Kevin Ayers: All This Crazy Gift of Time. The Recordings 1969-1973.

​Details Album

Track-list:

DISC ONE 
Joy of a Toy 
1 Joy of a Toy Continued
2 Town Feeling
3 The Clarietta Rag
4 Girl on a Swing 
5 Song for Insane Times
6 Stop This Train (Again Doing It)
7 Eleanor’s Cake (Which Ate Her) 
8 The Lady Rachel
9 Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong
10 All This Crazy Gift of Time 
Bonus tracks 
11 Religious Experience (feat. Syd Barrett)
12 Soon Soon Soon
13 Religious Experience (Take 103) 
14 Clarence in Wonderland (BBC Session 10.02.1970) 15 Stop This Train (Again Doing It) (BBC Session 10.02.1970) 
16 Why Are We Sleeping? (feat. Soft Machine) (BBC Session 10.02.1970)
17 You Say You Like My Hat (BBC Session 10.02.1970) 18 Singing a Song in the Morning (single) 

DISC TWO 
Live at Hyde Park July 1970
Mixed by Stephen W Tayler 
1 Clarence in Wonderland (live)
2 The Lady Rachel (live)
3 Rheinhardt and Geraldine /Colores Para Delores (live) 
4 May I? (live)
5 Hat Song (live)
6 We Did it Again (live)
7 Why Are We Sleeping? (live) 
Bonus track 
8 The Garden of Love (live Queen Elizabeth Hall 1970) 

DISC THREE
Shooting at the Moon 
1 May I?
2 Rheinhardt and Geraldine / Colores Para Delores
3 Lunatics Lament
4 Pisser Dans un Violin
5 The Oyster and the Flying Fish
6 Underwater
7 Clarence in Wonderland 8 Red Green and You Blue 9 Shooting at the Moon 
Bonus tracks 
10 Hat (recorded May 1970)
11 Gemini Child (recorded June 1970)
12 Butterfly Dance (A-side of single)
13 Puis Je? (B-side of single)
14 Jolie Madame (recorded November 1970 

DISC FOUR
BBC Sessions
May 1970 – November 1971 
1 Love Is (John Peel Concert 17.05 1970) (previously unreleased)
2 We Did It Again (John Peel Concert 17.05 1970) (previously unreleased) 
3 Gemini Child (BBC Session 20.05.1970)
4 Lady Rachel (BBC Session 20.05.1970) 
5 Shooting at the Moon (BBC Session 20.05.1970)
6 Derby Day (BBC Session 09.06.1970) 
7 The Interview (BBC Session 09.06.1970)
8 We Did it Again / Murder in the Air (BBC Session 09.06.1970) 
9 Jolie Madame (with Bridget St. John) (In Concert 31.01.1971)
10 The Spider and the Fly (with Bridget St. John) (In Concert 31.01.1971) 
11 The Oyster and the Flying Fish (with Bridget St. John) (In Concert 31.01.1971)
12 Clarence in Wonderland (feat. Gong) (BBC Session 09.11.1971) 

DISC FIVE
Whatevershebringswesing 
1 There is Loving / Among Us / There is Loving
2 Margaret
3 Oh My 
4 Song from a Bottom of a Well
5 Whatevershebringswesing 6 Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes 
7 Champagne Cowboy Blues 8 Lullaby 
Bonus tracks 
9 Watching the Sun Go Down (recorded May 1971)
10 Whatevershebringswesing (first version) (recorded May 1971) 
11 Stars (B-side of single)
12 All This Crazy Gift of Time (1972 remake)
13 The Lady Rachel (1972 remake) 
14 Sad and Lonely Faces (with David Bedford)
15 (Don’t Sing No More) Sad Songs
16 Fake Mexican Tourist Blues (recorded September 1972) 

DISC SIX
BBC Sessions January – May 1972 
1 May I? (In Concert Jan 1972)
2 There is Loving / Among Us / There is Loving (In Concert Jan 1972)
3 Margaret (In Concert Jan 1972)
4 Whatevershebringswesing (In Concert Jan 1972)
5 Clarence in Wonderland (In Concert Jan 1972)
6 Colores Para Delores (In Concert Jan 1972)
7 Lady Rachel (In Concert Jan 1972)
8 All This Crazy Gift of Time (In Concert Jan 1972)
9 Why Are We Sleeping? (In Concert Jan 1972)
10 The Oyster and the Flying Fish (BBC session 17.05.1972) 11 Butterfly Dance (BBC session 17.05.1972)
12 Whatevershebringswesing (BBC session 17.05.1972)
13 Falling in Love Again (BBC session 17.05.1972)
14 Queen Thing (BBC session 17.05.1972) 

DISC SEVEN
BBC Sessions
September 1972 – April 1973 Banana Follies In Concert September 1972 
1 Introduction (In Concert Sept. 1972)
2 (Don’t Sing No More) Sad Songs (In Concert Sept. 1972) 
3 Pretty Little Girl (In Concert Sept. 1972)
4 Two Pigeons (In Concert Sept. 1972)
5 Murder in the Air (In Concert Sept. 1972)
6 ‘Orrible Orange (In Concert Sept. 1972)
7 Whatevershebringswesing (In Concert Sept. 1972)
8 Take Me to Tahiti (In Concert Sept. 1972)
9 Oh! Wot a Dream (In Concert Sept. 1972)
10 Marlene (In Concert Sept. 1972)
11 Ball Bearing Blues (In Concert Sept. 1972)
12 Fake Mexican Tourist Blues (In Concert Sept. 1972)
13 Interview (In Concert Sept. 1972)
14 You Say You Like My Hat (In Concert Sept. 1972)
15 Falling in Love Again (In Concert Sept. 1972)
16 The End (In Concert Sept. 1972)
17 Interview (BBC session 11.04.1973)
18 Oh! Wot a Dream (BBC session 11.04.1973)
19 Shouting in a Bucket Blues (BBC session 11.04.1973) 

