The Canterbury Appreciation Thread

scruffydragon, you should check out Ultima Thule if you are 'round the area any time http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ultimathule/main.html. I know they stock that Moving Gelatine Plates disc you are looking for. Funnily enough I have never really had too much trouble finding Canterbury over here in Aus, last weekend I was down in Melbourne and nearly picked up that same disc.  

One of the reasons I moved from vinyl to cd,also the added bonus tracks were attractive..Still miss the sound of vinyl.

Richard Sinclair,wow.He's a braver man then I am.Looking at my ole photos makes me want to  .

Canterbury is fast becoming my favorite prog sub genre, or maybe it allready is, im still pretty new and so far only know the bigger bands, i yust love the canterbury sound the bands have pure magic. Dave Stewart is simply amazing love all the stuff he did with Egg, Hatfield and the north and National health.

blaughida wrote: I find this subgenre is more accessible because of its particular brand of quirkiness--I don't think I've ever played Caravan for someone who didn't like it.  I've also seen music critics who have nothing good to say about the big symphonic bands write about Canterbury groups, generally talking about the music as a fusion of "psychedelic" and "jazz" elements and avoiding that dirty word "prog."  Any thoughts on this?  Is Canterbury, perhaps, the most accessible subgenre, at least for a certain sort of music fan?

Well, Caravan have their own brand of quirky prog that borders pop at times, making them fairly accessible. The cheerful lyrics and happy music don't hurt either.

Delving deeper, however, it's kind of hit or miss as to whether prog newbies will like it or not, especially involving more technically complex groups like Egg. I didn't really like Matching Mole on first listen, either. I played The Rotter's Club in the car awhile back. We made it up until The Yes No Interlude before my mother turned it off, citing "nastiness" as the reason!

NaturalScience wrote: Well, that's another thing...I need to get some Matching Mole and Wyatt solo.  Yeesh, what a drain on the wallet!

But so worth it!

You really can't go wrong with Space Shanty. That was an album that, for me, went from 'pretty good' to 'mindblowing' in the span of a few listens. When I was in Maui I must have listened to it 5 times a day. Excellent, excellent, excellent record.

Quiet Sun's Mainstream is another excellent one, if slightly difficult to find. Sort of National Health-y, but without being derivative.

You guys should check out Moving Gelatine Plates as well, excellent French band (though a bit of a sad career story, lack of promotion and finances cut it short) that played Softs-ish keyboard-based Canterbury. The Story of Genius Hans is definitely worth looking for.

Hmm... what have I forgotten?

Well, that's another thing...I need to get some Matching Mole and Wyatt solo.  Yeesh, what a drain on the wallet! 


Edited by NaturalScience - February 27 2008 at 23:21

Just ordered National Health "Complete" and Khan "Space Shanty"!  

Indeed, splendid idea for a thread. As many have already stated, one of my favourite subs, not only because of the intermingling between Henry Cow and the Canterbury scene, but because of the light heart humourous attitude they take to their music.

I'm not really sure where to start with handing out of appreciation, but Egg have always hit a soft spot with me, the title 'The Polite Force' still amuses me after several years in my possession. And Hatfield's first album took an absolute beating on my turntable after purchasing it from a second had store for a measly $4AUS.

Also I thought  I would take my hat off a little know band from Germany who I tend to catagorise under the Canterbury banner. This would be 'Tortilla Flat', who are seemingly Germans response to the English phenomenon. Unfortunately this album has never seen a reissue and is long oop, hence remaining relatively unknown.

Canterbury rocks,yeah baby.

Still got to hear a lot of it,Supersister,cos,picchio dal pozzo.

Khans Space shanty is a great album.Love the first track where that nice sounding space guitar creeps in for a few minutes.Cannot say which is the better of the two Hatfield and the north albums,like them both far tooo.....much.

Just got the Quiet sun album,Mainstream.Sorta like national health,but much heavier sounding.

Don't forget caravans first album released on verve,probably one of the most important pieces of proto-prog ever released.Grandma's lawn and Where but for caravan would I? are really great tracks that are heading towards full on canterbury style prog.1968 was indeed a good year.