New Zealand Trading Company As Love Is Born An Ominous Death For Hatred

You have to evolve and grow and become a stronger individual through life experiences. I've recently been through a very black period and it has left me determined about several things. Most importantly, I must take better care of myself and that includes all forms of health mental and physical. I've disowned nearly all heavy metal and even a lot of offshoots. I need to start giving myself a heavy dose of Europe in the form of German masterpiece albums like my fave Walpurgis's QUEEN OF SABA- their only album and the one absolutely essential-for-every-collection album on the otherwise lame OHR label. I am planning to see Germany for the first time this year by saving a lot of money. Germany is a country I have a lot of love for for many reasons. My next blog will be all on Walpurgis. Most of the sun coming into my life now is not coming anymore from England.  In a dark and disillusioned state I listen a lot to albums like QUEEN OF SABA (actually fairly upbeat), Fairy Tale's ONCE UPON A TIME, and New Zealand Trading Company who you'll read about here. I'm no longer an Anglophile. That is the biggest change of them all. I've been through hatred-of-England periods before, but they never lasted that long and it always was over something that could be mended. You can't mend a heart that's been broken or anger that's been brought on as many times as mine. However, I still love British bands and I still have some really amazing friends in England who I talk to regularly including several I'd like to meet in the top notch Parachute Regiment. The Paras, as they refer to themselves as and are referred to, are not just Britain's elite fighting force,  but they usually are a really good bunch who care about devotion to other people as well as their own mates. I don't hate England as I will never allow myself to hate any country, but the constant slamming of America, Germany, well you know it British Nationalism is a really disturbingly sick offshoot of Patriotism. There is nothing wrong with being Patriotic, but keep an open mind.
     Lately I just can't stomach much heavy metal anymore and I'm growing more and more sick of music that all sounds too redundantly loud for a whole album or career. I guess I could elude to The Rolling Stones- once one of the greats and now for a long time (really since shortly after Brian Jones died) a bad joke unless you catch them in concert (I wish I could!). Still, when Jagger/Richards and cohorts became a bad joke they became really funny so funny that I think it is intentional. The Stones love coming to America. It's used to be a lot of a grass-is-greener case especially with me and some musicians. You get British bands who really just want to conquer America and American bands who want to conquer England. It was much more so that way in the 60s and 70s when the swapping of influences hit big leading right here to a different swapping in New Zealand Trading Company. All native Maoris they wrote all their own material except for an insane cover of "Hey Jude" and instead of British or American influences they oddly enough went heavily for a Northern European sound. We'll get to them soon, but cold weather sounds are funny coming from a band from a Subtropical climate for most of the year. Also, add to that the name New Zealand Trading Company to throw people off. They sound as far removed from New Zealand as Denmark! Now we'll move to another little bit of writing and thinking.

