MARCH

This is another official live bootleg-like release of a gig in Europe in 1972, released in 2002. The sound quality is great, but the performances are decidedly mixed. I think the band took a while to warm up, as the first three tunes in particular are quite poor. The opener, March (from Little Red Record) is almost unrecognizable, but not in a good way - that is, not because they were playing around with the structure and melody, extending it beyond its usual moorings, but instead because they don't seem to be able to play it! Also, the keyboards are way too low in the mix - hearing this on the radio one would be hard-pressed to identify a keyboard at all. Of course, being a Softs fan, I like a challenge, but the two tracks that follow are again not very well played. Things pick up in the middle of the disc, however, during "Part of the Dance". The best track, and the reason for getting this album, is "No 'Alf Measures" which not only is new (not appearing on any other Matching Mole album), but is the best song/performance in this set. The last two tunes continue on with the better playing exhibited in this track, ending with an instrumental version of Caravan's "Waterloo Lily", thus ending on an up note (which probably explains some of the 4-star ratings). But overall, the performances are too mixed, and too esoteric (even compared to Matching Mole's other work), for this is to be anywhere near 4-star material. Indeed, it is probably in the larger scheme of things only of interest to pre-existing fans - if this is your introduction to MM you will get a skewed idea of the band. But it raises to 3 PA stars for me on the strength of its clean sound quality, and the stronger performances/improvisations in the second-half of the set. Overall, I rate this 5.9 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 3 PA stars.

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