MY FIRST 30 ALBUMS 1969-1974

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Foreword 

   I've been buying records on and off since 1969 when I was 12. During the intervening years my tastes have changed of course, but I got to wondering; how those of the early albums that I don't remember so well sound if I revisited them today, over fifty years later? In fact most of them I hadn't listened to in many years. 

Would they stand up to scrutiny?  

How many would be toe-curlingly embarrassing, as I fell out of love with some of them many years ago? 

How many would turn out to be forgotten gems? 

How many even do I still own? 

And could I even remember what they were, as many have been sold over the years?

   The thirty albums that ended up on the list were bought between the ages of 12 and 17, while I was at home, or while at school in Canterbury (UK). I clearly remember buying the first two or three, but after that it gets a bit hazy, and the actual chronology of those purchases is approximated.

But certainly some of these albums have aged better than others, although which ones is just a matter of personal taste. There are some that I enjoyed at the time that sound iffy to me listening to them now after a 50 year gap, and some that I didn't really get then that now sound pretty decent.

  But while putting this blog together I've hopefully become a little less judgemental. After the punk era my mind probably filed many of these records in a box marked 'Embarrassing Hippy Rubbish!', of course, that was all a bit knee jerk. Listening back to them today has made me see at least some of them in a new light. A bit like pressing a reset button.

DISCOVERING MUSIC

  My earliest memories of what passed for pop music in the late 1950s, was singing Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat with my sister and her friends, and then later hearing it on the car radio. I assumed that I was singing on it somehow, and was disappointed to learn that I wasn't. I was about four at the time, so it was all quite confusing. We lived in Cyprus back then (our dad was in the army), so we must have been listening to Forces Radio. A year later dad took me to my first gig, Russ Conway, 'live' at the army base!

   We moved shortly after to Germany where I remember My Old Man's a Dustman and There's a Hole in my Bucket gracing the airwaves. But it wasn't just the wireless we listened to, my parents had collected a few 7" singles from the Cyprus days, including double A side Carolina Moon / Stupid Cupid by Connie Francis (1958), Elvis Presley's It's Now or Never (1960) and appropriately enough, Harry Belafonte's Island in the Sun (1957). All presumably bought in the NAAFI which served families of service men with life's essentials.

   But it was the arrival of The Beatles on Forces TV in '63 that provided real excitement for the younger members of our household. I was 6, my sister Jenni 11, a perfect age for early fab four fandom. Somehow it felt like The Beatles were ours, rather than our parents'. I well remember watching them on our old black and white TV, but it was She Loves You that I remember the most clearly; a friend and I used to sing Beatles songs (and fragments of other hits of the day), while 'strumming' on paddle bats that served as guitars. We performed them on a semi circular step (our 'stage') outside a classroom door that led to the playground. It was during She Loves You that my guitar heroics got out of hand and I hit some kid in the face with the end of the paddle bat. Of course we were banned straight away. 

  Almost certainly not because of this incident we moved back to England shortly afterwards (early '65) and moved in with my grandparents who owned a classic art deco, green tiled house in Bromley. [Below: Author in back garden c. 1969]

  My musical needs were kept alive by watching Ready Steady Go and Top of the Pops, often accompanying the acts by twanging away at the metal wires of my granny's egg slicer. 

  The release of a new Beatles singles was always a bit of an event, but I was open to anything so long as it was different or interesting, and that would have included not only the Stones, Kinks and the Who, but also the soul acts from Stax and Tamla Motown, and the ska songs of Desmond Dekker, and Millie, whose My Boy Lollipop (1964) was a big favourite. 

  Of course we filter out from our memory banks the dross that was played in between the ones we liked, but they seemed like halcyon days, musically. So many massive tunes that still sound good today. 

   In terms of radio it was the staid old BBC mainly, until Luxembourg and Caroline came along, mainly to be listened to at night under the bedclothes via a transistor radio pressed to your ear.  And later on, John Peel was instrumental in exposing many of us to new, often less commercial, music.

   Of course at that time any pocket money was still being spent at the corner shop on sweets, spud guns and comics. My granddad Jimmy Seed (ex Spurs, Sheffield Wednesday and England footballer - and manager of Charlton) died during the '66 World Cup, and with his passing my interest in football abated a little. It wasn't long before Melody Maker*, Disc, Record Mirror and the NME were vying with Shoot, the Beano and Superman comics for my attention.

