KEVIN AYERS & THE WHOLE WORLD: SHOOTING AT THE MOON

Back in the days when there was nothing but LPs and tapes, I didn't play this album very often. Compared to its immediate successors it seemed underwhelming. But the 2002 remastered CD (with bonus tracks) turns it into something special. Those old, relaxed and easy ditties (e.g. "May I", "The Oyster and the Flying Fish", "Clarence in Wonderland") now sound clearer, and Kevin's duet with Bridget St. John on "The Oyster..." is a wonder. On the other hand, the harsher rock tunes also shine more brightly, for now you can hear all that sonic detail much better. The great surprise is Mike Oldfield's electric guitar solo (mean but masterly) on "Lunatics Lament". Makes you wonder what sparks would have flown if Mike had stayed on as star soloist in a conventional rock group.

Both "Pisser dans un Violon" and "Underwater" are experimental pieces (without vocals) which would have felt right at home on a 1972 King Crimson album. They're fairly low key (does Kevin play lead guitar as well as bass?) but now that I can hear them without crackle or scratches, I enjoy them just as much as some of the fabled Fripp-Wetton-Cross-Bruford improvs! Perhaps we should finally acknowledge Kevin for being the innovator he was clearly trying to be.

What turns this album into a four star one, though, is the addition of some delightful bonus material. "Puis-je" is identical to "May I", only the vocal is in French this time, and Kevin's ad-libbing during the sax solo always brings a smile to my face: you hear him mutter that he just wants to sit next to that lovely girl in the café and admire her beauty; he doesn't want to get "entre tes reins tout de suite". (An allusion to a ballad by a certain Serge Gainsbourg, which was a huge international hit at the time, despite being banned by the Vatican!) "Butterfly Dance" foreshadows the opening of WHATEVERSHEBRINGSWESING, and "Jolie Madame" (another duet with Bridget St. John) is one of the loveliest ballads Kevin has ever committed to vinyl.

All in all, SHOOTING AT THE MOON is a near-masterpiece, and in its most recent incarnation I'd call it "not to be missed".