What does it sound like?:
More a word of warning than a review. Released on CD for the first time, this is a recording of a radio broadcast of a live performance of TB from very shortly after its release and I was interested primarily due to the musicians involved (see below) and, of course because I love this album.
• Mike Oldfield – Lowery Organ, Bass, Acoustic and Electric Guitar and Mandolin.
• David Bedford – Grand Piano, Accordian, Organ, Choir Master, String Arrangement.
• John Greaves – Farfisa Organ, Electric Piano, Tin Whistle
• Fred Frith – Electric and Bass Guitars
• Tim Hodginson – Organ, Electric Piano, Fender Rhodes
• Mick Taylor – Electric Guitar
• Steve Hillage – Electric Guitar
• Pierre Moerlen – Glockenspiel, Timpani, Tubular Bells, Gongs, Cymbals, Tam Tam
• Steve Broughton – Drums
• Ted Speight – Electric Guitar
• Kevin Ayers – Bass
• (and others that I am rudely missing off the list)
If it sounds like there’s a “but” coming, it’s because there is. I did buy this but I might not have done if I’d read the Amazon reviews – the “digitally remastered” recording is not great so regard this as curio rather than an enhancing experience. To be fair, the arrangements are interesting and not just a recreation of the record, but it’s all tempered by the recording.
If it was available on streaming it would be a good listen after which you’d probably park it forever but it’s physical media only at the moment at least. I couldn’t even find it illegally!
What does it all *mean*?
Proceed with caution
Goes well with…
Release Date:
Out now
Might suit people who like…
Bootlegs
Definitely a good band, and prob true to the early 70s trippy phase before TB was repositioned as the stereo demonstration record for people buying “music centres” ( we had one after years of a dancette). Squares liked TB. It was permitted to be played at my brother’s 21st by parents who disliked anything “wierd beardy”. Maybe, like sgt Peppers, it broke beyond hippiedom into the cohort of straights. DSOTM would follow. Selling to the majority opened up a whole new set of possibilities for record companies. Freak became softened, and things changed.
How different is it to this?
Not very, except sounding worse. Loads of reverb either form the venue or added later. I can’t find any detail on the actual broadcast so can only presume it’s a different source. Same musicians as far as I can see.
You do get Part 2, of course.
Having read the review on amazon which contains this
then I think it’s worth avoiding.
The TV one has Mike Ratledge on grand piano etc rather than David Bedford I think, and no Kevin Ayres as far as I can see.
Oldfield looks pretty cool in that sleeveless t-shirt thingy.
I wonder if this is one of those grey market recordings…presumably the original radio broadcast from 1973 has recently come out of copyright after 50 years have passed. I would guess Oldfield has no involvement in the release.
Radio broadcasts usually don’t sound as bad as a cassette recorder in the bleachers. There are a bunch of European radio air check CD collections that sound good. Too bad this one sucks.
I see this was put out by Audio Vaults and so I am surprised that the sound quality was not good. I have a few Audio Vaults releases and the sound, while not of studio quality, is very good. They have some interesting releases too. Discogs shows this album was recorded on June 25 1973, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, so if differs from the BBC performance.
If you are put off by appalling sound quality, avoid anything on the Fat Albert label.
When I was in high school, there was a guy here in Los Angeles who bootlegged countless concerts in fantastic quality. He had a really well thought out scam. He notified the venue that he was handicapped and would be attending in a wheelchair with an aide. Hidden underneath his seat was a locked steel box with a high end battery operated Nakamichi cassette deck with a remote control in his pocket. I saw him once at the Hollywood Bowl. They had him right at the back of the boxes, smack dab in the middle. Couldn’t be a better spot. He had a big cowboy hat with mics hidden in it. No one knew who he was, but he was a legend and his tapes circulated through the underground tape trading network in LA.
Presumably this is a recording of the Queen Elizabeth Hall concert rather than the BBC TV version recorded on 30th November 1973. If it was a radio broadcast, I was wondering who transmitted it?