   

c. 1966/7 with my art student sister Jenni

 

***

   I original planned to make this a list of my first ten or twenty albums, but it gradually became thirty. In fact, with the later additions, it's basically a list of the albums I owned while I was still at school.

FIRST 30 ALBUMS (1969-1974)

IN ROUGH ORDER OF PURCHASE

*Discogs prices vary

1

Immediate Let’s You In - Various (Released: 1968)

   My first album purchase was something of an accident. Some time in the late sixties I was in Medhursts, again with my mum, and while she did her shopping I was left to hang out in the record department. 

   I probably didn't quite have enough cash to buy an LP, but discovered that there was an Immediate Records sampler album available for much less than the price of a normal album. Immediate Lets You In collected recordings by the Small Faces, John Mayall, Eric Clapton & Jimmy Page, The Nice* and others. Bargain! Not sure how many of the artists I would have known at this point. I suspect I wouldn't have heard of many, if I'm honest.

   There were three or four listening booths at Medhurst's, but unlike David Bowie* I didn't have the nerve to ask to have a listen before purchasing. Well, I was only 12. 

   It turned out to be a fairly average collection of largely blues rock numbers, with The Nice stealing the show, for me, but I think I was happy enough with my purchase.

Unfortunately for Andrew Loog-Oldham its founder, the Immediate label went bust in 1970, amidst accusations of embezzlement and non payment of royalties.

Being at boarding school, with a major cash shortage, I would have sold the album, probably around a year or so later, to finance another album purchase.

[*In the late seventies I was to play for a short time in The Subway Sect with the  drummer of The Nice, Brian 'Blinky' Davison, who became a friend.]

Then: I was pretty excited to have my own LP 6/10 

Now: OK, in a time capsule kind of a way 5/10

Memorability: Low. Struggled to remember one or two of the tracks 4/10

Approx Discogs Value (VG+): (UK, including shipping) £10.00

2 

Hot Rats - Frank Zappa (Oct ‘69)

The selection of my first real (non sampler) album was influenced by a couple of albums in my sister's record collection. In the mid sixties she owned the Beatles for Sale and Dylan's Nashville Skyline LPs, both of which were slightly disappointing to me at the time. I'd only heard their singles before, and to me the albums were a bit rubbish in comparison, so I think that's probably why I wasn't looking for albums by bands I knew well, but wanted something different, something I wasn't likely to hear on the radio, or round a friend's house. No Beatles, Elvis or The Rolling Stones. Funnily enough, after Beatles For Sale I didn't knowingly hear another Beatles album until the late seventies.

So, with my 13th birthday money in my pocket I was soon rummaging through the Medhurst's record racks, and there was one album I kept coming back to, probably just because of the cover. I doubt I'd heard of Zappa before, but looking at the artwork alone was enough to tell me it might be something out of the ordinary. And it really was. They had listening booths at Medhursts, where David Bowie claimed he smooched with one of the staff when listening to rock 'n' Roll  records. Unlike Bowie (who went to the same Bromley school as me a few years earlier) I didn't have the nerve to ask to listen to the record, being so young I suppose. So the album was bought blind, so to speak.

I can still remember getting home and sticking it on my parents Decca stereo, in the front room. I'd certainly never heard anything like it before, but didn't know then that I never would again. 

I clearly remember really liking the first track, Peaches En Regalia (now considered a major classic of its time), and a couple of others, but being pretty puzzled the rest. It took many plays before I finally cracked it with the more challenging tracks (Gumbo Variations in particular) a process I'd never have the patience for today. Gumbo Variations became a favourite track in the end. Well the 1st half at least, before all the long violin solos.

The album reached number 9 in the UK charts, and was one of the first single albums to be given a gatefold sleeve.

I still have the copy I bought that day; many of the rest of the albums I bought I would re-sell in order to buy something new, certainly in my school days when selling them was so easy, but I always hung on to this one, it being my first proper album. 

Then: Fairly mind blowing 8/10 

Now: Still mighty impressive, and much of it sounds timeless, but spoiled a bit by the over long solos 7/10 

Memorability: Very high. Remember every note, because I've played this occasionally over the years 9/10 

Discogs Value: £35.00

*Still have my original copy

3 

Valentine Suite - Colosseum (Nov ‘69)

Album number three would probably have been Led Zeppelin II, but my next door neighbour had that one, so there was no point me buying it.

So instead it was back to the Medhurst's rack browsing that had served me well enough last time. I think this was shortly after Christmas '69, or early 1970

Would I have bought this album if I'd listened to it first? Probably not.

