The Soft Machine  - The Soft Machine  (1968)

     Caravan  -  In the Land of Grey and Pink  (1971)

     Khan  -  Space Shanty  (1972) 

     Gong  -  Shamal  (1975)   

^I like first Matching Mole much more than first Hatfield, although it´s not also my most favourite from Canterbury.

siLLy puPPy wrote: ^ It's one of the most complex prog albums ever made. It's certainly an acquired taste and one of the Holy Grails of prog. If  you've been listening to prog rock long enough, you'll eventually gravitate to more complex arrangements and end up loving albums like this that have more ideas stuffed in one track than most artists will muster up in an entire career. At least that's what happened for me. I hesistated reviewing for years because it would give me a different impression every time i listened to it. Sometimes i'd find it boring and other times it would blow me away as the best masterpiece ever made. It took about five years before it simmered down and emerged as one of the highlight masterpieces of all of prog rock.

I have listened prog from the eighties, but to me has happened backward "development". I think I liked much more complex prog in the eighties than today, today I like more great melodies and strong atmospheres than very complex structures (of course this has some exceptions for example Magma). It´s very possible if I hadn´t listened seventies Rush in the eighties & had found it recently, I wouldn´t like it. I think you just have to accept every prog listener would not love Hatfield. But anyway, I will try that second some day and also give more listens to that first (it hasn´t been totally bad).

^ It's one of the most complex prog albums ever made. It's certainly an acquired taste and one of the Holy Grails of prog. If  you've been listening to prog rock long enough, you'll eventually gravitate to more complex arrangements and end up loving albums like this that have more ideas stuffed in one track than most artists will muster up in an entire career. At least that's what happened for me. I hesistated reviewing for years because it would give me a different impression every time i listened to it. Sometimes i'd find it boring and other times it would blow me away as the best masterpiece ever made. It took about five years before it simmered down and emerged as one of the highlight masterpieces of all of prog rock.

siLLy puPPy wrote: ^ don't get me wrong. I'm not saying everyone has to love the album. I'm just saying that it's one of those connoisseur type of albums that you really have to invest time in to understand the complexities. If you choose not to is one's prerogative, however it's like taking one semester of a class of a foreign language and thinking that's enough to speak it fluently therefore what you present is not really a review but rather an impression. All is valid of course but personally i think the invested time allows the album to take on a completely new dimension undetected in the earlier stages of experiencing it.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - January 23 2020 at 01:05

Mortte wrote: siLLy puPPy wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: siLLy puPPy wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: siLLy puPPy wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: I've reviewed five Canterbury Scene albums so far:-   KHAN - Space Shanty STEVE HILLAGE - Fish Rising NATIONAL HEALTH - National Health QUIET SUN - Mainstream HATFIELD & THE NORTH - The Rotters' Club   If you only gave Rotter's Club 3 stars then you clearly don't understand the Canterbury Scene. That album is pretty much the pinnacle of the entire sound that evolved out of the Soft Machine / Caravan / Egg paradigm. Many albums lumped into the genre like Steve Hillage and Gong are really more psychedelic space rock. Canterbury Scene is a unique brand of jazz-rock with prog tendencies. Hatfield & The North's albums are THE quintessential examples of this sound. Keep listening. It hasn't revealed its secrets yet or you're not listening close enough. You're right. That's pretty much what I said at the end of my review. The music of Hatfield & the North is too complex for me to fully understand or truly appreciate, so I couldn't honestly give it a higher rating than three stars. I know most PA members gave The Rotter's Club a four or five star rating, but my rating and review is just my own personal point of view. Yes, it IS a good album, but I only give four or five star ratings  to albums that I'd actually want to go out and buy and spend £10 on, but I can't say that about Hatfield & the North, but then again, I've only listened to The Rotters' Club album twice, so maybe it's an album that requires several listens to really get into it.   I do like Steve Hillage's first four albums though, despite not being a big fan of his band, Gong. If you've only listened to it twice, what makes you think you could possibly write a review about it? It literally took me about five years for it to sink in and I'm an eclectic avid music consumer as well as a musician. Youre attempting to critique something above your comprehension and in the process offer no insight into the music itself. I personally don't review albums until I understand them on a deeper level At least three-quarters of the albums I've reviewed I only listened to a couple of times, so why should Hatfield & the North be any different? I don't have time to wait five years to understand an album on a deeper level before I review every album. Then why should anybody take anything  you say seriously? I don't take 5  years to focus on most albums but that one i did. Just sayin, if  you REALLY want to find the cream of the crop of the Canterbury Scene, you really have to crack the tough nut of Rotter's Club. It's the whole scene on steroids :) I fully agree with Paul about Hatfield. I haven´t also listened it hundreds of times, but I have listened music so long that I know it will never become into group of my favourites from Canterbury albums.

Psychedelic Paul wrote: siLLy puPPy wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: siLLy puPPy wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: I've reviewed five Canterbury Scene albums so far:-   KHAN - Space Shanty STEVE HILLAGE - Fish Rising NATIONAL HEALTH - National Health QUIET SUN - Mainstream HATFIELD & THE NORTH - The Rotters' Club   If you only gave Rotter's Club 3 stars then you clearly don't understand the Canterbury Scene. That album is pretty much the pinnacle of the entire sound that evolved out of the Soft Machine / Caravan / Egg paradigm. Many albums lumped into the genre like Steve Hillage and Gong are really more psychedelic space rock. Canterbury Scene is a unique brand of jazz-rock with prog tendencies. Hatfield & The North's albums are THE quintessential examples of this sound. Keep listening. It hasn't revealed its secrets yet or you're not listening close enough. You're right. That's pretty much what I said at the end of my review. The music of Hatfield & the North is too complex for me to fully understand or truly appreciate, so I couldn't honestly give it a higher rating than three stars. I know most PA members gave The Rotter's Club a four or five star rating, but my rating and review is just my own personal point of view. Yes, it IS a good album, but I only give four or five star ratings  to albums that I'd actually want to go out and buy and spend £10 on, but I can't say that about Hatfield & the North, but then again, I've only listened to The Rotters' Club album twice, so maybe it's an album that requires several listens to really get into it.   I do like Steve Hillage's first four albums though, despite not being a big fan of his band, Gong. If you've only listened to it twice, what makes you think you could possibly write a review about it? It literally took me about five years for it to sink in and I'm an eclectic avid music consumer as well as a musician. Youre attempting to critique something above your comprehension and in the process offer no insight into the music itself. I personally don't review albums until I understand them on a deeper level At least three-quarters of the albums I've reviewed I only listened to a couple of times, so why should Hatfield & the North be any different? I don't have time to wait five years to understand an album on a deeper level before I review every album.

Guldbamsen wrote: Rednight wrote: Anyone want to recommend the go-to album by Kevin Ayers (RIP)? I think his first 5 albums are worth owning but singling one out rather depends on your tastes. The obvious is Joy Of A Toy which I love..but my two faves of his are actually Whatevershebringswesing and The Confessions Of Dr. Dream & Other Stories.