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Personnel: Kevin Ayers (vocals, guitar); Nico (vocals); Mark Warner, Sam Mitchell, Ollie Halsall, Mike Oldfield, Cal Batchelor (guitar); Geoff Richardson (viola); Lol Coxhill (saxophone); Rupert Hine, Henry Crallen, Mike Moran, Steve Nye (keyboards); Mike Ratledge (organ); John G. Perry, John Gustafson, Trevor Jones (bass); Michael Giles (drums); Ray Cooper (percussion); Doris Troy, Rosetta Hightower, Joanne Williams, Sean Milligan (background vocals). Recorded at Air & Ramport Studios, London, England in February & March 1974. Personnel: Kevin Ayers (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Nico (vocals); Mark Warner (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Cal Batchelor, Mike Oldfield, Ollie Halsall, Sam Mitchell (electric guitar); Lol Coxhill (saxophone); Henry Crallan, Mike Moran (piano); Rupert Hine (electric piano, Clavinet, organ, synthesizer, percussion); Mike Ratledge, Steve Nye (organ); Mike Giles , Michael Giles (drums); The G'deevy Ensemble, G'Deevy Ensemble, Ray Cooper (percussion); Joanne Williams, Sean Milligan, Doris Troy, Rosetta Hightower (background vocals). Liner Note Author: Mark Powell. Recording information: Air Studios, London, England (07/09/1974); BBC Radio One's John Peel Show, Langham Studio (07/09/1974). Author: John Peel. Illustrators: James Wedge; James Wedge; George Smith . Photographer: Mick Rock . THE CONFESSIONS OF DR. DREAM is one of Kevin Ayers' best-regarded albums, and it marks his peak in terms of mainstream rock recognition. While it contains some almost glam-rock sounding riffs and accessible melodies, it's a dyed-in-the-wool art-rock classic full of lovable weirdness. "Everybody's Sometime and Some People's All the Time Blues" is an eccentric piece that alternates between wailing female backup singers on the chorus, and eerie, subdued verses that bring to mind John Cale's creepier work. Ayers' much-touted sense of humor is represented by the short, satirical "Ballbearing Blues," while the lengthy title song is a tour de force, a prog-rock suite with several discrete phases and extended, spacey instrumental sections. The album closes on a simple, almost perversely anticlimactic note, with "Two Goes Into Four," a very brief acoustic ballad that quotes "Hey Jude," a move typical of Ayers' penchant for tweaking an audience's expectations.