From what I can remember I played it a lot but never really loved it. But hey, the cover was great! 

I sold it maybe a year or so later to finance something else, as usual. I was surprised to see it selling for £80 in a record shop thirty of so years later. 

Then: This perhaps wasn't the zinger I was hoping for 5/10  

Now: Hmm, very dull indeed. Hasn't aged well 2/10

Memorability: Medium. Having not heard it for 30 odd years it still sounded familiar. 6/10

Discogs Value: £45.00

I don't remember the actual buying of the albums from this point on, because it was no longer such a big deal, I guess. Some may have been bought from school friends, but most would probably have come from Baker's Records in Canterbury, where I was at school, or from the tiny record shop in Didcot where my family had relocated to. I'm not 100% sure of the exact order of purchase, and I'm going partly on release date when unsure.

4

The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack - The Nice (Mar ‘68)

Bought, possibly from the 'second hand' rack, after enjoying the two Nice tracks on Immediate Lets You In, and these days it's apparently considered to be one of the first prog albums, although it's perhaps more psychedelic in mood. Compared to other prog albums this one isn't plagued by long extended improvisational passages, and all the better for it. This LP seems to have had quite an influence on me, as quite a few of the albums on the 1st 30 list have organ as a featured instrument.

Then: I really liked it, and it was some time before I sold it, I think 8/10  

Now: Still has charm, and my old mate played drums on it :-) 7/10

Memorability: High. Remember them all very clearly 8/10

Discogs Value: £45.00

5

Black Sabbath -  Black Sabbath (Feb ‘70)

I vividly remember playing this debut release from Black Sabbath in the junior common room, where I had my mini stereo system set up around my desk. Got some funny looks for my trouble.

The album was recorded in a day, with virtually no overdubs, and is considered to be one of the first heavy metal albums. I liked it, but found it a bit doomy, and the opening track with the thunderstorm effects and tolling bell a little creepy. That was supposed to be part of the appeal, but either way I didn't have it all that long. From the collecting point of view I should have kept it, as the first pressings sell for hundreds now.

Then: Liked it well enough, but it was a bit depressing 7/10  

Now: In some ways it sounds quite quaint, but still stands up well enough if you're a fan of that type of music. I'm not really, but I prefer this to Rush or all of those American heavy metal bands that followed 6/10

Memorability: Low. Hadn't heard it since c. 1972 until last week (Sept 2021) 4/10

Discogs Value: £500.00 (Yes, £500.00)

By this time I was listening to Radio 1 shows like John Peel's Top Gear, and later on Sounds of the Seventies hosted by Peel and other DJs including Bob Harris. These were influential in the sense that they played album tracks rather than singles, stuff you wouldn't hear elsewhere; not that all of it was great of course. 

Speaking of not great...

6

Goodbye - Cream (Feb ‘69)

Like most of Cream's albums this album is pretty patchy. They were capable of writing classic tunes like Badge and White Room, but so often resorted to riff based jams which sometimes dragged on a bit. Sorry Clapton fans. 

Then: Cool man 7/10  

Now: Badge still sounds very good, the rest now sounds a bit plodding at times 5/10

Memorability: Patchy. The decent tunes I remembered well, but some tracks were played less than others 6/10

Discogs Value: £15.00

7

Meddle - Pink Floyd (Oct ‘71)

Our family enjoyed a camping holiday near St Tropez in 1970, and I remember being excited to see posters advertising two nearby music festivals featuring Pink Floyd. Unfortunately I'd missed them, not that I would have been allowed to go anyway. Didn't buy this until over a year later, and played it to death. 

Playing it, while writing this, for the first time since probably 1975, and it's a strange experience. I remember every note and vocal inflection. It's no longer the sort of thing I'd listen to now really, but it's quite emotional hearing it again, like rediscovering my fourteen year old self inside my head. And when it skipped (about a couple of minutes into Echoes) it confirmed it's the actual copy I bought in 1971.

You could tell I hadn't played this for years, as the stylus kept clogging up with dust and skating across the LP. [Edit: I might actually listen to side one again quite soon.]

Then: A big favourite 9/10

Now: Atmospheric, and there are some decent tunes. Still has charm, although Echoes now seems over-long and a bit self indulgent 7/10

Memorability: Very high. Less so on Echoes perhaps. 9/10

Discogs Value: £45.00

*Still have my original copy, much to my surprise

8

Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson (Oct ‘69)

One of the most instantly recognisable album covers in rock history. I sometimes wonder if the album would have sold so well with out it. Of course it's considered a prog rock masterpiece and it certainly has two tracks that are classics of the genre, in the title track and 21st Century Schizoid Man. It was actually one of the first prog rock albums.

