CUTTING BOTH WAYS

With a lineup of Phil Miller, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, Pete Lemer, Pip Pyle, Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskins you know you can count on something very special, and they deliver big time. Phil Miller and his band IN CAHOOTS perform 4 of the tracks which were done live in studio, while Phil hooked up with the husband and wife duo of Stewart and Gaskins to record two tracks which were given the full studio treatment. So yes this is where the title of the album comes from "Cutting Both Ways". A big nod to my friend Tom Ozric who has already reviewed this record and has helped me a lot in my understanding and enjoyment of the Canterbury scene.

"Green & Purple Extract" sounds almost orchestral in the beginning with the sax standing out the most. We get a pleasant melody 2 1/2 minutes in. Excellent sound 4 minutes in that is very jazzy. It settles right down before 7 minutes as a smooth sax melody arrives. Miller is great on guitar after 9 minutes as Hopper does his thing. Nice. The guitar stops 11 minutes in as Dean takes over with his sax. "Eastern Religion" is such a beautiful song. Pyle's playing is so delicate 2 minutes in. The keyboard work really shines as well. "Second Sight" features some throbbing bass as the sax plays over top. Light drums and keys fill out the sound. The sax really leads the way but Hopper is also quite prominant.

"Hard Shoulder" features the lovely Barbara Gaskins doing some vocal melodies as this one has more of a "rock" feel to it when the heavier drum sounds arrive after a minute. Some good guitar as well from miller. "Figures Of Speech" features light drums and some synth-guitar from Miller. A very heavenly sounding song. Tasteful guitar before a minute. Love the sound before 6 minutes. Spacey sounds 8 minutes in to end it. "Green & Purple" has a dramatic intro as heavy drums and sax follow. It settles down as light drums, bass and sax lead the way. Some great sax work from Dean here. The guitar leads the way after 3 minutes. Lots of sax and synths late.

Just an enjoyable listen from start to finish. A good place to escape from the world for a while.