The Canterbury Appreciation Thread

song_of_copper wrote: It took a while, but I've fallen in love with Hatfield and the North.

This puts such a big smile on my face. 

And yet, I think you'll love National Health even better.

^^

want to get

A fair amount of record stores I went in usually had a decent, albeit tiny, collection of 'Canterbury Scene' albums, though usually it was limited to Soft Machine and Caravan.

Dick Heath wrote: Chameleon wrote: I went to Canterbury on my vacation.   I don't think many Canterbury musicians live in Canterbury anymore - when I stayed there 2 years ago there was no indication the Canterbury musical genre was recognised anymore locally.

Isn't it true that even at the time the musicians that comprised the scene didn't really have much to do with the actual town of Canterbury?  Forgive me for quoting wikipedia, but from the "Canterbury Scene" wiki entry:

There is debate about the existence and definition of the scene. Dave Stewart has complained at the nomenclature as he and many other musicians identified with the Canterbury scene never had anything to do with Canterbury, the place. The former Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper, who lives in Whitstable, near Canterbury, has said: "I think it's a rather artificial label, a journalistic thing... I don't mind it, but people like Robert [Wyatt], he in fact hates that idea, because he was born somewhere else and just happened to go to school here. In the time when the Wilde Flowers started we hardly ever worked in Canterbury. It wasn't until Robert and Daevid went to London to start Soft Machine that anything happened at all. They weren't really a Canterbury band [...] if it helps people understand or listen to more music then it is fine." ^[4]


Edited by NaturalScience - August 21 2008 at 09:49

Chameleon wrote: I went to Canterbury on my vacation.

C'mon now people.  Canterbury rules and you know it.  

Have a listen to this:

Mike Howlett has also since produced many bands and musicians... including Gang of Four, A Flock of Seagulls, Martha and the Muffins and The Thompson Twins.

That's quite a leap from being a member of Gong!

Dick Heath wrote: HughesJB4 wrote: NaturalScience wrote: Still haven't obtained any more Caravan, bah.  Although I must admit they're probably among my least favorite Canterbury bands, the only good thing is that means they're still awesome.   I've already got the feelin they will be the least favorite Canterbury band if I hear them once I've heard all the rest of the main ones, if indeed I like Caravan at all, but even so I recognize their contribution to music in general BTW, I heard Facelife from Third, very crazy. I'm now curious about Holdsworth's contribution to the band, as I've kinda made it known I dig his playing a lot.   In some respects AH joining SM was a radical departure, except Holdsworth is/has been renown for wanting to be a saxophonist more than your average guitarists and you can hear that come through more often than not - woodwind players go back to Brian Hopper also on Volume 2. The story goes Karl Jenkins didn't fancy taking the main lead duties, whilst Mike Ratledge  was in his dotage, so Holdsworth was drafted in. The previous guitarist had been future Policeman Andy Summers but that for USA touring only in 1969. Kevin Ayers dabbled and then you get back to Daevid Allen in 1967. Somebody is playing acoustic guitar  to Wyatt's vocals on Dedicated To You... (on Volume 2), was that Hugh Hopper?

Holdsworth has been quoted as saying he "doesnt really like the sound of the guitar" and prefers the sound of the saxophone. An odd man really, but I think it's pretty clear he probably loves the guitar. His smooth high gain legato sound was his attempt to sound like a saxophone I guess, but hell who cares his tone is good anyway. Thanks for that bit of info too

And yes, on Volume Two, Hugh Hopper did indeed play acoustic guitar.

That Andy Summers reference reminded me...I was reading through the liner notes of my Police box set (basically contains all their studio releases) and was astonished at all the prog links - I had gotten the set when I was a lot younger and not heard of these bands - particularly Mike Howlett (ex-Gong) trying to recruit Sting and Summers into a band called Strontium 90, as a sort of Gong reunion band - then Wikipedia claims Howlett wanted Chris Cutler to play drums!  Then of course Stewart Copeland was in Curved Air...some really great stories here!