BTW the band member photos from that U.S. back cover were very good.
BTW the band member photos from that U.S. back cover were very good.
Last edited by pb2015; 09-10-2018 at 10:30 AM.
I used to prefer Rotter, but in recent years I've found myself returning more to the s/t debut. Something about that intriguing mode of having overarching 'montage' as approach to the whole production, I suppose - with the record coming across as a series of intertwined sequences as much as 'songs'. The first 15 minutes of side 2 remains one of the most impressive works of 'rock music' I've ever heard; perfection, although prevalent, never outdoes attention to emotion here. It's part fun, part contemplative, full-on force and madness, somewhat calculated yet still so damn prudent as a virtue of whim. I can listen to this again and again, and indeed I HAVE been since I got the album some 27 years ago.
A more near-perfect take on the notion of "progressive" than, uhm… Y'know.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Well said, and you'll find no disagreements from me here. My personal fave is still Rotters, but the song "Aigrette" is perhaps one of the finest short pieces by any of the progressive acts back in the day. It's one and a half minutes of pure aural bliss.Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor
More than Yes?!
But seriously, it's hard for me to come up with a band more technically accomplished -- and yet able to still sound somehow fun, accessible (even musical) -- than Hatfield And The North. And that's not even taking into account what great composers they had in the group.
The chaotic - even for devilish Canterbury standards - structure of the first Hatfields makes it for me a more difficult affair than Rotters, which has distinct songs and a long composition to crown it all. There are little songs in the debut, there are little excerpts, there are even songs within the song, like in Son of Homerton, that seems to end and yet starts again. I've got to admit I got lost in the maze in my first listens, and the only way to appreciate was to finally abandon myself in the flow of the music (which worked great).
But a comparison for me is impossible. Rotters has pervaded my whole organism for many years, while I came to listen to the first one much-much later. No reason it isn't of equal value. It is a masterpiece, no doubt about that.
To my ears, both album have always been completely equal in quality and experience.
Yeah. Both are indispensable but the first is my favourite too.
Two of my favourite LP sleeves as well.
Just listened to all of the first album today while at work, in a single sitting, and yep -- it's brilliant.
They are the classic example of a band I had never heard of until the last 10 years and wonder how the hell I missed them. I adore both albums. Makes me kinda sad I never got to see them through my own ignorance.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
It's all been said but what the hell, I'll jump on the band wagon. Absolutely loved these albums since I discovered them in the 80s. Just a miraculous combination of chops, arrangements and most of all charm. I have a feeling this music will be discovered and treasured by generations to come. So nice to see all the love for Hatfield here.
P.S. I also use Hatfield occasionally as a recovery method after some of the more jarring avant stuff that for whatever reason captures my ear even though it can rattle my nerves.
^^ Charm, yes! Thank you! That word was eluding me for some reason, but Hatfield had it in spades for sure.
I love these albums too, but I must confess I learned about them after I discovered and bought the two National Health-LP's in the late seventies (which I adore maybe even more...).
I need to the first album, but that opening theme of Mumps makes me feel like I never have to listen to anything else ever again.
A vie, a mort, et apres...
Phil really brings it on the first one - worth every bleedin' second for just Phil alone - and I'm a Dave Stewart fan boy of epic proportions... just amazing.
same here!
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
1. Your US pressing is Definitely an original, because there was only one US pressing
2. There was never a gatefold US pressing.
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
Hatfield And The North is Seinfeld to National Health's Curb Your Enthusiasm
I have vacillated over which of the two I prefer, and am going to concede at this point they are fairly equal. Mumps is brilliant, as is all Dave Stewart's compositions, especially.
Kavus, I love this comparison.
More than SEbtP - for me. Although that's an absolutely excellent record as well.
Ya'know, Genesis, Yes, ELP, GGiant, Krimso, Tull et al. were great - when they were good. But Hatfield and Health were great almost all the time. Which is why I find them so good and great.
And wonderful.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
^^THIS^^ -
On the hideous dilemma between SEBTP and Rotter's I raise the middle finger. I can't imagine my life without either.
I listen to Rotter's far more than Selling, but I hum the latter more often. I wouldn't chose (despite suggesting at the SEBTP thread that Rotter's is a better album).
Hey man, no argument from me.
I was just making a joke (an admittedly poor one) about how many Yes threads there are here.
To be honest, I don't think I could choose between SEbtP or HatN & Rotters now, if I had to pick just one.
Hatfield and National Health are indeed wonderful.
^ "The Battle of Epping Forest" rules. And that's ALLOWED to say in a Hatfield thread, if not one specifically on SEbtP.
Of course, as with the resolutely nonsensical mid-section of "Sound Chaser", the "Epping" spoofs are BOLLOCKS and divert attention away from the ultra-serious, hyper-complex, super-superior, mega-cerebral, symphonic-philharmonic anti-RIO of the rest of the record.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
^it is well-known that Effing Forest lyrics are about a clash between a sympho, anti-rio gang and a battalion of homicidal avant-proggers.
We're gathering the troops in southern France this weekend to plot our next moves.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
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