Record Reviews

HUGH HOPPER ~ HOPPER TRINITY BOX CUNEIFORM 240 (Barcode: 045775024028) ~ UK ~ Canterbury Scene Recorded: 1976 Released: 2007 2nd album by Hugh HopperFind albums by this artist (and the first release after he left Soft MachineFind albums by this artist), released originally on the tiny Norwegian Compendium label (same label that originally released Henry CowFind albums by this artist’s ConcertsFind albums with this title and other weird but wonderful music). Musically the album belongs very strongly to the Soft Machine experimental Jazz-Rock of the ThirdFind albums by this artist, FourthFind albums with this title, FiveFind albums with this title & SixFind albums by this artist period (when Hopper was still a member of the group). Hopper enlisted eight great musicians (Mark CharigFind albums by this artist, Elton DeanFind albums by this artist, Dave StewartFind albums by this artist, Gary WindoFind albums by this artist and others), all members of the flourishing Canterbury scene and UK Jazz circles (members in groups like Brotherhood Of BreathFind albums by this artist, GilgameshFind albums by this artist, Hatfield And The NorthFind albums by this artist, IsotopeFind albums by this artist, Keith TippettFind albums by this artist Sextet, etc), who make up the duos, trios, quartets and quintets that play on this album. He wrote all the music, except one track, which was composed by Ornette ColemanFind albums by this artist. This album is considered Hopper’s most consistent release ever and sounds as fresh today as when it was first recorded. For all Canterbury scene and SM fans this is an absolute must and it’s a great joy to see this album available again. Brilliant stuff!

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THIRD EAR BAND ~ ALCHEMY / ELEMENTS GOTT DISCS 010 ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock 1st & 2nd albums from 1969 & 1970 by this UK band. Although part of the Prog genre, they were certainly a class in themselves. Using only accoustic instruments (violin, viola, oboe, cello, hand percussion, etc.) and combining ethnic motiffs from the Middle and Far East, they sounded nothing like your average Prog group. The music is instrumental, mostly improvisational in nature and quite dark. The 1st album consists of 8 shorter pieces but the 2nd includes only 4 long raga-like extended soundscapes. They reached only very limited audiences with their visionary music at the time and the albums sold poorly, but they were asked to write and perform the soundtrack to Roman Polanski`s film version of Macbeth (their 3rd album). In retrospect this sounds today every bit as good as it did then, which should be a good enough reason to re-discover them.

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THIRD EAR BAND ~ THE MAGUS ANGEL AIR 173 ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock 4th album from 1972. Third Ear Band were one of the most interesting and challenging Prog groups to appear on the UK scene in the late 60`s and early 70`s. Their purely acoustic music, using unusual instrumentation (oboe, violin, etc.) and heavily influenced by mysticism and eastern musical forms, was decades ahead of their time. They released 3 albums (including the last one, which was the soundtrack for Roman Polanski`s Macbeth) and sadly disappeared. Now their 4th album, which remained unreleased till now, is finaly out for all of us to enjoy. What a delightful discovery!

Updated: 29/01/2019Posted:

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend