Kevin Ayers and The Whole World
Shooting At The Moon
BGO Records - 13 contact.mike.bgo@dial.pipex.com
Released - BGO - 1997/EMI - 1971
available on Amazon
This is one of those amazing records that is given to us for selected periodic listening and its historical importance. This was a time of extreme experimentation with the electronics of music, and extreme self-indulgence on a personal level. Kevin Ayers was one of the founding members of The Soft Machine, along with Mike Ratledge, Daevid Allen, and Robert Wyatt. Kevin was infamous for his loose performing style, and reliance on improvisational jam jazz, and the crafted songs he has written. He is one of the pioneers in the rock world with the use of dissonance noise music, and the musicians he attracted to him excelled at this and most went on to leave their mark in music. Andy Somers (who later became Andy Summers of the Police), Lol Coxhill, who was a busker in London and later pushed the blanket in the jazz arena, and a very young Mike Oldfield, who was working on his Tubular Bells at that time. No, I do not listen to this every day, though it has some very tender and touching movements in it, but on the days I do put it on I am extraordinarily glad I have it. It bring returns a certain sanity to the music world with contrasted craft of the songs and the freedom to do what they want and the audience be damned attitude of the musicians.
Produced by Kevin Ayers and Peter Jenner
Songs – no times given and all songs written by Kevin Ayers
- May I
- Rheinhardt and Geraldine
- Colores Para Dolores
- Lunatics Lament
- Pisser Dans Un Violon
- The Oyster and The Flying Fish
- Underwater
- Clarence in Wonderland
- Red Green and you Blue
- Shooting At The Moon
Musicians
Kevin Ayers – vocals, guitar. bass
David Bedford – piano, accordion, organ, jangle piano, guitar, marimbaphone
Lol Coxhill – saxes, electric sax, zoblophone
Mick Fincher – percussion, drums, bottles, ashtrays
Mike Oldfield – bass, guitar, vocals
guests
Robert Wyatt and The Whole World Chorus
Bridget St. John – vocal
The Whole World Girly Chorus