FOOLS MEETING

This is a legendary album. The year of release and the band line-up make "Fools Meeting" somekind of a proto-Canterbury classic. Formed by brothers Steve (later in Caravan) and Phil Miller (later in Caravan, Matching Mole, Hatfield and the North, National Health) on keyboards and guitar respectively, Pip Pyle (later in Gong, National Health, Hatfield and the North, Soft Heap) on drums and Jack Monck (later a member of the legendary Stars with Syd Barrett and Twink) on bass, who was replaced by Roy Babbington shortly afterwards, Delivery came to life with the addition of singer Carol Grimes. Legendary saxophonist Lol Coxhill, Roddy Skeaping and Caravan's Richard Sinclair appear as guest musicians in this album.

The musical style here is a blend of blues, jazz and prog rock, which defined the sound of many british prog rock bands for the rest of that decade. The level of experimentalism which made the Canterbury sound unique in the years that followed this release, are not so evident, mainly because the songs are vocally orientated and include many late '60s psych influences. However, "Fools Meeting" is the transition point to the sound of the bands which were later formed by these superb musicians. Phil Miller's distinctive (and so beloved) guitar style, Pyle's innovative drumming and Coxhill's incomparable improvisations in Delivery are the best hints for what happened from then on in Canterbury and expanded throughout Europe.

Two things concerning this album are sad. First, the blues influences (especially in side B) seem to restrict the band's jazz-prog obvious inclination. Second (not bad for the album, but still sad), this is the only participation of Carol Grimes in a Canterbury prog album and it is a real shame. Grimes moved on to a solo career as a singer, performance poet and vocal animateur, but I think that nothing of that matches up to her powerful singing in Delivery's sole album.

Favorite songs: "Blind To Your Light", "Miserable Man", "Home Made Ruin", "The Wrong Time".