MAINSTREAM

Quiet Sun was an English prog rock band from the Canterbury Scene. It was originally formed around Dulwich College in 1970 as a four piece progressive rock band featuring Phil Manzanera (guitar), Bill MacCormick (bass), Charles Hayward (drums), and Dave Jarrett (keyboards). The band's name came out from an article on sunspots and solar flares that MacCormick's brother, Ian, had been reading, called "The Year Of The Quiet Sun". In 1971, Manzanera left to join Roxy Music, MacCormick joined Matching Mole, Jarrett went into teaching, and Hayward joined to Gong. Three years later, Manzanera was riding high on Roxy Music and decided to reform Quiet Sun while spending the latter part of 1974 working on a solo album to be known as "Diamond Head". Manzanera booked 12 hour studio days, recording his solo album for eight and Quiet Sun for four, resulting in "Mainstream". The group mostly re-recorded the songs they had rehearsed back in 1970, though several songs from that time instead found their way onto "Diamond Head", including "Frontera". Both albums formed the basis of much of the "801" live shows, which featured Manzanera and MacCormick.

So, coordinating those sessions meant long nights, excellent brew, and cross-collaboration with both Roxy Music's alumni as well as reconvening the old band to reinvent song arrangements and create something fresh. "Mainstream" shows the quartet as anything but a conventional rock act, struggling to establish a unique identity but in the best possible fashion. This album is clearly the other side of the musical coin with distinct variations on "Diamond Head".

Bearing sonic similarities with "Diamond Head", "Mainstream" is a far more unusual affair. The songs and understated nature of the project made the recording almost a tribute to the previous incarnation of the band with hints of the "801 Live" to be. At times the songs feel improvised and in other times move in multiple directions at once. They're carefully thought out pieces. Manzanera's guitar shrieks and screams while the band engages in some tricky, jazzy playing underneath. Like modern jazz, each player's part is inventive and worth individual attention. Yet, like rock, it well rocks.

"Mainstream" is the first and only album of Quiet Sun and was released in 1975. "Mainstream" has seven tracks. The first track "Sol Caliente" is a real classic track and defines most of the rest of the album. It has some accurate keyboard sounding of the soil and extremely wrapped guitar carvings. The second track "Trumpets With Motherhood" has a soft Hayward fusion background that is enriched by the synth oddities of the wizard Brian Eno, who was invited to the studio by the band. The third track "Bargain Classics" is a bright and interesting experimental track. It's a tripped out percussion driven Jarrett's composition that sealed the deal for me as far as my ranking of this album is concerned. I really love this track. The fourth track "R.F.D." has an absolutely astounding crystal sound. It's a mellow drifting song with nice keys and synths. This is a great tune for a true classic Canterbury title, if there ever was only one classic Canterbury title. The fifth track "Mummy Was An Asteroid, Daddy Was A Small Non-Stick Kitchen Utensil" is a great track due to the work of both, keyboardist Jarrett and Manzanera's playing. It's nowhere near as wacky as its title might suggest. Instead it's a guitar shrunk fest with glittering Caravan's styled keyboard runs. All delivered in an aggressive "Starless And Bible Black" era King Crimson's style. Demos of the band's early works which were sent to various record labels of the day are included, as well as the rejection slips, which further reveals Jarrett as the Mike Ratledge acolyte he truly was. The sixth track "Trot" has a lovely piano solo of Jarrett. It has some nice dynamics changes too, like going from a Steinway part to a screaming guitar riff. Jarrett uses the Steinway grand piano, but also the Rhodes and the Farfisa, which he mixes very well. The seventh track "RongWrong" has always been an oddity among oddities. It bears almost no similarity to a same named track from "801 Live" album. That latter version has straightforward vocals, courtesy of Brian Eno, but the one on "Mainstream" is, like everything else on this difficult, yet but wonderful prog rock album, primarily instrumental. When the vocals appear, they're quite different, both in content and delivery.

Conclusion: For me, albums like "Mainstream" and the other British jazz-rock groups provided a stepping stone into jazz proper. They also got me listening to American prog jazz/rock artists like Weather Report, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny. "Mainstream" is thankfully no longer "a lost gem", as many others, as many still refer to it, and Quiet Sun was a missed opportunity for the music industry at the time, and by 1972 they were no more. Thanks to Phil Manzanera's fame with Roxy Music, we have this fitting tribute to a highly talented bunch of musicians, and I for one will keep on going back to play it many times as I want. "Mainstream" is more than 40 years old, but "Mainstream" is still an enjoyable album to listen to. I think "Mainstream" is a little more spacey and a little more symphonic, than the usual Canterbury masterpieces. So, I recommend this album to all prog rock fans. "Mainstream" is really a great album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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