that Byrds classic with George Gershwin's "Summertime", in which the song goes "Eight miles high, and the living is easy". This odd experiment turns out to be a wonderful, psychedelic number with organ. Another oddity here is "Memories are New". This is the first cut with vocals. There's a nice psychedelic vibe, with twisted use of fuzz organ, then they go off the deep-end with an experimental passage that reminds me of what Krautrock bands were doing around the same time, but with that Canterbury-style fuzz organ. 1971's To the Highest Bidder finds the band doing more extended pieces, only four cuts this time. "A Girl Named You" is a jazzy piece dominated by electric piano. I'm pretty certain I hear a little Mellotron creeping it, it sounds like the little-known M300 model. I am probably not too surprised given this was recorded at Phonogram studios, and Earth & Fire and Ekseption had recorded there and had used the M300 (which apparently belonged to the studio). "No Tree Will Grow" starts off with this odd droning sound, but is a rather dramatic number with a strong classical feel and piano. The more I listen to this, it more starts reminding me a bit of what Caravan would be doing for their album Cunning Stunts, even if it wouldn't be released until 1975. This piece has a romantic/symphonic feel, which would be pretty untypical for Canterbury bands, but then this group isn't Canterbury, of course (since they're not from the UK), but still heavily influenced by that scene. This piece then unexpectedly ends with hysterical laughing. The next piece is truly the album's high point, "Energy (Out of Future)", starts off rather slowly, but as the music continues, there is a strong Canterbury feel, with Pye Hastings-like vocals. But the music really gets off the deep-end going in to experimental Krautrock territory, with eerie sounds. The album then goes back down to earth with the pop-oriented "Higher" which is really a relief after hearing the last few minutes of "Energy (Out of Future)". In my opinion I felt that Present From Nancy is the better album, but while I don't like the packaging of this 2-for-1 CD, it's still an excellent way to acquire both these albums. I have yet to acquire their following efforts, so I'm unable to say how this band progressed and evolved.

These two albums really require several listens for all this to sink in. But they are truly one of Holland's finest, and while I wished for full album artwork for both on this 2-for-1 CD, this is a great place to start if you're not familiar with Supersister.