     -Are Europe And America Better Than England? A Question Without An Easy Answer-
            Nowadays I spend so much time listening to music and getting pickier and pickier that if you want to impress me you've gotta really be something outrageously fantastic. I'm getting more and more into bands from America and Europe and would make an exception for New Zealand Trading Company and consider them European since their sound is more than 100% not New Zealand complete with thickly accented vocals and a strong Dutch/Danish vibe that is almost as if they'd recorded the album in Holland or Denmark. That may be the case. As nobody can dig up much information on the group the question as to where did they record the album and who got involved in the album during the recording to make it sound so good is up for investigation seemingly long term. I personally feel that I have spent too much time listening to British bands of all levels of quality from the best that I still place really high up there right down to complete mediocrity in the world of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Now I have no interest in heavy metal from ANY country. My British music is like my music from anywhere- more thoughtful even when rocking out hard. I never listen to shit music from anywhere, but let's just say that I was listening to some pretty shit metal from England, mainly on YouTube, but now I limit myself to Tygers Of Pan Tang and Diamond Head- only the masters will do. I don't even like Black Sabbath anymore. I find them stiff and sludgy.
Paul Major, though a very good friend, referred to The Open Mind as "stiff." No! Not at all! The Open Mind is a classic. England made so much possible, but not everything. Most of my favorite British records that are still favorite British records will not appeal to a whole lot of people who will go out and praise some British bands that I have a lot of trouble listening to. Read Canterbury Prog and I never liked any Canterbury bands except for early Caravan. These people usually are prog snobs or psych nuts who won't listen to anything that could ever be considered in the least bit commercial. I love good hooks and good melodies, clever songwriting, and great playing combined. Face up to the truth Ben, you're a perfectionist. Before I move onto this twisted gem let me thank and give a thumbs down to some people. In my thank you column all my really good friends both home and abroad who have stuck by me, all the good people who have given me a lot of helpful advice I really should and will heed, animals, artists, writers who write good poetry and literature, the good soldiers of ALL COUNTRIES, and all good music. In my thumbs down and wish you were dead column The Rifles Regiment of England who have caused unbearable pain and all nationalists, racists, bigots, prejudiced and hate-driven hate-loving sick people everywhere. If you don't have your mind open and have it screwed on better to have it blown off! To answer my own question the only answer that makes sense is that England isn't the paradise I'd thought it was, but no country is. Generally speaking Europeans and Americans are friendlier and Germany seems to really have a lot going for it, but there isn't a "best and better than any other" country. You take the good aspects of every country and then you'll be there where you should be. You don't pin all your hopes and dreams on just one country. That is the lesson I've had to learn about England.
          -The New Zealand Trading Company Dark As It Gets With A Tropical Breeze-
             It just doesn't get any better than this album for progressive rock with strong psychedelic leanings and I find it rather shocking that the only groups they are compared to are usually the polar opposite Strawberry Alarm Clock and Association! What The Hell!? To tell you the truth if you want light mellowed out dreamy psych this album has dreamy moments, but it is firmly a progressive record. There are a lot of jazz influences, a wide array of instrumentation, and despite the vocal led selections that cover this brilliant slice of vinyl perfection the vocals have a strong dark prog vibe to them that sounds sinuous even at the most breezy and joyful moment which is the stellar opening track "Oh What A Day." If you see this record in a store and your reaction is "Boy Are Those Six Ugly Guys!" don't put it back- buy it. You could be passing by one of the still undiscovered treasures of the early 70s. The Maoris are the Native peoples of NZ who had terrible acts of genocide committed against them just like the Australian Aborigines and American Indians. There is a lot of anger on this record and the fact that the band are criticizing so much of society and the evils of man really shouldn't be surprising. What is amazing is that "Oh What A Day" perfectly sums up the simple fact that man is only a true man of the earth when he is the closest to earth and to nature in a song that isn't an epic, but a short and joyful melodic progressive pop work of real integrity. The vocals are strong and very dramatic. The harmonies soar and right off the bat I'm thinking of Ache when they went for the heavily vocal oriented sound in 1976 as opposed to their earlier instrumentally driven attack. "Oh What A Day" like the rest of the album has thick accented vocals that sound very Dutch, Danish, or German and a backing with driving guitar, crisp rhythms, and some remarkably beautiful flute melodies.
   "Jam And Anti Freeze" is one of the most bizarre song titles I ever have seen on a record. Don't ask me what it means, but it sounds pretty creepy and the song itself can send more than a few chills up and down your spine. After the beautiful flute driven "Oh What A Day" comes this ominous psych into prog track with very creative dark winding venomous harmonies which at times scream and cackle in what sounds like an outbreak of rage. There are a million time changes, freaky vibes, dark jazzy guitar riffs, screaming fuzz tone passages, and quite a bit of eerie freaky organ work is used. A six piece band you can hear the fullness of their sound on the first two tracks with a very powerful contrast in atmosphere between these first two songs. I will quote you how this scary little track ends:
       "Along The Road Ride Horsemen Who Are Picking Fruit From Trees While Baby Builds A Castle Of Jam And Anti Freeze- Jam And Anti Freeze! Jam And Anti Freeze!"
    It sounds like a beach that has been covered in garbage and waste and destruction and that is the vibe of this song- waste and destruction all around and no way you can avert your eyes or in this case your ears and mind away from it. Still, it isn't so creepy you can't listen to it. If you know the Ache record PICTURES FROM CYCLUS 7 imagine an alternate take of "Still Hungry (Vampire Song)."
