HATFIELD AND THE NORTH

This is a highly musical, well-put together album. I like it better than 'Rotters Club" - it is more dynamic, has more interesting changes, and each member gets to shine at different times on it (unlike Rotter's Club, which is more dominated by Dave Stewart). The first five tracks are truly superb - Calyx is a 'Cantebury Scene' classic piece, in my mind Phil Miller's best, with a guest vocal by Robert Wyatt. Homerton is great - Pip Pyle is unusual in that he is both the drummer and a fantastic composer of complex orchestral/ classical music. This album is up there as one of the best of the Cantebury Scene, alongside early Soft Machine, Caravan's second and third albums, Henry Cow's Praise of Learning, etc.