Then: Very cool, check out the cover man 8/10  

Now: Hasn't aged as badly as I expected, except perhaps for the more 'symphonic' passages. Some of the lyrics sound a bit corny though, as you might expect. Can see why it's still highly rated though 6/10

Memorability: High for the 'big' tracks, medium for the rest. 7/10

Discogs Value: £170.00

9

Fill Your Head With Rock - Various (1970)

Another cut price sampler, but this one was a double, had some great tracks on it and makes for a very good introduction to the alternative music of that era. My favourites numbers were the by The Byrds, Laura Nyro, Santana, Leonard Cohen, Argent, Trees, Al Stewart, Tom Rush, Mike Bloomfield and Johnny Winter, if memory serves. Only let down by the appalling Black Sabbath/Jethro Tull rip off Come to the Sabbatt by Black Widow. Unless it was a comedy song?

Then: VFM 8/10  

Now: Interesting snapshot of the era 7/10

Memorability: Very high 8/10

Discogs Value: £12.00

10

Ummagumma - Pink Floyd (Nov ‘69)

I bought this after Meddle although it was released a couple of years earlier. I didn't like it as much as Meddle, and looking back I can see why. It's a pretty awful, self indulgent load of rubbish if I'm honest. It was very hard to find a highlight for the Spotify playlist as there aren't any. Apparently the remaining members don't think much of it either. I'd put up with anything back then though. But I sold it a couple of years later, while I kept Meddle. 

Then: Quite liked it, but not enough to play it lots 5/10

Now: Blurgh 2/10

Memorability: Low to medium 5/10

Discogs Value: £46.00

11

Five Bridges - The Nice (June ‘70)

A blend of classic, jazz and rock it was, except for a couple of tracks, recorded live with the London Symphonia Orchestra in October '69, at the Fairfield Halls Croydon. In 1979 Brian Davison told me that "we were tripping when we recorded that". Regardless, it reached Number 2 in the UK Album Charts. 

I always like Jimmy Smith, and Emerson sounds like he did too at times.

Then: I liked this a lot. Wasn't really a fan of classical music, but I liked this blend 8/10

Now: I think it still sounds ok, apart from the 'aircraft taking off' noises. 7/10

Memorability: Very high 8/10

Discogs Value: £10 (Bargain)

12

Relics - Pink Floyd (May ‘71)

It features tracks from their first three albums (which I can't remember having heard) as well as a couple of singles and B sides, and one previously unreleased track. Barrett wrote off-kilter 'psychedelic' pop songs (as did Rick Wright to an extent) and this album isn't swamped by the jams and 'epic' compositions of the later years. My favourite four tracks were written by Syd Barrett. 

A good introduction to the best period (imho) Pink Floyd. 

Then: A big favourite at the time 8/10

Now: The 'poppier' songs still sound ok to me 7/10

Memorability: High 9/10

Discogs Value: £15.00

13

Emerson Lake & Palmer - Emerson Lake & Palmer (Nov '70)

Another prog album that fused classical music with rock, fairly successfully in terms of commercial success. ELP were huge, one of the biggest bands in the world, back in the day. It's easy to forget. For some reason when I heard Oh Lucky Man it reminded me of Christmas. Nice tune, written by Greg Lake when he was 12, which is confirmed by listening to the lyrics. 

Then: Yup, quite a big album for a 15 year old me 7/10

Now: ELP sound more dated than The Nice somehow 5/10

Memorability: Oh Lucky Man 9/10 The rest Medium 5/10

Discogs Value: £40.00

14

Moving Waves - Focus (Oct ‘71)

Second album by the Dutch prog rockers. Hocus Pocus is great, but the rest is a very patchy for me. Jan Ackerman could play more notes per second than Eric Clapton.

Then: Liked some of it a lot, especially the guitar. Maybe less so the yodelling. 7/10

Now: Hocus Pocus. That's really it for me 5/10

Memorability: The weaker tracks I hardly remember at all, as I expect I must have skipped them 5/10

Discogs Value: £14.00

15

Egg - Egg (March '70)

I couldn't remember which Egg LP I used to own, but a listen on Spotify sorted that one out.

