Customer Reviews

Singing the Bruise: BBC Sessions 1970-72

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

 

 

Kevin Ayers is wonderful. Hedonistic, charming,and soft-spoken. He sings like he's letting you in on a secret (or playing a joke on you!) His songs are inspiring / witty / weird / melodious.

If you haven't heard him yet, this wouldn't be the worst place to start.

It's a great CD. It captures 4 different sessions with Kevin Ayers, with three different bands backing him: The Soft Machine, The Whole World, and his Banana Follies cohort Archie Leggit.

In this way, it gives a good overview of early 70s Kevin. The second half of the CD (with Archie Leggit) is particularly enlightening. They make one of the most rocking duos you'll ever hear (bass and guitar)! There's a great reading of Falling in Love again that you have to hear!

All good stuff, but those first two track feature 7 member of Soft Machine from 3 different line-ups! Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Nick Evans and Lyn Dobson...

after the mediocrity of his later work its refreshing to hear this stuff from his best period.. the whole world! lol coxhil!! see x-ray... most tunes are significantly different from the studio versions .. i thought id never have any additional stuff from this special time..its comparable to the near annual publication of post-humous bukowski.. most of my friends cant figure out why i like this kevin ayers guy, but to a devotee this is gold...

. . . kind of depends on what song is playing at the time. If it's some of the stuff he does with the Whole World, then you'll be hard put to find better. Stand outs include Gemini Chile and Lady Rachel, as well as a completely whacked version of We Did It Again. The Banana follies stuff is a complete yawn. That's a matter of preference, however; if you weren't one of those kinds of people like myself who have been profoundly sick of the unplugged versions of your favorite songs, then plod away with the last five tracks and discover much to your nonamazement that he didn't improve upon any of these tracks. The only asset is Butterfly Dance, and that's only because it is so hard to find on any other of his albums. Even here, the song is still way cool. As for the Soft Machine stuff, like the liner notes imply, a little too many spirits were probably imbibed at the time of recording. It could have been so much better. That goes double for the whole CD.