       "Nine To Five" is a topic covered by a million artists. Again, though, New Zealand Trading Company tread along a darker path and spice it up a whole lot more with dexterous passages of riffing guitars, swirling organ, and a nimble rhythm section who add a lot to the complexity. The song chronicles the nervous breakdown of an overstressed conformist office worker who goes completely mad and whose whole life has no meaning, nothing in it but misery and pain. Vocally these guys are really out there- tight yet both strongly harmonious and abrasive in the most subtle manner possible. This is also very much like Ache or Old Man And The Sea who I have only heard on YouTube and can't really comment on especially as my dream of getting an original copy will probably never become something that really happens. I bet this band are the only Mayoris who sound like Danish or Dutchmen! I will mention two other bands who this album bears a resemblance to- Earth And Fire and Golden Earrings/Earring. Both as you know are Dutch. My first guess when hearing this album was they were a Dutch band. Well, no, but it could have been recorded there. That is open to speculation. "Nine To Five" is a stunning track and a very sympathetic story song. There isn't a hero and an anti Hero boss isn't brought in either. You could say that it sounds existentialist, but it is something more like a narrative about conformity and redundancy in a man's life that he thinks will keep him safe, but ultimately what drives him to a nightmarish state.
    "Hey Jude" goes on for over 8 minutes and the histrionic progressive take on the Beatles/McCartney classic really sounds full of yet more anger and resentment as after the first half the vocalist screams like Demis Roussos of Aphrodite's Child gone completely mad on a really terrible hair day. Whether this take will freak you, blow you away, or antagonize you really isn't easy to answer as you will probably be freaked by how unlike the original it is, be blown away by the clever arrangement, and you might hate the guy's guts for screaming so much and going crazy. It kind of fits with the rest of this very strange album. Only the first year of the 70s and the youthful joy and optimism of the 60s is gone. It is so tragic. Music would go on to be just as or at least nearly as exciting as the 60s, but as I have said if you only like light psychedelic pop rock avoid this album- your narrow mind won't be able to understand a word or a note of it. I've never understood the appeal of what I call "Glee Club Psych" like The Strawberry Alarm Clock or The Free Design- to me it sounds like some kind of "The Beatles Never Happened" nightmare. That is not the case here!
     "Winnifried Jellicoe" has the worst opening line of the album, but the song manages to overcome its overt attempt to be the band's "Eleanor Rigby" by utilizing very clever vocals, mood changes, and instrumentation. I've never liked songs about old people, but this one is actually crazy enough to be good. There are some astonishing harmonies and the flute player in the band really is great for the whole album and adds a special sound to their music which is closer to the melodic playing of Peter Gabriel in Genesis than the abrasive style made famous by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson (another great one). I've always loved the flute so that is quite nice on this album and it makes up for the absence of guitar solos. Like the rest of the album "Winnifried Jellicoe" is both stark and with a bit of a tropical breeze thrown in. The lyrics deal with the decay of old age and senility, but they also tell a rather amazing love story that happened a very long time in the past.
     "Ruo Moko" is sung in the band's native tongue and manages to convey both an atom shower storm and a tropical vacation lazing by palm trees and bright sunshine at the same time! There is an unsettling vibe to this whole album. It really keeps you wondering just how much darker it can get and if anything is safe on offer by the New Zealand Trading Company. "Ruo Moko" as I don't understand Maori it could mean any number of things, but they are probably attempting the statement "We Are Proud Of Who We Are And You Won't Knock Us Down Again."
    "Could Be" is the brightest song on the album along with "Oh What A Day" with some great harmonies, more jazz influences, and some cool tropical percussion effects. There are some great heavy psychedelic guitar solos, beautiful vocals, and a really bright vibe that is a rarity of only two tracks on the album this and "Oh What A Day." Their sound is very Danish/Dutch for the whole album and that makes it very unique especially for an album that to my knowledge only gained a tiny American release.
   "The Prisoner" is where New Zealand Trading Company are at their very most disturbing. This creepy, violent, and raw, graphic story song chronicles a crazed and even more insanely desiring to get back to his "woman" escaped felon who begins by senselessly killing the dogs that are set after him during his failed run to the state border and ends on the grim note of him getting fried in an electric chair. This is the hardest track to be subjected to, but very well-written and performed. It's a great song and a very clever song, but really frightening lyrically and the music is almost as creepily phrased as the story of the track. When I listen to this I feel each time that this is really a statement of pacifism. They are saying that if you kill a living thing you will die violently.  I wish it were that way. I wish that even saying cruel words could lead to something bad happening to you that would either make you change your attitude or be severely punished. I think we've all wished something horrible to happen to somebody at many times in our life. This song begins with a man who has no reason to live except to murder and ends with his death. That could have more meaning than you think on first listening.
   "Total Stranger" ends things on a depressed and completely dejected note. However, this is a real standout track with a great use of organ and a very European vibe with again a very thickly accented voice. The affair has gone sour and there is no reason to live anymore is only the bare narrative of the lyric. There is something deeper than most broken hearted songs here and that is a sense of being a completely lost outsider who has been turned away from the one he loves to the point of severe depression. The vocal is solo this time with no harmonies, very stark, and full of what sounds like real pain and anguish. There is a brutal guitar solo and an Aphrodite's Child gone into miserable near suicidal depression vibe about this.. This record is a lot like Ache and I love it nearly as much as I love Ache's PICTURES FROM CYCLUS 7. The major differences here are mainly that no two albums are exactly alike and that instead of ending on a note of optimism like Ache New Zealand Trading Company end with despair. This is probably the best Northern European fucked up progressive album not recorded by a Northern European band! Think now of how strange that is. I can't fathom how they came up with this record. A Maori band who sound like Europeans I would think would be impossible- even the Maori band part is a real exception. If you want something mild and sunshine oriented like the wrong descriptions of this you'll be horrified by it, but if you want a great, brilliant, amazing psych into progressive masterpiece you can place up there with the best look no further. If you find this album and you love that dark freaky European sound then don't pass up the opportunity to hear a great record. I'd highly recommend New Zealand Trading Company. It has a permanent place in my collection.
             

