Post Description

Following the release of his solo debut, Joy of a Toy, Kevin Ayers created the Whole World to take the album on the road. In retrospect, the band was a kind of Brit supergroup, comprised of young Mike Oldfield (bass/guitar), Lol Coxhill (sax), Mick Fincher (drums, occasionally subbed by Robert Wyatt), and David Bedford (keys/arrangements).

Following the tour, the band found itself in the studio, and in October 1970 Ayers introduced the world to the Whole World with the release of his follow-up, Shooting at the Moon. A snapshot of the era, the album is saturated with original ideas, experimentation, and lunacy, all powered by the bottled grape. It is this very "headiness" that propels and simultaneously hinders the work, resulting in a project overflowing with potential, much of which remained underdeveloped. Flushed and flustered, the band dissolved a little more than a year after it formed, leaving only Moon as its legacy.

Somewhere on The Moon is a solid, unique pop record; however, Ayers and producer Peter Jenner (known for his production of Roy Harper's best '70s output) have presented the material in the guise of progressive, arty rock. Shorn of its excesses, meanderings and filler, Moon is easily one of Ayers' better releases. As it stands, the album serves more as a curiosity piece peppered with some of Ayers' best pop tunes in early stages, not yet molded by later collaborations and live performances. Ayers' music is at its zenith when he's crooning (in his lovely, flat baritone) warm, daft ditties, so simplistic yet singular in nature. Moon is blessed with several of these: the uninhibited concert staple, "May I?"; "The Oyster and the Flying Fish," a folky duet with Bridget Saint John that foreshadows Ayers' 1974 collaboration with Campbell Cramer (aka Lady June); and Ayers' timeless classic, "Clarence in Wonderland," in one of its shortest (at only two minutes) incarnations. Written on the beach in 1966, this whimsical ditty is a carefree summer's day in a capsule. No songs in Ayers' discography are more representative of his amiable musical nature than these.

Tracklist:

01 - May I
02 - Rheinhardt And Geraldine , Colores Para Dolores
03 - Lunatics Lament
04 - Pisser Dans Un Violon
05 - The Oyster And The Flying Fish
06 - Underwater
07 - Clarence In Wonderland
08 - Red Green And You Blue
09 - Shooting At The Moon
10 - Gemini Child (BBC Alan Black Session)
11 - The Lady Rachel (BBC Alan Black Session)
12 - Shooting At The Moon (BBC Alan Black Session)
13 - Derby Day (BBC Top Gear Session 9 June 1970)
14 - Interview (BBC Top Gear Session 9 June 1970)
15 - We Did It Again , Murder In The Air (BBC Top Gear Session 9 June 1970)