TRIAL BY HEADLINE

Following a few years of inactivity, Brainville reconvened with Chris Cutler replacing Pip Pyle. Possibly acknowledging this change, they renamed themselves Brainville 3. Chris Cutler, although never an official member, had played with Gong as substitute/interim drummer in the 70s, and appeared on some Daevid Allen solo albums. This line up played a few festivals and toured the UK and Europe from 2006 ? 2008, and I was lucky enough to see them on a couple of occasions (including the London gig where 'Who's Afraid' was recorded).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this iteration of Brainville edges closer to RIO/Avant territory, with more emphasis on improvisation than on jamming. The set list has mostly moved on from the Kramer collaborations as well. There are a couple of excursions to Planet Gong, including a spirited rendition of I Bin Stoned, and early Soft Machine is also revisited, including a rowdy Didditagain to end the proceedings. Betweentimes there are a couple of Cutler/Hopper improvisations and some of Allen's poetic solo offerings (although none of Allen's spoken word interludes). It captures this line up perfectly and shows that, despite their advancing years, the three musicians were still pushing boundaries and exploring possibilities.

This is my favourite of Brainville's live albums, but it's more of an acquired taste than the others. It's also the best sounding, although Hugh Hopper's bass is a bit subdued on the opening tracks. If you're open to hearing the Canterbury sound pushed into new shapes, or even turned inside out, listening to this album is an hour well spent.