Out of all the albums in this Top 30 this is the one that surprised me the most. I could just about remember the front cover, but as soon as the opening track came on the whole thing came flooding back, taking me back to that time in my youth-dom. Some albums just seem to 'stick' more than others.

Somehow it sounds like it was recorded later than 1969, (it was released in March '70), as it sounds ahead of it's time in places. 

Egg get lumped into the Canterbury Scene through the involvement of Dave Stewart (later of Hatfield & the North) who played organ. The very English sounding vocals and eccentric song titles are also typical of that genre.

Then: Played this a lot, and later bought the Civil Surface LP, which confirms I liked it 7/10

Now: Would I play this these days? Yes, I probably would occasionally 6/10

Memorability: I was gobsmacked how well I remember this, after all that time 8/10

Discogs Value: £100.00

16

Talking Book - Stevie Wonder (Oct ‘72)

I loved everything about this album. Incredible standard of songwriting, Jeff Beck on guitar ('Do it, Jeff!'), loved Wonder's voice. It was played to death, even the tracks that were almost a bit schmaltzy.

Then: Loved it, and it offered a nice change from the rock stuff 9/10

Now: To me it still sounds as good as it did then 9/10

Memorability: Very high, as I never stopped playing this one 10/10

Discogs Value: £10.00

*Still have my original copy 

17

The Faust Tapes - Faust (Autumn '73)

Anarcho punk experimental lo-fi collage of an avant garde Krautrock album, that might as well have been beamed in from another planet. Important, not just because of the music, but also because it sold for the price of a single, 49p.  Nice Bridget Riley cover too. 

Virgin sold around 50,000 copies in 1973, but they lost money on each copy sold, so they stopped pressing it. Extremely influential, it's become a real cult classic.

Then: Struggled with some of it, but it wasn't boring 6/10

Now: Still challenging, but interesting and somehow timeless 7/10

Memorability: Low. Remember some of it clearly, but some not at all 3/10

Discogs Value: £22.00

18

Selling England by the Pound - Genesis (Oct '73)

I'd never really been a huge Genesis fan but this one was a big album at the time. I liked the different voices and accents employed by Peter Gabriel on The Battle of Epping Forest.

Then: I enjoyed the Englishness of the album, and listened to it a lot 8/10

Now: No longer really my cup of tea, although some of the tunes have stuck in my head. [Edit: It has actually grown on me since writing this blog, but not sure how long that will last!] 4/10 7/10

Memorability: High 8/10

Discogs Value: £30.00

19

Transformer - Lou Reed (Nov '72)

 A monster record, one of the all time greats for me, and owning it felt slightly subversive at the time. Lou Reed was up there with David Bowie and Brian Ferry for me, and Walk on the Wild Side is a timeless classic. Bowie played a big part in what was by far the biggest earner of Reed's career, producing and arranging the album with Mick Ronson, as well as singing backing vocals. He'd always been a Velvet Underground fan, and this in some ways was his thank you.

Then: An eye opener for me. Loved it  9/10

Now: Has it aged well? Definitely. Has legendary status 8/10

Memorability: High 9/10

Discogs Value: £30.00

*Still have my original copy 

20

Solid Air - John Martyn (Feb '73)

I saw Martyn performing this at the Shaw Theatre on London's Euston Road with my sister around the time of the release. Great live performance, great album. Contains the classic Martyn tune May You Never. I used to listen to the John & Beverley Martyn Stormbringer album in the listening booth at Baker's Records, but never quite liked it enough to buy it. This was different. 

The use of an Echoplex unit gave the album a more modern sound. Loved Danny Thompson's double bass.

Then: Loved this album 8/10

Now: Still a classic 7/10

Memorability: 7/10

Discogs Value: £65.00

21

For Your Pleasure - Roxy Music (March '73)

I'd loved the Virginia Plane and Pyjamarama singles, the latter being released at the same time as For Your Pleasure, so this was a must buy album, and it blew my socks off. I'd heard their first album, but thought this was way better. Ferry and Bowie were my new heroes, and the writing was on the wall for many of the old prog bands.

Then: Album was a breath of fresh air, and I played it to death 8/10

Now: Still sounds great today 8/10

Memorability: Have played the album fairly regularly over the years 9/10

Discogs Value: £20.00

*Still have my original copy 

22

Extrapolation - John McLaughlin (1969)

Bought this, McLaughlin's debut album, after he achieved fame with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The latter played jazz rock, whereas this turned out to be straight modern jazz. Not the easiest album to enjoy if you're not really a jazz fan, but I just about managed it. I think it attuned my ear to that type of music to an extent.

