TALES OF CANTERBURY - THE WILDE FLOWERS STORY

This is an interesting listen. Although this is the beginning of the Canterbury scene it is not the place to begin to explore that subgenre. This is simply the stomping ground for the who's who of that scene that would go on to produce the awesomeness of Soft Machine and Caravan.

Despite the negative reviews that depict this as naïve British pop, I have to say that it's not bad for what it is. I actually like pop music and I really like the British pop of the 60s. It's not even close to the standards of the greats of the era but there is certainly some decent pop tunes to be had here.

Although THE WILDE FLOWERS never actually recorded an album we get to hear this historic gem as an archival artefact. Not exactly a masterpiece it is however an essential listen for those who like to hear how the evolution of certain sounds took place although there is little if any sounds of what is to come from any of these guys.

Thankfully Hugh Hopper, Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers would go on to form Soft Machine. And the same for the fact that Richard Sinclair, David Sinclair, Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan would go on to form Caravan. An intriguing listen but don't feel like you're missing out if you skip it.