Canterburied Sounds
Canterburied Sounds is a series of four CDs of archival Canterbury scene recordings compiled from the private collection of Brian Hopper. The set includes some of the earliest-known recordings of Caravan, Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt, and Wilde Flowers.
| Canterburied Sounds | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by various | |
| Released | January 1998 |
| Genre | Canterbury scene |
| Length | 4:53:35 |
| Label | Voiceprint Records (VP201-204) |
Editions
The first edition in 1998 was released as four separate CDs. In 2013 Voiceprint reissued the four discs in a single boxed set.
Cover
The cover watercolor painting of Canterbury Cathedral is by Leslie Hopper, father of Brian and Hugh Hopper. Other watercolors by Leslie Hopper have been featured on Hugh Hopper’s official website[1]. In 1978 Hugh and his father published a book of his church paintings.[2]
Tracks
The notes are excerpted from extensive comments on each track by Brian Hopper.
Volume 1: Canterburied Sounds
| Track | Title | Artist | Composer | Notes | Recording Date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feelin’, Reelin’, Squealin’ | Caravan | Kevin Ayers | "Recorded live at The Foundry in Jewry Lane, Canterbury immediately following the Caravan's second LP" | 1969 | 10:19 |
| 2 | Mummie | Robert Wyatt & Brian Hopper | Robert Wyatt & Brian Hopper | "An improvised duet of guitar & vocals, switching speeds on the tape recorder whilst recording" | late 1962/early 1963 | 4:31 |
| 3 | Da-Da-Dee/Bolivar Blues | Mike Ratledge & Robert Wyatt | unknown/Thelonious Monk | “piano & drums duet with some argument on the choice of key” | early 1963 | 11:56 |
| 4 | Orientasian | Brian Hopper & Robert Wyatt | Brian Hopper | "duet for my newly-acquired soprano sax and Robert Wyatt on electric guitar" | 1967/68 | 4:03 |
| 5 | You Really Got Me | Wilde Flowers | Ray Davies | "Early rehearsal of Wilde Flowers with probably the first-ever recording of Kevin Ayers singing" | summer 1964 | 3:53 |
| 6 | Thinking of You Baby | Wilde Flowers | Dave Clark | "We had to learn a repertoire of current, popular songs to get local gigs" | summer 1964 | 5:20 |
| 7 | Man in a Deaf Corner | Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge, & Robert Wyatt | Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge, & Robert Wyatt | "Part of a long and spontaneous improvisation, with Mike showing a heavy Cecil Taylor influence" | late 1962/early 1963 | 5:05 |
| 8 | If I Ever Leave You | Zobe | Brian Hopper | “From a live performance by my late sixties/early seventies band Zobe” | 1970 | 6:15 |
| 9 | Stop Me & Play One | Robert Wyatt & unknown guitarist | unknown | “No-one seems to be able to recall the name of the quirky guitarist — there were SO MANY musicians passing through” | 1963/1964 | 3:45 |
| 10 | Piano Standards 1 | Mike Ratledge | various | “Few people will have heard Mike play like this, but it does show the all-round musical experience that Mike had absorbed” | 1964 | 3:36 |
| 11 | Belsize Parked | Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper, & Robert Wyatt | Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper, & Robert Wyatt | “Wellington House provided the opportunity for us to ‘blow’ for hours and develop a rare musical intimacy” | late 1963/early 1964 | 9:19 |
| 12 | Summertime | Caravan | George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin | “Another ‘live at the Foundry’ gig with a number that was an early Caravan showcase” | 1969 | 7:16 |
Volume 2: All Roads Lead Back to Canterbury
| Track | Title | Artist | Composer | Notes | Recording Date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carazobe | Caravan & Zobe | John Larner, Pye Hastings & Brian Hopper | "Pye suggested several members of Zobe join in on an extended blow during a joint gig in East Kent" | 1970 | 16:19 |
| 2 | Instant Pussy | Robert Wyatt | Robert Wyatt | “Robert described this as his answer to Leonard Cohen!" | 1969 | 3:16 |
| 3 | Esther’s Nose Job | Soft Machine | Mike Ratledge | "Demo tape provided to me so I could work out the sax lines for Volume Two" | January 1969 | 9:33 |
| 4 | Moorish | Robert Wyatt & Brian Hopper | Robert Wyatt & Brian Hopper | "A semi-improvised piece with an Iberian feel, with Robert switching between piano, cornet and finally guitar" | late 1962/early 1963 | 8:33 |
| 5 | Summertime | Mike Ratledge & Robert Wyatt | George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin | "Another of several versions in my archive tapes" | early 1963 | 4:24 |
| 6 | Indian Rope Man | Zobe | Richie Havens | "The band had to rehearse a selection of covers to provide sufficient variety for live gigs — which were few and far between" | 1970 | 4:36 |
| 7 | Drum Solo | Robert Wyatt | Robert Wyatt | "Robert working out some interesting drum patterns — even at this comparatively early stage his drumming technique was impressive" | probably 1963 | 1:39 |
| 8 | Mirror For The Day | Pye Hastings | Pye Hastings | “Pye working out the orchestral string arrangements for Mirror For The Day” | 1973 | 1:26 |
| 9 | Love Song with Cello | Robert Wyatt plus others | Robert Wyatt | “Robert showing his seemingly endless versatility with an excursion on cello coupled with vocalisations” | 1963/1964 | 4:18 |
