As a huge fan of the band Camel for some 30 years now (with the first album I purchased being in 1981) I’d on many occasion been advised to listen to the music of Caravan. I ignored this until January of 2009 when “Prog Week” took place on BBC4 and my “ears” were opened to some interesting music and I’m delighted to say I’m now enjoying travelling my way through Caravan’s back catalogue. Further research brought to my attention Hatfield and the North and in particular this album which scores a really impressive 4.19 (at the time of writing) on ProgArchives.com. Reviews I read were as follows: - “Hatfield and the North have long been my favourite Canterbury configuration - it's hard to decide which of their two albums I like more. After much deliberation I’ve arrived at the conclusion that this debut is not only Hatfield’s best, but the best Canterbury album I’ve ever heard!” “A near perfect debut from one of Britain's finest groups. If only there were more records like this.” “A real classic of progressive rock, one you should of course own.” I purchased here on good old eBay and eagerly awaited it’s arrival. It had been quite a while since I was as keen to play any CD. However, after many listens now I just can’t agree with the many positive reviews that I’ve read. Whilst the album isn't a "duffer", it's far from excellent; nowhere near a classic and despite all the praise that has been reaped upon it in summary for me it’s no more than "average". I guess you can’t win them all!Read full review
Classic Canterbury fusion more of a laid back effort than Rotters Club
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
One of the most interesting and musical groups of the whole seventies period. I suppose Hatfield & The North could be described as a super group with all of its members having been with Canterbury Bands IE Gong, Egg, and Caravan just to mention the most obvious. Richard Sinclair's lovely voice and whimsical lyrics combine with some very fluid and melodic jazz rock. Even the often over technical Dave Stewart seems to fit into this complex but essentially easy listening album. The real highlight of this record is the use of a female vocal trio "The Northetts " who combine to produce some truly beautiful and soaring coral singing. A record that works on so many different levels, its a great shame that the North could only manage two LP's before folding. For those who don't know the band they compare with Caravan and Gong although they are in a class beyond either of these groups, there is also hints of early Genesis. There is also an appearance of Robert Wyatt but in comparison with Sinclair his voice is not as good. A real classic of progressive rock, one you should of course own.Read full review
Hatfield and the north est un des derniers représentants du CANTERBURY sound initiés par Soft Machine et Caravan.Il nous propose une musique très élaborée, très écrite avec des claviers très présents, une rythmique époustouflante et une guitarre iventive et mélodique. A noter la présence de Robert Wyatt au chant sur une chanson.Les mélodies et le chant sont très Britaniques. A écouter pour les jeunes générations...particulièrement les muiciens.
This cd is from one of the best Canterbury scene groups that I went to see recently in Canterbury along with Daevid Allen playing with luminaries Hugh Hopper and drummer extraordinaire Chris Cutler. They are an excellent live band although their drummer, who also played with Daevid Allen's famous Gong, has sadly died earlier this year. Overall the record has aged well and the clever complex progressive english music has lost non of it's charm and the vocals are good although a little too like Robert Wyatt for my liking (which is not surprising I suppose because the guitarist also was in Robert Wyatt's Matching Mole).
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