Then: Sort of album to make you feel grown up, when you're 16 6/10

Now: All the better for being jazz rather than jazz rock 7/10

Memorability: The title track I remembered very well, the rest less so 5/10

Discogs Value: £35.00

23

For Girls That Grow Plump in the Night - Caravan (Oct '73)

'The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) was a musical scene centred around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisational style that blended elements of jazz, rock, and psychedelia.' Thanks, Wikipedia. Learn more about the Canterbury Scene here.

I found it surprisingly emotional listening to this again having not heard it for 45 years or so. Aural time travel. 

Then: Loved this one at the time 8/10

Now: Still has a charm all of its own. Some good songs, and great to hear them again. If I'd never heard it before it wouldn't really be the sort of thing I'd buy now though 6/10

Memorability: Remember it so well, which I wasn't prepared for 8/10

Discogs Value: £25.00 (It's recently been re-issued on vinyl)

24

Ralf & Florian - Kraftwerk (Oct '73)

Bit of a mystery here. I always used to think this album was a pre Kraftwerk release, but it turns out it was their third. When I bought it I hadn't heard of Kraftwerk, and presumably thought that was the title of the album, and that Ralf & Florian were the artists. When recently I looked up the album by searching for 'Ralf & Florian' I didn't recognise either of the above covers (the UK version being on the right), but I remembered the rear artwork as soon as I saw it, I guess because that's what we used to stare at intently, while listening to the album, back in the day. 

I'd never heard anything like it before. It was precise and austere, but atmospheric in its own way. Just a year later they would release their breakthrough Autobahn LP. Listening to it again now and it's excellent stuff, and  it makes you wonder why they've never allowed it to be re-issued. The analogue synths and live, occasionally slightly ropey keyboard playing if anything adds to the appeal. 

Perhaps because of that sometimes erratic keyboard playing, Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider seem to have disowned this album, preventing any re-issues at all, and not allowing it to be available on any download platforms, hence it's quite highly sought after on vinyl.

Then: Album was ahead of its time, and I probably wasn't quite ready 6/10

Now: Sounds fresh as a daisy 9/10

Memorability: Low. I didn't listen to it enough at the time 3/10

As this album isn't on Spotify, I've replaced it with Autobahn on the playlist. As mentioned, it was never released on CD in the UK, or officially re-issued on vinyl

Discogs Value: £40 

25

Stranded - Roxy Music (Nov '73)

I loved everything about this album including the cover. It ticked all the boxes for a teenager stuck at an all male boarding school. The departure of Brian Eno from the band moved Roxy slightly more into the mainstream, resulting in the album charting at number 1 in the UK. Nonetheless, this would easily make it into to my Top 20 or 30 albums of all time.

Then: Played to death 9/10

Now: Still sounds great today 9/10

Memorability: Have played the album fairly regularly over the years 9/10

Discogs Value: £12.00 Ludicrously cheap. Buy a copy.

*Still have my original copy 

26

Hatfield & The North - Hatfield & The North (April '74)

I bought this after seeing the band at Canterbury's Gulbenkian theatre in May. No one else sounds like Hatfield & The North. Canterbury was the hub for this sort of jazz infused, very English avant-prog pop, with some Robert Wyatt vocals thrown in too, and for me this is the quintessential Canterbury Sound album. 

Then: Genre defining album that I enjoyed a lot at the time 8/10

Now: It's won me over again 7/10

Memorability: Remember this fairly well after a long break 7/10

Discogs Value: £50.00

27

Stage Fright - The Band (Aug '70)

A rare departure for me, being a US band. Hadn't realised how English-centric my collection was, until writing this blog. Tremendous album full of good songs. Highly influential in the UK, apparently.

Then: Played it a lot 7/10

Now: Still sounds good. Has a timeless feel 8/10

Memorability: Remember it very well, despite not having heard it for ages 7/10

Discogs Value: £14.00 (Bargain of the week)

28

Unrest - Henry Cow (May '74)

Avante-garde? Avant rock? Jazz fusion? They were even loosely linked to the Canterbury scene through their guitarist Fred Frith. You could say Henry Cow defied categorisation. Much of the album was improvised, as they couldn't afford extended studio time. I was intrigued, but it was probably a bit too out there for me to want to play it a lot; but not too out there for snooker legend Steve Davis apparently. 

I'm going to listen some more as an experiment to see if I can finally get it, 47 years after I first owned it.

