KEVIN AYERS & THE WHOLE WORLD: SHOOTING AT THE MOON

As they point out on the "Wayside Music" site, this album is a mixture of Pop, Free Jazz and Avant-garde, a cocktail that hasn't been mixed this way since. It's wild hearing a young Mike Oldfield just ripping it up on his guitar on "Lunatics Lament". He plays a lot of bass on this album as well. I just find a lot of this music so charming and enjoyable while other songs challenge me as a listener. Some real gems in the bonus tracks as well. This is my favourite Kevin Ayers record.

"May I ?" is one of those charming songs. I just like the way he tells a story as he sings. Words like "May I sit and stare at you for a while." "Rheinhardt & Geraldina / Colores Para Delores" features keys, bass, sax and then drums join in as it builds. I like the first 2 1/2 minutes then it sounds like someone is changing the radio stations really fast for a whole minute ! Annoying. Original melody returns though. "Lunatics Lament" opens with drums as some raw guitar then vocals come in. Sounds great. Oldfield then lets go with a guitar solo 2 minutes in that ends 3 1/2 minutes in ! Vocals and that catchy melody then return. Some yelling and carrying on follow.

"Pisser Dans Un Violon" is an experimental track that lasts for 8 minutes. It starts to get dark and haunting 1 1/2 minutes in. No melody as different sounds come and go until Mike comes in on lead guitar after 7 1/2 minutes lighting it up to end it. "The Oyster And The Flying Fish" opens with male and female vocals with strummed guitar. Percussion comes in. "ooh la, ooh la, ooh la, ooh la, ooh la la". "Underwater" opens with some atmosphere. Deep bass sounds before a minute. Some guitar sounds too. The title of this song is fitting. "Clarence In Wonderland" was written by Ayers on a beach when he went on holidays with Daevid Allen in 1966. Another good story telling song. "Red Green And You Blue" is mostly vocals, sax and percussion. Nice sax solo from Coxhill 2 1/2 minutes in. "Shooting At The Moon" has a sixties flavour to it. I like it.Deep Zappa-like vocals a minute in. Sax, bass and drums are prominant(they just jam) until the vocals come back 5 minutes in.

This is an album I will want to hear again and again. It has character.