THE ROTTERS' CLUB

This is the second and final album by one of the big name Canterbury bands. In my opinion, I think the cover artwork is total crap. Having a picture of a lady with a stereotypical 1940s Hollywood hairdo just doesn't seem appropriate for an album like this. On the back is a picture of a bunch of people, including kids (one of the kids I swear looks like Richard Sinclair as a 3 or 4 year old).

Now lets get with the music. The opening cut is "Share It". Very untypically HATFIELDS, in fact it sounds a whole lot more like CARAVAN circa "In the Land of Grey & Pink". A short, straight to the point pop ditty, with some rather quirky, uniquely English lyrics, with a wonderful synth solo from Dave Stewart himself. Now for most of the rest of the album, well, it's progressive fusion, but in my book, it's been done already on their debut. "Fitter Stoke Has a Bath" is a fascinating piece, it starts off lighthearted, with Richard Sinclair's singing, by the end, they band gets more experimental, and even a little Mellotron pops up. "Didn't Matter Anyway" is another vocal cut, mainly a Richard Sinclair ballad that almost sounds like something off CAMEL's "Rain Dances". Although a notch below their debut, this is still a recommended album for the Canterbury music fan.