Then: Struggled with some of it, but overall an interesting album 5/10

Now: Can't quite get my head round it 5/10?

Memorability: All a bit of a blur. Remember a couple of the song titles though. 3/10

Discogs Value: £35.00

29

Tracks - Heads Hands & Feet (1972)

When I tried to get hold of a copy of this album in the nineties, it hadn't been re-issued in any format. Regretted selling it! But there was eventually a CD issue in 1996, followed by another in 2016. But  there hasn't been another vinyl pressing since the album was released on in 1972, which is a scandal. If my record label (Motion Records) was still in business we'd would have jumped at the chance. I hadn't listened to it until I acquired another vinyl copy last week, and it's even better than I remembered. If you've never heard them, you could perhaps describe their sound as a cross between The Band and Stealers Wheel, with a dash of country thrown in.

Great line up that includes Chas Hodges, Albert Lee and Tony Cotton on vocals, and really strong compositions too. 

Then: Again, a nice change from the prog stuff 7/10

Now: A very good album that deserves a vinyl reissue 7/10

Memorability: Higher than expected. I even remembered the words to a couple of them, after 40 odd years 7/10

Discogs Value: £20.00 (Another bargain)

30

White Heat/White Light - The Velvet Underground (Jan '68)

I first heard the Velvet Underground when I taped Sweet Jane off the John Peel Sounds of the Seventies show while testing a tape recorder. I didn't hear who the song was by at the time (1970?) but bought this (the 1971 reissue version) after falling in love with Lou Reed's Transformer album. Bought all of the Velvets albums over the next two or three years, and if push came to shove I'd say they're my favourite band of all time.

Then: Found Sister Ray a bit too much, but liked most of the rest a lot 7/10

Now: Still a classic 8/10

Memorability: Never stopped listening to it 9/10

Discogs Value: £50.00

*Still have my original copy 

***

OTHERS ALBUMS THAT I MAY HAVE OWNED WHILE AT SCHOOL. 

BUT I MAY HAVE JUST BORROWED THEM 

(Displays best on PC rather than phone)

  Bananamour - Kevin Ayers ('73)                8th St Nights - Back Door ('73)

   Then 7/10 Now 7/10 Mem 3/10                       Then 7/10 Now 6/10 Mem 3/10

   Inner Mounting Flame - Mahavishnu Orchestra ('72) Be Good to Yourself at Least Once a Day - Man ('73)

   Then 6/10 Now 5/10 Mem 6/10                       Then 6/10 Now 3/10 Mem 1/10

 

  Camembert Electrique - Gong ('71)                      Fearless - Family ('71)

  Then 5/10 Now 4/10 Mem 3/10                         Then 7/10 Now 5/10 Mem 6/10

   

 **Obscured By Clouds-Pink Floyd ('72)                Mysterious Traveller - Weather Report ('74)

   Then 8/10 Now 6/10 Mem 8/10                      Then 8/10 Now 8/10 Mem 10/10

**I once told Nick Mason that this was my favourite Floyd album. He didn't seem very pleased.

        

    Live at Max's Kansas City -                          Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie

     The Velvet Underground ('72)                    Then 8/10 Now 8/10 Mem 10/10

     Then 3/10 Now 5/10 Mem 5/10

    Terrible audio quality.

   

Another time, Another Place -Brian Ferry

Then 8/10 Now 6/10 Mem 9/10

Pretty sure I bought this just before I left school, but it might have been shortly after.

Plus: I definitely owned a Jimi Hendrix live album, but can't remember which one, or find one that rings any bells (it looked a bit 'unofficial'). I may also have owned albums by Bob Dylan, James Taylor, the Beach Boys and/or Neil Young. And another album by Caravan. It's all a bit of a blur, unsurprisingly.

One That Got Away

I often used to listen to this in the listening booth at Baker's Records in Canterbury, while puffing on a No 6. I guess I quite liked it, but not enough to spend my 'hard earned'.

John and Beverley Martyn Stormbringer! (1970)

It's been really interesting revisiting these old albums from my distant past. Playing them again, some for the first time in 40 odd years, was strange and sometimes quite emotional, and while I enjoyed playing some of them more than I thought I might, I don't think I'll suddenly be listening to much Genesis or Greenslade again on a regular basis. 

Next I'll be looking at the 1974-77 college period, post prog, and the discovery of punk. Coming soon.

