NICK MASON'S FICTITIOUS SPORTS

In between "The Wall" and "The Final Cut", Pink Floyd's Nick Mason had plenty of time on his hands. He teams up with friends Mike Mantler and Carla Bley to record the Bley penned "Fictitious Sports". It's released under Mason's name to pull in a bigger fee from the record company. The Pink Floyd drummer calls in a favor and has ex-Soft Machine and soloist Robert Wyatt provide vocals. Mason had produced Wyatt's Rock Bottom album some seven years prior.

The album is eclectic. Anyone expecting a Pink Floyd knock-off album will be in for a big surprise. Bley brings in a kind of weird jazz rock with horns flavored music and combines them with a wicked sense of humor. For listeners without a prior introduction to Mr. Wyatt, his vocals are distinctive and for me, took a bit to get used to. A listener who found out about Fictitious Sports via Pink Floyd, will have one song that is closely related to their work. The track "Hot River" sports a dead on David Gilmour guitar solo from Chris Spedding with producer Nick Mason making his drums brighter and displaying them more prominiently in the mix then he had with his "day job" band.

In short, this is a good, enjoyable album. It will expand your musical palette if you are not familiar with the supporting cast. I later found out that It doesn't have the best of Carla Bley but it was my introduction to her work.

A solid 3 stars.