DISC EIGHT
Bananamour 
1 Don’t Let it Get You Down
2 Shouting in a Bucket Blues 
3 When Your Parents Go to Sleep
4 Interview
5 Internotional Anthem 
6 Decadence
7 Oh! Wot a Dream
8 Hymn
9 Beware of the Dog 
Bonus tracks 
10 Connie on a Rubber Band (B-side of single)
11 Caribbean Moon (A-side of single)
12 Take Me to Tahiti (B- side of single)
13 Decadence (early mix) 14 We Did it Again (live Mile End 1972) (previously unreleased)
15 Why Are We Sleeping? (live Mile End 1972) (previously unreleased) 

DISC NINE
After the Show
Live at Queen Elizabeth Hall May 1973 
1 Banana Introduction (live 1973)
2 Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes (live 1973) 
3 Interview (live 1973)
4 Whatevershebringswesing (live 1973)
5 Oh! Wot a Dream (live 1973)
6 Shouting in a Bucket Blues (live 1973)
7 Caribbean Moon (live 1973)
8 Don’t Let it Get You Down (live 1973)
9 We Did it Again (live 1973)
10 Why Are We Sleeping? (live 1973)
11 After the Show (live 1973) 

DISC TEN - BLU-RAY
Video Vaults 1970-1973 
1 Clarence in Wonderland (Pop Deux ORTF France 31.03.1970)
2 Why Are We Sleeping? (Pop Deux ORTF France 31.03.1970) 
3 Oh My (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 04.04.1972) 4 May I? (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 04.04.1972) 5 Why Are We Sleeping? (Pop Deux ORTF France 13.01.1973)
6 Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes (Rockenstock ORTF France 30.01.1973)
7 Why Are We Sleeping? (Rockenstock ORTF France 30.01.1973)
8 Shouting in a Bucket Blues (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 12.06.1973) 9 Oh! Wot a Dream (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 12.06.1973)
10 Caribbean Moon (Promotional film 1973) 
BONUS CONTENT 
11 Oh My (take 2) (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 04.04.1972)
12 May I? (take 2) (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 04.04.1972) 
13 Oh My (take 4) (BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 04.04.1972) 
 
 
WEBSITE
https://kevinayers.org/
 

Kevin Ayers bepaalde in de hoogst mogelijke mate het geluid van The Soft Machine, want voor hun debuutalbum schreef hij of schreef hij mee aan twaalf van de dertien composities. In wezen gaat het om pure pop, vaak deuntjes die je kan meezingen of -neuriën, maar die een experimentele draai krijgen. Denk aan de repetitieve songs ‘We Did It Again’, of aan ‘Why Are We Sleeping?’.  Sommige liedjes zijn aanzetten, zodat hij kan improviseren, ‘Plus belle qu’une poubelle’ bijvoorbeeld. Zijn zware, donkere stem doet de rest. Genoeg talent om solo te gaan dus en dat deed hij dan ook vrij snel. Soft Machine koos voor jazz, Ayers bleef zichzelf en scherpte zijn kunst aan. Zijn eerste LP – Joy of a Toy - is overigens genoemd naar een lied van de eerst Soft Machine LP.  Andere composities uit de Soft Machine-periode, zoals ‘We Did It Again’ of ‘Why Are We Sleeping?’, zouden lang op zijn repertorium blijven staan – meestal in een langgerekte en geïmproviseerde vorm. De liedjesschrijver pur sang durft ook te mikken op de hitlijsten, zoals met ‘Caribbean Moon’. Maar goed, al het fraais dat deze man tussen 1969 en 1973 opnam, staat nu op negen cd’s van Cherry Red Records: niet alleen de officiële albums en de singles, maar tevens live-opnames, BBC-sessies, demo’s en alternatieve versies [N.B.: de tiende schijf is een Blue-Ray]. Een echte schatkamer.
Alle details vindt u hiernaast.
Radio 68  draait een ruime selectie in Rock On op woensdagen 25 september en 02 oktober, van 12 tot 24 uur.

Eddy Bonte 

Kevin Ayers defined the sound of The Soft machine’s debut album and took his talents and songs with him to embark on a unique solo career. Ayers is first and foremost a song-writer pure sang. Everything he wrote or co-wrote for The Soft machine is pure song – but given an experimental twist. Think ‘We Did It Again’ and ‘Why Ae We Sleeping?’.  At heart, there is always a Song, think ‘Puis-Je’. His dark, baritone voice does the rest. On stage, Ayers shows yet another talent, his sense for improvisation as fairly short songs or takes-at-songs [e.g. ’Plus Belle Qu’Une Poubelle’] are turned into musical journeys. Ayers soon left The Soft Machine and kept developing these talents for the rest of his life.
This Cherry Red release comprises all his recordings between 1969 and 1973: the official albums and singles, plus live appearances, BBC sessions, demos, alternate takes – you name it.  Nine CDs, all remastered, of course, plus a Blue Ray to top it all.  A real treasure trove.
All details can be found by clicking on the ‘Details’ bar on the left.
Radio 68  plays Kevin Ayers on Wednesday 23 September and 02 October, from 11 a/m. till 11 p.m. GMT