***

WARNING: 

Although there's a lot of prog & rock stuff in the list I also had a Stevie Wonder LP and singles by the likes of James Brown and Jimmy Ruffin. Catholic taste they call it. And in my final year I shared a study and became friendly with a Polish kid called Andrew Arzemanow. He was into ska, reggae and soul, and over the course of the year we influenced each other's taste considerably. I met up with him again in 1979 and took him to one of Madness's first gigs (Hope & Anchor in Islington 24th June). We both loved it. I caught a couple of Motown singles that Suggs threw to the crowd as well.

SINGLES CORNER

There's always an embarrassing first single isn't there? Yup.

   In late summer '69 I'd been to a 'juniors disco' held in a hut belonging to a tennis club in nearby Sundridge Park. One song in particular struck a chord that night, I think because it was the last one the DJ played before we were all kicked out. It became been a surprise number one hit that year in the UK, despite being banned in several other countries; in fact it had been released in a plain cover, with the words "Interdit aux moins de 21 ans" (forbidden to those under 21). 

   So perhaps that's why, after persuading mum to take me to Bromley's Medhursts department store to buy a copy, she went to the record counter and came back clutching the very inferior Love at First Sight by Sounds Nice - otherwise known as the instrumental version Je t'Aime Moi Non Plus. 

   My first single, not quite mission accomplished, although I couldn't really complain under the circumstances. It didn't matter that much in fact, because believe it or not, I was mainly attracted to the sound of the organ.

   Either way, I decided to save my pocket money (and the odd ten bob note you'd get for Christmas and birthdays), in order to buy albums in future, if I could. 

 *The record department at Medhursts was famously one of the best in South London, and had been a favourite haunt of David Bowie who went there after school 'almost every day'. 

   He'd sit in the record booths listening to the latest singles by Little Richard, Chuck Berry and even Charlie Parker. According to Bowie, an assistant called Jane Green "took a liking to me. Whenever I would pop in, which was most afternoons after school, she'd let me play records in the sound booth to my heart's content til they closed at five thirty. Jane would often join me and we would smooch big-time to the sound of Ray Charles or Eddie Cochran". 

   Co-incidentally we also attended the same Bromley primary school, Burnt Ash Junior School.

                                              ***

    MELODY MAKER LETTER PUBLISHED

   *In 1970 I had a wise-guy put down of Tony Blackburn published in Melody Maker letters page ('I'm glad to hear Tony Blackburn wants to improve standards at Radio One. When's he leaving?'), resulting in my receiving a postcard from 60's pop/rock band Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich ('Thanks for a good laugh mate!') and another from a very attractive German window-dresser-rock- chick called Elke Uebel asking to be my pen pal. We exchanged letters for a bit, but having twice ignored her requests for a photo I sensed she might be disappointed to learn I was only thirteen. As a result, her letters soon petered out. I wonder where she is now? 

(Tony Blackburn, a deeply unhip figure at that time, had given Melody Maker an interview which they published as a double centre spread. They used to publish your address when they printed your letter in those days. Unfortunately my granny threw a load of my music papers away while I was back at boarding school, including that issue ☹️)

David Bowie on Medhursts:

“Medhurst was the biggest departmental store in Bromley, my British hometown in the early sixties. In terms of style, they were to be pulverized by their competitors down the road who stocked up early on the new ‘G-Plan’ Scandinavian style furniture. But they did have, unaccountably, a fantastic record department.

“Run by a wonderful ‘married’ couple, Jimmy and Charles, there wasn’t an American release they didn’t have or couldn’t get. Quite as hip as any London supplier, I would have had a very dry musical run if it were not for this place. Jane Green, their counter assistant, took a liking to me and whenever I would pop in, which was most afternoons after school, she would let me play records in the ‘sound booth’ to my heart’s content till they closed at 5.30 p.m.

“Jane would often join me and we would smooch big-time to the sounds of Ray Charles or Eddie Cochran. This was very exciting as I was around thirteen or fourteen and she would be a womanly seventeen at that time. My first older woman. Charles let me buy at a huge discount enabling me to build up a fab collection over the two or three years that I frequented this store. Happy days."

Bowie lived just a fifteen minute walk away from where I lived, and went to the same school from June '55 to July '58 - Burnt Ash School in the Sundridge Park area. I was there in around 1964. I bought my first records in Medhurst in 1969, aged 13. 'Je t'Aime' (instrumental version) 7" single, and Hot Rats - Frank Zappa (LP).

David Bowie, back row, second on the left

David, middle row, far left.