DAEVID ALLEN & EUTERPE: GOOD MORNING!

3.5 stars. Rounded up. Daevid Allen's second release is a good one, better than the debut or the one that follows in my opinion. He has the Spanish acoustic band EUTERPE helping out and these guys are players despite my distaste for acoustic music.

Gilli Smyth adds vocals and it's pretty cool that Mike Howlett adds bass to "Wise Men In Your Heart" while Pierre Moerlen adds percussion to this song that they both composed. It's the longest at 11 1/2 minutes and my favourite. The bass here is outstanding to say the least. Love the atmosphere and we get vocals coming and going. Vocal expressions too. The opener is a top three, a beautiful song called "Children Of The New World" with acoustic guitar and almost spoken vocals. How about "French Garden" a song that stood out for me from the start. Pleasant vocal melodies before the singing starts. It all turns fuller. So good. I don't usually mention bonus tracks as I like to stick to the original album but once in a blue moon I come across a really good bonus tune like "Euterpe Gratitude Piece" a live one at almost 10 minutes. So spacey and it's like the soundtrack to a movie scene where someone enters Heaven. Check out the psychedelic laughter at one point as the audience roars. The rooster from the title track makes an appearance later.

A solid album that has that Allen charm in spades. Can't go lower than 4 stars for this 1976 release.