Search - Kevin Ayers :: Didn't Feel Lonely Till I Thought of You

THE ISLAND YEARS!

JIM G. | FLORIDA | 03/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a fantastic bargain for the price..You get all three Island albums: "Dr. Dream", "Sweet Deceiver", & "June 1,1974"..

As an added bonus you get the three hard to find single sides as bonus tracks..



If you don't own any of these albums on cd yet, I suggest you go for this release..The remastering is fantastic and the booklet is great..Not much else to say..Classic Kevin Ayers!



You should own it!"

Bananas, Dreams, Wine, Women, And Song

Mike B. | 02/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"(Ayers quote, explaining why he mentions bananas in some of his songs: "When life gets too serious, throw in a banana".)



Half of the concert album "June 1, 1974" is devoted completely to the songs of Kevin Ayers, and served as my introduction to this fascinating artist. It's a succinct "best of", or greatest hits of his most popular songs up to that point. The other half of the concert is equally impressive, featuring great performances by Eno, Nico, and John Cale.



I'd suggest that newcomers to Ayers may want to start with this CD package, or the single CD of "June 1 ,1974" that's available by itself - just to see if they like him.



Where to start with his distinctive bass voice and languid style? He sounds somewhat like Serge Gainsbourg, Nick Drake, and to a lesser extent - Leonard Cohen. He also shares their European sensibility and easy-going ways, though he rocks harder than any of them at times. Material-wise, his lyrics and music are as playful and whimsical as vintage Donovan. It's not too far-fetched to compare him to Jimmy Buffett. Both have a penchant to write about "the good life" and toast it with drink held high. In short, if you're a fan of any of these artists, then you'll almost certainly love the amiable Kevin.



It's interesting that Nico is on the "live" album, as she occupied the same position in The Velvet Underground as Ayers did in Soft Machine (sing two songs on the first album and then get out of the band). On his masterpiece "The Confessions Of Doctor Dream", he duets with her at one point during the title track. I think this is his greatest album, and was his last to feature extended song suites and avant-rock instrumental breaks. It features a radically revamped "Why Are We Sleeping?" (from the first Soft Machine album), the masterful guitar histrionics of the late Ollie Halsall, and many tracks that continue to be staples of his "live" act to this very day. Fans of the freakier Pink Floyd albums (think "Ummagumma") will like this one.



After this album he released "Sweet Deceiver" - his first album in the more conventional "songs" format - no extended weirdness here, they all clock in at a normal short length, with conventional choruses and bridges. It's his most commercial and accessible album up to that point, and he's stayed with the conventional song format ever since on subsequent studio albums. I'm not complaining - the songs on this and the albums that followed are terrific. I'm merely pointing out that these records are quite different from "Doctor Dream" and the more experimental records that preceded it, in much the same way as The Velvet Underground's third album differed from the preceding "White Light/White Heat". Ayers truly doesn't have a bad album - they are all great and have something to recommend them. To see how good he still is, check out his 2007 CD "The Unfairground" - his first new material in 16 years. The old master's still got it!



So, there you have it. Three fantastic albums - all available individually elsewhere, or together in this value-priced package. I might add that this makes a nice companion piece to John Cale's "The Island Years", which gathers together Cale's great 3 albums for the Island record label - "Fear", "Slow Dazzle", and "Helen of Troy" (also all available individually).



Ayers, Cale, and their label were at their peak of creativity and vision during these years, and Island releases of this era (including Eno's early albums and Nico's "The End") are very influential and historic rock treasures not to be missed.

"