| 10 | As I Feel I Die | Caravan | Pye Hastings, Dave Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, & Richard Coughlan | “Another track from the Foundry gig in Canterbury” | 1969 | 4:45 |
| 11 | Where But For Caravan Would I | Caravan | Brian Hopper & Pye Hastings | “A song adapted from one of my early compositions entitled How Many Tears” | 1969 | 11:59 |
Volume 3: A Kinship of Sounds
| Track | Title | Artist | Composer | Notes | Recording Date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slow Walkin’ Talk | Robert Wyatt & Jimi Hendrix | Brian Hopper | “Robert was laying down demo tracks of organ, drum and vocal when Jimi wandering in and suggested doing the bass on Noel’s bass” | October 1968 | 3:02 |
| 2 | Frenetica | Mike Ratledge & Robert Wyatt | Mike Ratledge & Robert Wyatt | “A largely improvised piece in which Robert supplies plenty of drive” | 1963/1964 | 4:21 |
| 3 | Idle Chat | Mike Ratledge & Robert Wyatt | n.a. | “The tape remained running while Robert expounded enthusiastically about the style of the drummer of Peter Jay & the Jaywalkers, a popular group of the sixties” | 1963/1964 | 1:32 |
| 4 | 3/4 Blues Thing in F | Mike Ratledge & Robert Wyatt | Mike Ratledge & Robert Wyatt | “This is the number resulting from the previous deliberation” | 1963/1964 | 4:17 |
| 5 | More Idle Chat | Zobe | n.a. | “Another time when the tape was left running” | summer 1970 | 3:48 |
| 6 | The Pieman Cometh | Zobe | Brian Hopper | “Written at the end of the Wilde Flowers era, although never performed by them” | summer 1970 | 6:02 |
| 7 | Liu-Ba | Robert Wyatt, Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper plus unknown guitarist | Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper & Robert Wyatt | “Another session with the unknown guitarist, although there are suggestions it could be Daevid Allen” | 1963 | 8:36 |
| 8 | Kansas City/Rip It Up | Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper & Pete Lawson | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller/Richard Penniman | “These represent the earliest recordings on Canterburied Sounds — Hugh had only just purchased his first bass” | 1962 | 2:25 |
| 9 | That’s Alright Mama | Brian Hopper & Hugh Hopper | Arthur Crudup | “This is about the only recording of just Hugh and myself playing and singing together” | 1962 | 2:13 |
| 10 | Tanglewood Tails | Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper & Robert Wyatt | Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper & Robert Wyatt | “One of the more musically successful trio encounters — Robert is the drummer I always have a memory of” | 1963 | 16:02 |
| 11 | The Big Show/Central Park West/Songs | Zobe | Brian Hopper/John Coltrane/Brian Hopper | “Another rehearsal track, unfortunately one of the last made by the band” | 1970 | 16:43 |
| 12 | If I Could Do It All Over Again I’d Do It All Over You | Caravan | Pye Hastings, Richard Coughlan, Dave Sinclair & Richard Sinclair | “Yet another track from the Foundry gig, probably their most well-known number” | 1969 | 4:09 |
Volume 4: Canterbury Pre-Soft, Pre-Wild
| Track | Title | Artist | Composer | Notes | Recording Date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slow Walkin’ Talk | Zobe | Brian Hopper | “Another version from a Zobe rehearsal” | 1970 | 5:43 |
| 2 | Some-of-the-Time | Mike Ratledge, Brian Hopper, Robert Wyatt & unknown guitarist | Mike Ratledge, Brian Hopper & Robert Wyatt | “Thinly-veiled variations on Gershwin’s Summertime (again!)” | 1963/1964 | 14:45 |
| 3 | Ghosts | Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge & unknown guitarist | Albert Ayler | “More wild flourish from Mike in the Cecil Taylor mould” | 1963/1964 | 5:23 |
| 4 | With an Ear to the Ground You Can Make It | Caravan | Pye Hastings, Richard Coughlan, Dave Sinclair & Richard Sinclair | “Because they have not had sufficient time to rehearse it we are treated to a unique arrangement” | 1969 | 8:48 |
| 5 | Dalmore Rode | Brian Hopper & Robert Wyatt | Brian Hopper & Robert Wyatt | “Robert is heard extending even further the sonic capabilities of the cello” | 1963/1964 | 7:56 |
| 6 | Piano Standards 2 | Mike Ratledge | various | “Opening with a few Thelonious Monk tinged phrases, this is the second selection of piano standards” | 1964 | 3:13 |
| 7 | Johnny B. Goode | Wilde Flowers | Chuck Berry | “We leaned heavily on the Chuck Berry catalogue to boost our early repertoire” | 1964 | 3:10 |
| 8 | Cecilian | Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge & Robert Wyatt | Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge & Robert Wyatt | “Mike in his most intense Cecil Taylor style, with Hugh in his first recorded bass solo!” | late 1962 | 12:00 |
| 9 | Austin Cambridge | Caravan | Derek Austin | “The first recorded example of Geoff Richardson on viola” | late 1972 | 13:45 |
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References
- http://www.hugh-hopper.com/
- H.C. & L.T. Hopper: Thirty Kent Churches, ISBN 0-9506394-0-0 – Great Stour Publications – limited edition 750 cop. – calligraphy and map: Leon Olin and Sylvia Gansford
External links
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