Ah, this is difficult! Rotter's Club is my favourite Canterbury-album, but I have to go for Caravan. Many great albums and they have meant so much to me when investigating the world of prog. And Richard Sinclair is a really nice guy! Though the latter is not a good argument as he has played in Hatfield too....

Egg should be on the list btw...

Man Erg wrote: [QUOTE=Hammar] I believe that Pete Frame had nightmares over his Canterbury family tree. Family plantation more-like!

I'm not surprised but he has had at least 4 goes at it. The original (I recently discovered) was including in that fine underground magazine Zig Zag in 1973 (to complement an interview/piece about Kevin Ayers), then with some additions in the Soft Machine Triple Echo 3 LP box set, and then in the Rock Family Trees books - how many editions to date?

Did you see the Channel 4,  Rock Family Trees series, which covered progressive rock - that was so clearly mega-complicated that King Crimson was totally omitted?

Man Erg wrote: Easy Livin wrote: Caravan by a country mile for me. Weren't Camel also considered to be Canterbury? Aaah! Caramel. Yes,but sort of by default once Richard sinclair had joined them on their 5th album.They were latterly joined by other members of Caravan and hence the nickname 'Caramel.'

Members of the two bands did of course work together on a more "formal" basis as Mirage, performing songs by both bands plus some Pete Bardens solo material.

Caravan for me too .

Dick Heath wrote: ...while omitting Gong....

There will always be discussions about who that shall be included under the Canterbury-umbrella. For some reason I've never included Gong. Guess it's because of the influence from other parts of the music world than the distinct Canterbury sound and the presence of foreign musicians. I would rather include Picchio dal Pozzo... One of my favourite "Canterbury"-bands.

Picchio dal pozzo, yes, just listen this afternoon! a must:

reminiscence of Rock bottom, gong /you and Hatfield!

The singer is between Sinclair and Wyatt...

And do you know DEDALUS, also italian, which is closed to soft Machine(fourth/fifht period?)

Excellent.

dedalus (1972)

Man Erg wrote: Dick Heath wrote: Please can somebody justify Isotope and Daryl Way's Wolf in this list, while omitting Gong (marks 1 and mark 2), Egg, and the various Elton Dean and Phil Miller projects, Steve Hillage (blimey he studied at  University of Kent at Canterbury for a short while before joining Gong)- and original Canterbury band Wilde Flowers? (And then there is all those projects Lol Coxhill and the late Steve Miller were involved - btw I don't mean the Texan Steve Miller). However, I'm please to see you haven't included Allan Holdsworth or Bill Bruford - as some have (like the Canterbury fanzine Facelift for a start) Isotope included Hugh Hopper and Daryl Way's Wolf included John Etheridge both members of Soft Machine at one time or another.

Goodness you open so a huge can of worms, by inclusion bands who are not normally recognised as Canterbury but had past or future members of a Canterbury band - while omitting obvious Canterbury bands.  So why omit Hugh's name from the list, when he has produced a fine set of albums under his own names in the last 30 years, or Hugh with Stomu Yamashta Band (also with Gary Boyle) or Caveman Hughscore? And think of the number of musician both common to Nucleus and Soft Machine. And how about Etheridge's Zappatistas - Zappa meets canterbury. And so on. 

Without forgetting albums like

KHAN/ SPACE SHANTY

oliverstoned wrote: And do you know DEDALUS, also italian, which is closed to soft Machine(fourth/fifht period?) Excellent. dedalus (1972)

Absolutely. Too, French band Moving Gelatine Plates, certainly sounded like the Softs (around Third), reflecting that the French were far better appreciating the Softs (and other Canterbury bands) than the English. Still true today with the excellent French jazz tribute group  Polysofts. But then Canterbury is less than 50 miles from France.

One point Theo Travis made in a recent interview, which has direct relevance to spotting a Canterbury band, with a vocalist, is the manner in which the lyrics are sung. Travis, talking about Robert Wyatt and Richard Sinclair, made the observation is that they sing with English accents, while so many other English born and bred singers affect an American accent. John Peel in the early 70's called this the 'school of anti-singing', specifically referring to Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers (although Ayers can sound  American wrt to his inflections and stresses in lyrics). If you want to hear this difference, listen to Hugh Hopper's Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening, as sung by Wyatt on Soft Machine Volume 2 and Eliane DeFlaco  on Caveman Hughscore.

yes, MGP, but it's too repetitive.