Much Thanks To Bill Bonham And Matt Bridger Fairfield Ski Now Recieve The Praise They Deserve For A Lost Masterpiece

   Hi everybody, I've been gone for a long time battling a serious illness and going through much pain with a million and one reasons to never trust anyone again, but out of that gloom came some surprisingly good news from the original keyboard player of the not-even-known-who-they-were Fairfield Ski. I just recently during more crisis and domestic horrors have had a little light from co lead singer (on the rockier stuff)/bass player Matt Bridger! This band recorded the best album in British progressive music history and it never even gained a promo release at the time. Their album only made it to the acetate stage- that means a thick grimy slab of metal that looks bad and sounds like shit usually. This was completely unbelievable as had this very strongly crafted album and great talented band gained a release it would have placed them at the top. Until YouTube came to me with a surprise message from Bill Bonham, the keyboard player (And a great one at that!) I had no clue who these guys were. I mistakenly thought they were from the North of England or Scotland, but as it turns out all four members Bonham (keyboards/vocals), Nigel Wright (who sings the orchestrated softer tracks), Dave Hynds (Drums/lyrics on a lot of tracks/vocals), and Matt Bridger (bass/lead and backing vocals) hailed from music city par excellence Birmingham and Bill gives his/the band's story here from an interview this humble and great British expatriate (he's in America now) did with me, although I should point out that when he says the band split because Bridger left it was really because their publishing company went bankrupt:

                                  -Bill Bonham Sets The Record Straight-

"I myself played with john bonham and Robert Plant I have studied music since six and also played with Terry Reid and a lot more. I had left Terry due to an illness and came back to the Birmingham England area and saw an advert for a keyboard player for a band called the Cheetahs
(Check them at  http://brumbeat.net/    There was a guy involved named Nigel Husselby who financed and produced us. He died a few years ago from a heart attack. The name came from his girlfriend a PAN AM flight attendant named Ski from Fairfield  USA.
I wrote the arrangements for some and others were done by session guys. We all wrote music and lyrics and Nigel was not influenced by anyone in particular maybe Buddy Holly.. We disbanded after Matt quit and fell apart. I learned of this from Dave Hynds. There is an album coming out in Europe this June with a follow up from recordings we made back then.
Nigel and I also played in Sight and Sound another Birmingham band then we both came to the USA in 1975. I stayed and he went back home. I stay in touch with all of them still.
We never made a dime from anything and I suppose progressive rock is a correct term.
I was quite shocked to learn about the album a disc was found at an airport in Germany a while ago and after searching they found Dave and so it goes on.. Not sure how I feel as I have had so many disappointments through the years. The music business was hijacked by the attys who fear anything new and creative they want only what works that is why music is all the same these days
You can also find more from me at www.billbonham.com and at the brumbeat site. Bill"

It should be noted by me and as said by Matt Bridger that it was actually the bankrupt state of their publishing company that is the accurate reason for why the band split up, but despite this handicap the band are all still the best of friends and are very proud of the work they did together back in the early 70s.

