ANNETTE PEACOCK

While Annette's singing rubs a lot of people the wrong way, I have always loved her voice in the studio recordings I own (Bruford, X-Dreams, and this). "Real & Defined Androgens" from X-Dreams has been one of my very, very favorite songs for 42 years now.

While I was still collecting music on vinyl, Annette's albums somehow could be frequently found in the "cut-out" bins and I like to pick them up. I consider Sky-Skating one of the surprise gems of those purchases. Though I haven't played it for a long time, the album's cover and the memories associated with my listens to it always and only evoke big smiles. The music is so intentionally free and loose, spacious and quirky, beautiful and austere, emotional and yet often humorous. The recording is cheesy, the arrangements are loose and haphazard (and cheesy), the lyrics cheeky and cheesy, but as a whole it is such an enjoyable diversionary listen!

Favorite songs: Nothing Outside Us, Sky-Skating, Rap With the Trees, Taking It As It Comes, Warmer Than Gold, Still Too Far, Trust.

I always wondered if quirky cerebral Canadian songstress Jane Siberry had any awareness and/or inspiration from Annette. Many know of Annette's early marriage to bassist Gary Peacock, her associations with Timothy Leary and Ram Dass, Albert Aylor and Paul Bley, her affair with the first Moog, and her collaborations with Mick Ronson, Bill Bruford, Allan Holdsworth, Brian Eno, and Karl Stockhausen, but few know of her solo work. While this isn't really progressive rock, I consider her the East Coast's answer to Joni Mitchell (or perhaps Joni was the West Coast's answer to Annette.) An excellent album for those tolerant of press-and-record music from genius lyricists, otherwise only good and non-essential. For PA, I'm gonna call it three stars; for true music lovers, this is an album I highly recommend you check out for yourselves.

I bet this is the kind of record that induces mixed feelings and reactions, even to the same person.

First comes first: Amazing musicianship, clearly emanating from the almost impossible bunch of special guests, including Mick Ronson on guitar, and Bill Bruford on drums. Almost every second something astonishing (most times in the good sense) is happening. The "songs" are mostly free-form jazzy improvisations, with Annette's vocals coming in and out, and ranging from gutural to screeching, and from understated to full-blown.

Don't worry, the girl can sing, and Bill The Great is always there, sweetening and dignifying the musical circumstance.

This album will not appeal to everyone, and not all the time to anyone. It has a very unique mood and atmosphere. The title "I have no feelings" is interesting. Actually, many of these songs are about love and feelings, some sound quite emotional. But then the sincerity and truth of love and feelings is questioned, and Annette's singing often gives me the impression of a somewhat distant, perhaps even naive and somehow uninvolved observer of herself, her lover(s) and their emotions. Not sure whether this is just to distance herself from some pain; the song "I Have No Feelings" could suggest this. At the same time, the songs also sound very direct and personal. And, if you like, philosophical.

The music on this album is very slow and calm and quite minimalist. Although there is the odd (quite interesting) instrumental part, much of the album is driven by Annette's voice, which sings slow, at times fairly simple but often quite convoluted melodies with influences from jazz and quite strongly from contemporary classic, often atonal. Much of the instrumentation, which with exception of some percussion is all played by Annette herself, often follows the melody, rhythmically and tonally, rather than providing some reliable rhythmic and harmonic ground (although complex jazz harmonies appear at times). Piano, e-piano and other keyboards are always present, and there's also some saxophone and violin. Sound-wise the album is very transparent and natural, certainly the sound is not the major playground for experimentation; one can imagine this being played in a fairly small room, and every note is important. While some composition goes in the direction of contemporary classic, the instruments are used in a rather jazzy way.

Ultimately this is a cross between experimental composition, jazz/blues feel and a singer/songwriter-like melodic orientation. If you can't imagine how these go together, I'm not surprised, because this is very special and I haven't come across anything else like it (I don't have a very good overview of Annette's output, but what else I know is also different despite certain common elements, particularly the voice, of course). At the same time, the album manages to be very coherent. In order to appreciate this album, you need an open mind and curiosity, and you should not expect typical rock/prog elements; on the other hand you're up for something that is about melody, mood and atmosphere rather than being a wild experimental onslaught. Enjoy!