1969年から1973年までのケヴィン・エアーズによる録音を網羅した豪華10枚組ボックスセット。アルバム「Joy Of A Toy」「Shooting At The Moon」「Whatevershebringswesing」「Bananamour」に加え、スティーブン・W・テイラーによる1970年7月のハイドパーク・フェスティバル出演曲のニュー・ミックス、現存するBBCセッションの全曲を収録。1970年から1973年にかけて録音(1970年の未発表ジョン・ピール・コンサートを含む)された未発表セッション・アウトテイク、1973年5月のコンサートも収録。また、フランスのテレビ向けに収録された未発表ライブ出演を収録したリージョンフリーの13トラック・ブルーレイ・ビデオ・ディスクも付属。
発売・販売元 提供資料(2024/07/09)
Iconoclastic English songwriter and criminally underrated guitarist Kevin Ayers has been the subject of numerous compilations and reissues. None offer the documentary vision of Esoteric/Cherry Red on this nine-CD, single-Blu-ray/DVD box set. All This Crazy Gift of Time: The Recordings 1969-1973 presents Ayers first four Harvest studio albums -- Joy of a Toy, Shooting at the Moon, Whatevershebringswesing, and Bananamour -- along with a wealth of previously unissued live and studio work -- and a region-free Blu-ray contains 13 previously unreleased live performances recorded for French TV, the BBCs Old Grey Whistle Test, and a promo film. Amidst the extant audio material is a disc containing a completely remastered, remixed version of Live at Hyde Park July 1970, an unreleased John Peel BBC concert, all surviving BBC sessions between 1970 and 1973, and a couple of interviews. The extra material is sequenced in chronological order and stitched to their respective albums.
Ayers left Soft Machine in 1968 after recording their eponymous avant-psych debut. He spent nearly two years relaxing in the Balearics. Upon return, he signed with Harvest, an EMI-distributed label whose only other signings at the time were Pink Floyd, and Syd Barrett. Joy of a Toy appeared in December 1969, a month after Floyds Ummagumma, and two before Barretts The Madcap Laughs. Barrett appears with Ayers on disc ones "Religious Experience (Singing a Song in the Morning)." The album itself is one of his finest; it includes a nearly-nine-minute "While You Were Sleeping" collab with Soft Machine.
For those who already own Live at Hyde Park July 1970, disc threes remixed version is worth replacing it for. It marks the first recorded live appearance of Kevin Ayers and the Whole World, his touring band that included 16-year old guitarist Mike Oldfield, pianist / arranger David Bedford, and saxophonist Lol Coxhill. Disc three contains the wildly eccentric, rocking Shooting at the Moon with five extant bonus cuts including the unissued "Hat" and "Jolie Madame." Disc four offers unreleased music from 1970s John Peel Concert, parts of a 1971 show with Bridget St. John, and seven BBC session cuts. Disc fives Whatevershebringswesing is arguably the songwriters finest album. Its eight bonus cuts include a demo of the title track and 1972 re-recordings of "All This Crazy Gift of Time" and "The Lady" from 1971 to 1973, as well as the entire 1972 Banana Follies in Concert. Disc eight is Bananamour expanded by bonus singles, an early mix of "Decadence," and unreleased live versions of "We Did it Again" and "Why Are We Sleeping?" The final audio disc contains a 1973 concert recorded during his contract transition from Harvest to Island. Its final track is a concert version of "After the Show," his first Island single. All This Crazy Gift of Time is packaged in a gorgeous, lavishly illustrated 10"x10" box with a 68-page booklet containing an insightful, compelling essay by editor, author, and economist Michael Bjorn. ~ Thom Jurek
Rovi