        -Fairfield Ski The Legend The Betrayal By A Long Gone Geek The Vindication Coming-

     Bill Bonham became a Christian, but it was Matt Bridger who wrote "Man From Galilee" which sounds like Sweet gone subtly Christian progressive. A more progressive Move or Sweet may be a good comparison for their music, but with the meaningful name of Fairfield Ski especially in light of manager/man behind the band name Nigel Husselby's sadly not being here with us any longer changed to Fairfield Sky it is a really awful ending that on the scant few pressings done some years ago their name is changed from "Ski" to "Fairfield Sky" which is blatant skullduggery. The "reissue" came with a horrible wronger-than-wrong paste on liner note and no cover except for a tiny pasted on black and white bit of nothing on the front. This is the long gone asshole who shall go nameless's slandering of the band and it is also unfortunately the only way you'll hear this. The acetate barely exists and when copies were found they sold on the high thousands range making this rare hack job the only way you can hear their music. I can see why Bill Bonham would have mixed feelings, but at least if you fork over $125 or under for this less than satisfactory necessity you can tell that this is one of the most impressive albums ever made- that alone is a sign of coming vindication. If I had my own reissue label this would be the first album I'd put out. I suppose you want to know what makes it the best melodic psych into mellow progressive record ever. Can I back up my high praise? Oh I can you bet! For one thing Fairfield Ski could write intelligent, melodic, and inventive songs in several different genres yet be able to fit their sound under the "progressive" banner more for the inventive arrangements and powerful organ work than some of the more overblown aspects of that genre. A perfect case in point is the wistful strings and brass augmented ballad "Silver Tavern" which begins the record. Nigel Wright's soft high vocal never strains despite the Clifford T. Ward alike fragility of his voice on this track which is about how lonely a musician can be. So many songs have been written about being in a dead end pub and drinking your sorrows away, but there is a twist to "Silver Tavern." He has gone to the tavern not in search of a few 15 beers which is a small amount for an Englishman, but he is trying to persuade someone he meets in the tavern to be his romantic partner. The song is all about the hardships of a musician which is almost spooky as no sooner would Fairfield Ski complete their album than it wouldn't even see a release come about. The session players take the arrangement of this song into the stratosphere, but the most impressive thing is Nigel's voice and the atmosphere the band are able to create whilst they string pop right along with progressive. 

    "Circus" is much heavier yet still ultra melody oriented. Not a hard rock band really and they weren't intending this to be a hard rock album, but for hard rockers "Circus" with its light Uriah Heep meets Sweet meets Queen sound will be the album's standout. Bonham comes in with forceful organ work, the rhythm section fire high with the attack, and Matt Bridger's voice  is very gentle almost  sounding like Pete Dello or Ray Cane of Honeybus meets the late lamented Sweet frontman Brian Connolly. Since Brian Connolly is my favourite singer practically and Sweet my favourite band I guess I can come right out and say I was big into this one from the start! However, there is the vocal similarity to Brian Connolly and Sweet at their most pop psych/light glam, but other perhaps even better points of reference are The Left Banke, The Zombies, and Yorkshire's equally ill-fated Angel Pavement. Like Angel Pavement's singer Paul Smith Bridger and Wright tend to be very quiet and mellow in his delivery and you could also say they sometimes sound a little bit like Colin Blunstone. However, there is just enough force there to make Brian Connolly an even more apt comparison. Also, like Sweet, Fairfield Ski were four multitalented individuals who formed a very cohesive unit. "Circus" is the one out and out rocker, but they stay really sharp and focused without going into a pointless barrage of noise. The organ solo rivals Keith Emerson, though, bringing a heavy keyboard into melodious progressive pop. 

     "Would You Mind/The Writer" is both a medley and a long two part epic. Easily the best progressive track ever recorded by a British band along with the likes of bands like England, Yes, Northwind, Shape Of The Rain's "Broken Man" rocker, Kestrel (someone please get me an original of that!), and a few other really brilliant ones (I'm thinking Yes and Camel, but this is even better!)  it really is shocking, horrendous, and unfathomable that Fairfield Ski were completely fucked over without the album coming out at all! You won't believe me until you hear this probably, but it rivals even Yes!!!!! Yes for me are the best progressive band that made it- Yes and Uriah Heep. I also have to give a high ranking to Procol Harum so I think you know what's coming- Bridger sings just as well or better (if such a thing is even possible) than Jon Anderson and the inventive huge sound created by the band is grandiose in a Procol Harum/mellow Uriah Heep kind of way. "Would You Mind" the first part reminds me heavily of the late 60s when everything was really happening and music had become a way of blowing the mind and taking it new places. Lay back and let the waves of sound wash over you. The lyrics, like the whole album, are friendly and inviting asking you to come on in and have a good time. Glam was big in 1973 when this was recorded, but there was already beginning to be the split between the serious musicians like Sweet and throwaway rubbish like Paper Lace with Fairfield Ski firmly the former not the latter. There are glam like moments on the album, but here the sound is very progressive. Bonham's majestic organ is the main instrument and soars above the rhythm section. There are some psychedelic effects at irregular intervals, but this song isn't just an average progressive epic it says something important.The lyrics are Anti men who hate and destroy and have no love with a strong Pacifist/Anti Bigotry message:

    "I"d Like To Write A Book For Future Eyes To Read/Men Without Love Are Souls That Are Dead Like A Book That You've Got, But Already Read"

I couldn't agree more. Most soldiers I've met in person haven't been without love, but they've been a both with a lot of love and a lot of fighting spirit in them. I've had a lot of good times with soldiers so I can't say they are "Men Without Love," but the line in this song nails it to any man who doesn't have love and only has hate. If you hate everybody and can't give or receive affection you should be dead.  I probably am going to have to mention The Move and The Beatles here as influences too with a bit of Roy Wood here and there and some Lennon/McCartney magical vibes too. You listen to this track and the amount of love and effort put into it makes the band's bad luck heartbreaking. Most people will never hear this and it beats out anything else. Nothing else is as good as this that I can think of! Certainly the bullshit that was/is/always will be Pink Floyd failed miserably at attempting to create a similar kind of huge wall of sound. Pink Floyd sound like pompous prats compared to "Would You Mind/The Writer." The song also comes to a very psychedelic ending with backwards vocal effects and lots of phasing. The bastard who put this out compared this to Forever Amber and that is both relevant and way off the mark. Forever Amber is another example of one of the most amazing records ever made and a band that ran into a lot of bad luck and personnel issues amongst themselves which also did not help them to gain a proper release. However, there is a big difference among many big differences. Forever Amber had only a measly 99 copies pressed of their masterpiece THE LOVE CYCLE, but it is an actual album release and was later given royal treatment by the great Tenth Planet label only to go out of print as soon as it was officially put out! Don't know why! 

       Side Two of Fairfield Ski is something different altogether and shows a more overtly pop side to their progressive ambitions with plenty of brilliant hooks and amazing vocals from Nigel, Bill on "Meet Me At The Station," and Matt on the rockin' stuff. The harmonies are beautiful and some tracks like "Meet Me At The Station" in particular sound like fellow Brummies The Idle Race had Jeff Lynne reformed the group. Jeff Lynne, well there's another genius I could say I'm reminded of by Fairfield Ski. If you want hooks, melodies, beautiful music look no further. "Something On Your Mind" should have gained the band a worldwide album release and gone to number one the world over, but how many times am I gonna have to express that this band was given the worst letdown ever for a band with so much going for them. Maybe The Magic Lanterns gaining a US release (it probably was a comp) and a smash hit with "Shame Shame" was just luck. Maybe it all is just luck if you go anywhere at all! If I had more hair left (I have some, but not like my old big page boy bangs and seductive locks!) I'd be tearing it out over how bad things were for Fairfield Ski! And not even an official release to introduce the world to their great music. I would not put them in with Northwind or Dog That Bit People because they don't have rural or folkrock leanings despite the melodic sound all 3 bands share. Fairfield Ski are coming more from a progressive pop side and that makes for a different masterpiece than many other British early 70s releases. The songs on Side Two are all fairly short and some are very much like Clifford T. Ward, Honeybus, The Zombies, The Left Banke, and McCartney, but even with all those other superb artists named this is pure Fairfield Ski all the way. Standout tracks are "Something On Your Mind," "Meet Me At The Station," "Si Te Dois Partis," "Suddenly I'm sure" with lovely harmonies, and the beautiful closing track "Time Is Fast Approaching/Goodnight." I've mentioned the whole side I think! This is really something special. England was going through something of a musical upheaval and musical brilliance in the 60s and 70s, but this may well be the best it ever got and it wasn't even a record at the time. So the best thing to do is unfortunately to try and find this bad release from 1996 long out of print and be contented with what matters most- the music.

   My sincere thanks and appreciation to Bill Bonham and Matt Bridger for helping me out on this one. You made amazing music and you made some dreams come true in a life that is full of pain and fearfulness. May your brilliant music live on for eternity!