JOY OF A TOY

Kevin Ayer's debut is a poppy, tasteful, jazzy, melodic, eccentric, quirky and at times experimental affair from 1969. He gets some help from his old mates from SOFT MACHINE, but David Bedford is the one he leans on the most during this recording. I think Kevin's lyrics are his strength, I find myself at times getting caught up in what he's singing. Very pleasant and enjoyable music.

"Joy Of A Toy Continued" is the title of a SOFT MACHINE song minus the "Continued" part. This song really has that feeling of celebration throughout. Surprisingly there are no vocals. "Town Feeling" opens solemnly with vocals to follow. Some cello and aboe later.Good tune, great lyrics. "The Clarietta Rag" reminds me of THE BEATLES at first.This is uptempo with some piano and mellotron. "Girl On A Swing" is mellow with piano and reserved vocals (as usual). I love the way this one sounds. "Song For Insane Times" is a SOFT MACHINE tune reworked. Kevin gets some help from Hopper and Ratledge on this one. The drums are prominant. He sure can tell a story. Some fuzz from Ratledge late. "Stop This Train (Again Doing It)" has such a good rythm to it, one of my favs.

"Eleanor's Cake (Which Ate Her)" is a slower paced, sad song. "Lady Rachel" is a darker,more serious track. This tune does seem ahead of it's time and is one of my favourites. "Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong" has a Malaysian title which recalls Kevin's youth growing up in that country where his father was a diplomat. A good beat throught this one with high pitched vocals. Guitar after 1 1/2 minutes with some piano 3 minutes in.This is the most experimental song on here. "All This Crazy Gift Of Time" features strummed guitar and vocals. Some harmonica 1 1/2 minutes in as the album ends as it began, on a fun note. Kevin does his Bob Dylan impression late.

The next one by Kevin called "Shooting At The Moon" is my favourite from him. I keep Kevin Ayers cds right beside my Robert Wyatt recordings.Two special people with unique sounding albums.