Don' t forget classic canterburyan efforts like "KHAN/SPACE SHANTY"

with Steve Hillage

If you consider Gong as part of canterbury, you should include the first "real"

Gong album with the french poet dashiell hedayat: Obsolete

Here's an excellent french site about Canterbury:

http://perso.club-internet.fr/calyx/ - http://perso.club-internet.fr/calyx/

You won't be deceived!

You forget  HENRY COW

The most virtuose and complex of all bands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oliverstoned wrote: You forget  HENRY COW The most virtuose and complex of all bands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I would agree with you (especially Legend/Leg End)- but for a time they were dumped into the "Cambridge music" slot - odd company for Pink Floyd, the other band plonked there at the same time.

Yes i agree, Legend is an absolute must

It has NOTHING to do with PF

oliverstoned wrote: yes, MGP, but it's too repetitive. Don' t forget classic canterburyan efforts like "KHAN/SPACE SHANTY" with Steve Hillage

Has that album even made it to CD? There is a remastered Khan track (along with a couple Caravan tracks), on that most excellent compo Legend Of A Mind. which sounds very Canterbury and makes me want to make up for the omission of Khan in my record collection. I suppose it comes down to patience again: for instance,  what appears the whole of the Gilgamesh recordings are now available on CD - and there were considerable delays in  reissuing their first album.

I don't know legend of mind, that's interesting

I have Space shanty by mantra (french label) which released it the early 90's

but this label is dead...

Maybe i can send you a copy by postmail, and you send me "Legend of mind"?

Well I simply can't answer this poll. I love so many of these artists so much! I wonder though, what people here think of non-English bands with a distinct Canterbury influence such as The Muffins and Supersister?

Supersister 's Not bad

Mut not as good as the real

I don't like much muffins

Fish rising is really a canterburyan must, big classic!

There's the Gong spirit, but also canterburyan typical kewboard sound

Listen to the first track including "Canterbury sunrise"

The line up is fantastic:most of the gong plus Dave Stewart, from EGG, master

of keyboards...

I casted my vote on SOFT MACHINE, though I enjoy GILGAMESH, NATIONAL HEALTH, MATCHING MOLE and HATFIELD & THE NORTH as much.

I happen to find CARAVAN a bit overrated, but I think they're great nonetheless: all in all, that's much better than being blatantly and unfeirly underrated, as most Canterbury bands usually are (let alone, the RIO bands...)

Regards.

Caravan has not onlymade great albums, but:

-If i could do it..

-In the Land

are really absolute must

The last CD edition by Repertoire records is really excellent, with very good

bonus.

Yes sorryi've made a mistake

you're right this is Decca Deram that i was talking about

i agree with you, there are actually among the very best prog CD for sound quality.

"If i could do it " and "Waterloolily" are also excellent

There are also the last KC remaster,(but no more available for the moment)

which are great, especially "Lark's tongue..."

'If I Could Do It All...' is my all-time CARAVAN favourite album, but my all-time fave CARAVAN piece is the instrumental closure track of 'For Girls...' - A Hunting We Shall Go (as well as In the Land of Grey and Pink and For Richard) is admittedly one of the pinnacles of Canterbury.

STEVE HILLAGE's 'Fish Rising' (sorry) is a stunning album, almost as good as the best ones by GONG (are they listed in this poll?)

SteBe hillage, as you say

I agree

Hammar wrote: Dick Heath wrote: ...while omitting Gong.... There will always be discussions about who that shall be included under the Canterbury-umbrella. For some reason I've never included Gong. Guess it's because of the influence from other parts of the music world than the distinct Canterbury sound and the presence of foreign musicians. I would rather include Picchio dal Pozzo... One of my favourite "Canterbury"-bands.

Gong?? Daevid Allen was one of the original founders of the entire Canterbury sound and movement.

He's as Canterbury as Wyatt and Ayers.

oliverstoned wrote: Yes i agree, Legend is an absolute must It has NOTHING to do with PF

Henry Cow was based out of Cambridge,as was/is Pink Floyd