LITTLE RED RECORD

A Canterbury classic for sure, the second Mole album rocks hard with driving jazz-rock and great musicianship. Brian Eno's electronic intro to Gloria Gloom (a song later covered by Henry Cow) is outstanding, but the 'voiceover' gimmick is simply annoying and what should have been an anthem is rather thrown away. The witty but blasphemous 'God Song' on the other hand stands up as one of the best songs of the entire scene, perhaps why Phil Miller is still playing it with Hatfield and the North. Side two then noodles off into jazz again, and leaves you feeling slightly shortchanged. Fripp and Wyatt did not get on, which might explain the undercooked taste of this album, but it's still a lot of fun if you skip the most self-indulgent bits.