Fields (1971)

New to me...

https://youtu.be/BSAX1Bx4ZNg



Fields was an English progressive rock band formed in 1971 by drummer Andrew McCulloch, keyboardist Graham Field, and bassist-vocalist Alan Barry. McCulloch had previously been a member of King Crimson, appearing on the band's third album Lizard. Field founded Rare Bird in 1968 and departed in early 1971, and Barry was a former member of The Dowlands (aka The Dowland Brothers, 1962-1963) with the Giles brothers Peter and Michael who would eventually become members of King Crimson.

Fields released one album, "Fields", in 1971,[1] and one single from the album, "A Friend of Mine", in 1973. They did record a second album in 1972 with ex-Supertramp bassist-vocalist Frank Farrell replacing the departed Alan Barry, but the record was shelved by CBS and not initially released. The master tapes of this album were re-mastered and released as Contrasts: Urban Roar to Country Peace in 2015,[2] with the full involvement of Graham Field.

According to Field, CBS management changed and "the new faces did not want to know us",[3] so the group disbanded. Field had the rights to the name Rare Bird, and returned to working in that area and in television themes. McCulloch went on to become a founder member of Greenslade. Barry went on to become a founder member of the late 1970s-era UK rock band, King Harry.

I hope I run across a CD of it one day.

dr wu23 wrote: Good album.....have a cd of it. I'm also a fan of Rare Bird...have all the original vinyls as well as Greenslade and Crimson of course. Been looking in the shops for years,  have yet to find a used vinyl copy of Fields but then they are not all that common in the US. Originals are expensive on CBS and Epic also. They can be had on line if you want to shell out some money. I'm a fan of those early 70's Brit proto prog and prog bands. You might know of these but a few others I like in a 'similar vein'.... Quatermass Refugee Samurai Web Flash Badger Fantasy Spring

dr wu23 wrote: Pelata wrote: I hope I run across a CD of it one day. It's available on Amazon at a decent price.

I saw it on Discogs for $25

I wrote a review for the Fields album awhile ago, back in the days when I still had time to write album reviews. 

Thanks for the heads up  , I've ordered it on Amazon and should get it tomorrow or Thursday. Also comes with 'auto-rip' which is very handy!

Edited by richardh - March 30 2021 at 13:56

verslibre wrote: Pelata wrote: dr wu23 wrote: Pelata wrote: I hope I run across a CD of it one day. It's available on Amazon at a decent price. I saw it on Discogs for $25 Many copies on A——n for under $20. And you definitely want to check out Rare Bird's second album, As Your Mind Flies By.

Oh I plan on getting the Rare Bird box set in May. :)

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: Pelata wrote: dr wu23 wrote: Pelata wrote: I hope I run across a CD of it one day. It's available on Amazon at a decent price. I saw it on Discogs for $25 Synphonic has it also and for only 16 dollars.

His website looks like it hasn't been updated in a long time. Is Synphonic still active?

verslibre wrote: Pelata wrote: His website looks like it hasn't been updated in a long time. Is Synphonic still active? It is. I know Greg and he's a great guy. The best way to order from him is to ask him to email you the latest update so you can check out the new arrivals. He has a lot of stuff that's not listed online. Then maybe you can order a few things along with Fields. He may take a few days to respond.

Thanks!

Excellent album if a little bit unfocused. It bridges the raw proto-prog of Quatermass and the clean sheen of Greenslade. Solid 4 star album if ever there was.