INSIDE THE COCOON

I am sure many of us have purchased a reissue or boxed set because it contained unreleased material or rough ideas and come away massively disappointed at what was contained within. A few marvellous exceptions are Twelfth Night who have made some fascinating demos available, and Jethro Tull's '20th Anniversary Boxed Set' which was a revelation in what it contained. Now there is another which can be added to that list, not really so much for the music contained within but the explanations which are narrated by Peter throughout.

The expectation is that the purchaser will already know the debut album, 'Cocoon', and is interested in discovering more about the processes which Peter went through to record the album. We discover that some of the music is actually very old indeed, some recorded at school, the issues he had with his own narration, how it is difficult to write lyrics, and so much more. We discover how the band came together, and we even get some music from their very first performance. I am sure Peter has made this available separately from the reissue of 'Cocoon' as many would baulk at buying that album again if they already had it, so instead this has been made available with a DVD of an acoustic performance recorded at the Boerderij, Netherlands in2024 where Peter performs a selection of both Tiger Moth Tales and Genesis material.

One of the interesting elements is an interview he undertook with himself in 2013 trying to explain what he was doing and why he was doing it. I have found this CD absolutely enthralling, and it is interesting to hear him say he wasn't even sure there was a prog scene and had no interest at all in performing pop anymore, even though he had been on X Factor. This is a fascinating release, and one I can see me returning to many times as Peter is not only an amazing musician and composer but based on this he is a really interesting person indeed, someone I would love to have a beer with, as this album feels like the conversation has already started.