Canterbury Scene Music

My Hatfield & the North review isn't written in stone, so if I listen to The Rotter's Club album again and change my initial opinion of the album, I can always edit my rating or review.

Caravan - Nine Feet Underground / For Richard - Live 2003 - 35th Anniversary Concert

Psychedelic Paul wrote: siLLy puPPy wrote: ^ don't get me wrong. I'm not saying everyone has to love the album. I'm just saying that it's one of those connoisseur type of albums that you really have to invest time in to understand the complexities. If you choose not to is one's prerogative, however it's like taking one semester of a class of a foreign language and thinking that's enough to speak it fluently therefore what you present is not really a review but rather an impression. All is valid of course but personally i think the invested time allows the album to take on a completely new dimension undetected in the earlier stages of experiencing it. If I happened to see Hatfield & the North's album at a bargain price charity shop or car boot sale then I would buy it and then I'd listen to it several times over. As I said in my review, it's a complex album that deserves to be listened to several times to fully appreciate it, and that especially applies to the longest track: "Mumps"     By the way, I always enjoy reading your reviews, even if I don't always agree with them.

Actually I have listened only their first album (I´ve got the picture they made only one album). But what I just read about that second album, I don´t think it also will become my big favorites, cause that first one also hasn´t become. I just don´t have any idea, why I would listen even 20 times some album I don´t like at all (or very little like Hatfield). On the other hand I very rare make reviews from the albums I don´t like at all.

^ don't get me wrong. I'm not saying everyone has to love the album. I'm just saying that it's one of those connoisseur type of albums that you really have to invest time in to understand the complexities. If you choose not to is one's prerogative, however it's like taking one semester of a class of a foreign language and thinking that's enough to speak it fluently therefore what you present is not really a review but rather an impression. All is valid of course but personally i think the invested time allows the album to take on a completely new dimension undetected in the earlier stages of experiencing it.

siLLy puPPy wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: siLLy puPPy wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: siLLy puPPy wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: I've reviewed five Canterbury Scene albums so far:-   KHAN - Space Shanty STEVE HILLAGE - Fish Rising NATIONAL HEALTH - National Health QUIET SUN - Mainstream HATFIELD & THE NORTH - The Rotters' Club   If you only gave Rotter's Club 3 stars then you clearly don't understand the Canterbury Scene. That album is pretty much the pinnacle of the entire sound that evolved out of the Soft Machine / Caravan / Egg paradigm. Many albums lumped into the genre like Steve Hillage and Gong are really more psychedelic space rock. Canterbury Scene is a unique brand of jazz-rock with prog tendencies. Hatfield & The North's albums are THE quintessential examples of this sound. Keep listening. It hasn't revealed its secrets yet or you're not listening close enough. You're right. That's pretty much what I said at the end of my review. The music of Hatfield & the North is too complex for me to fully understand or truly appreciate, so I couldn't honestly give it a higher rating than three stars. I know most PA members gave The Rotter's Club a four or five star rating, but my rating and review is just my own personal point of view. Yes, it IS a good album, but I only give four or five star ratings  to albums that I'd actually want to go out and buy and spend £10 on, but I can't say that about Hatfield & the North, but then again, I've only listened to The Rotters' Club album twice, so maybe it's an album that requires several listens to really get into it.   I do like Steve Hillage's first four albums though, despite not being a big fan of his band, Gong. If you've only listened to it twice, what makes you think you could possibly write a review about it? It literally took me about five years for it to sink in and I'm an eclectic avid music consumer as well as a musician. Youre attempting to critique something above your comprehension and in the process offer no insight into the music itself. I personally don't review albums until I understand them on a deeper level At least three-quarters of the albums I've reviewed I only listened to a couple of times, so why should Hatfield & the North be any different? I don't have time to wait five years to understand an album on a deeper level before I review every album. Then why should anybody take anything  you say seriously? I don't take 5  years to focus on most albums but that one i did. Just sayin, if  you REALLY want to find the cream of the crop of the Canterbury Scene, you really have to crack the tough nut of Rotter's Club. It's the whole scene on steroids :)

I fully agree with Paul about Hatfield. I haven´t also listened it hundreds of times, but I have listened music so long that I know it will never become into group of my favourites from Canterbury albums. 

I've been trying to argue for several years that it shouldn't be called the Canterbury "scene" but a "style"--especially as there are so many bands internationally who have been inspired by the silly, experimental, psychedelic jazz of The Softs, Egg, Caravan, and Gong.

Edited by BrufordFreak - January 22 2020 at 17:32

Guldbamsen wrote: Rednight wrote: Anyone want to recommend the go-to album by Kevin Ayers (RIP)? I think his first 5 albums are worth owning but singling one out rather depends on your tastes. The obvious is Joy Of A Toy which I love..but my two faves of his are actually Whatevershebringswesing and The Confessions Of Dr. Dream & Other Stories.

Thank you, Guldbamsen.

Rednight wrote: Anyone want to recommend the go-to album by Kevin Ayers (RIP)?

I think his first 5 albums are worth owning but singling one out rather depends on your tastes. The obvious is Joy Of A Toy which I love..but my two faves of his are actually Whatevershebringswesing and The Confessions Of Dr. Dream & Other Stories.

When I come to PA it is as an observer and not as a Prog aficionado, as I have eclectic tastes in music and Prog is part of that. I am friends with Psychedelic Paul and really appreciate his insight and excellent writing ability. He has reviewed albums I had no idea we're even out there, and have listened and enjoyed. But it didn't take five years for me to decide if it was something I could truly appreciate or pay good money for. Most of his reviews give me joy just to read because he has such a flair with his descriptions, is so in tune with what the album is about, and gives a history of the band members. Very interesting! I get a 360 degree view of the album. I have gone and listened to a good deal of the albums he has reviewed and now have a broader perspective of the musical horizon. I welcome genres that in the past I excluded out of ignorance and laziness. I really owe this to Psychedelic Paul, because it is he who helped me see and hear the plethora of Prog groups out there. I can't wait to discover more....just want to say to Guldbamsen, your comment about "straddling the looneybin skirts..." was hilarious! Keep it up, Paul. Your number one fan, FloydianPinkRose.

Anyone want to recommend the go-to album by Kevin Ayers (RIP)?