| Whatevershebringswesing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1971 | |||
| Recorded | March–August 1971 | |||
| Studio | Abbey Road Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, Canterbury scene, progressive rock, experimental rock | |||
| Length | 36.09 | |||
| Label | Harvest | |||
| Producer | Kevin Ayers, Andrew King | |||
| Kevin Ayers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Whatevershebringswesing | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Whatevershebringswesing is the third solo album by Kevin Ayers, on Harvest Records.
In 1971, Kevin Ayers started recording what would become his most acclaimed album, Whatevershebringswesing accompanied by members of Gong and his previous backing band The Whole World. Praised by NME , Record Mirror and Rolling Stone , the album realized all the musical aspirations Ayers had harboured since the inception of Soft Machine.
As with most Ayers albums, a collision of disparate styles confronts the listener but in this instance they work to extremely powerful effect. The title track with Mike Oldfield's guitar accompaniment and Robert Wyatt's wracked harmonies would become a template for Ayers subsequent '70s output. [2]
The album opens with "There Is Loving/Among Us" accompanied by David Bedford's dramatic orchestral arrangement. There follow the vignettes "Margaret" and "Oh My" where Ayers juxtaposes terse lyrics against measured backing. "Song from the Bottom of a Well" marries an explosive arrangement, again featuring Oldfield, to Ayers' cryptic lyric "This is a song from the bottom of a well / There are things down here / I've got to try and tell". The title track is notable for Oldfield's extended bass solo at the beginning, while "Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes", a flirtation with Ayers' love of early rock and roll, would become a staple of his live set for years to come, a song he would re-record twice that decade.
Many critics and fans have cited Whatevershebringswesing as their favourite Ayers album and it remains to this day a best seller in his catalogue. [1]
All tracks are written by Kevin Ayers except "Among Us" by David Bedford and "Champagne Cowboy Blues" by Mike Oldfield [3]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "There is Loving/Among Us/There is Loving" | 7:22 |
| 2. | "Margaret" | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Oh My" | 2:59 |
| 4. | "Song from the Bottom of a Well" | 4:37 |
| 5. | "Whatevershebringswesing" | 8:13 |
| 6. | "Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes" | 3:24 |
| 7. | "Champagne Cowboy Blues" | 3:56 |
| 8. | "Lullaby" | 2:14 |
David Vickerman Bedford was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter and author Herbert Bedford and the composer Liza Lehmann, and the son of Leslie Bedford, an inventor, and Lesley Duff, a soprano opera singer.
Kevin Ayers was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely associated with the Canterbury scene. He recorded a series of albums as a solo artist and over the years worked with Brian Eno, Syd Barrett, Bridget St John, John Cale, Elton John, Robert Wyatt, Andy Summers, Mike Oldfield, Nico and Ollie Halsall, among others. After living for many years in Deià, Mallorca, he returned to the United Kingdom in the mid-1990s before moving to the south of France. His last album, The Unfairground, was released in 2007. The British rock journalist Nick Kent wrote: "Kevin Ayers and Syd Barrett were the two most important people in British pop music. Everything that came after came from them."
Tubular Bells is the debut studio album by the British musician Mike Oldfield, released on 25 May 1973 as the first album on Virgin Records. It comprises two mostly instrumental tracks. Oldfield, who was 19 years old when it was recorded, played almost all the instruments.
June 1, 1974 is a live album of songs performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London on the titular date. The album is officially attributed to all principal performers Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico, although other well-known musicians, including Mike Oldfield, Robert Wyatt, and Ollie Halsall, also contributed to the concert. Davey 'Crabsticks' Trotter was asked to perform on the Mellotron but was unable to attend due to a previous booking.
QE2 is the sixth studio album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1980 on Virgin Records. The album was named after the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2.
Joy of a Toy is the debut solo album of Kevin Ayers, a founding member of Soft Machine. He is accompanied on the LP by pianist and arranger David Bedford as well as his erstwhile Soft Machine colleagues Robert Wyatt and Mike Ratledge, and his eventual replacement Hugh Hopper, who had previously worked with him in the semi-pro band Wilde Flowers. Among the session musicians are cellist and arranger Paul Buckmaster, jazz bassist Jeff Clyne, oboist Paul Minns and drummer Rob Tait.
Shooting at the Moon is the second solo album of Kevin Ayers, on Harvest Records. David Ross Smith of AllMusic writes:
A snapshot of the era, the album is saturated with original ideas, experimentation, and lunacy, all powered by the bottled grape.
Bananamour is the fourth studio album by Kevin Ayers and it featured some of his most accessible recordings, including "Shouting in a Bucket Blues" and his whimsical tribute to Syd Barrett, "Oh! Wot A Dream". After Whatevershebringswesing, Ayers assembled a new band anchored by drummer Eddie Sparrow and bassist Archie Legget and employed a more direct lyricism. The centrepiece of the album is "Decadence", his withering portrait of Nico: "Watch her out there on display / Dancing in her sleepy way / While all her visions start to play / On the icicles of our decay / And all along the desert shore / She wanders further evermore / The only thing that's left to try / She says to live I have to die." The song was later covered by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church on their 1999 album A Box of Birds.
The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories is the fifth studio album by Kevin Ayers. Ayers moved to Island Records for this release which employed a vast array of session musicians. The album also marked the arrival of Patto guitarist Ollie Halsall, who would become a constant musical partner for Ayers. Other notable musicians are ex-King Crimson drummer Michael Giles, and Steve Nye and Simon Jeffes of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. The album was critically acclaimed on release with the NME's Nick Kent describing it as "Ayers' most formidable recorded work to date". The album features many of Ayers' most accessible songs and arrangements.
Sweet Deceiver is the sixth studio album by Kevin Ayers and his last for Island Records. It is one of Ayers’ more rock-oriented productions, with the first side featuring the progressive material, while the second was more mainstream. Guitarist Ollie Halsall was now a key foil for Ayers and his playing on the opening track “Observations” is a clear demonstration of his dexterity. Elton John also joined the sessions, contributing some outstanding piano work to several tracks, including “Circular Letter” and “Toujours Le Voyage”.
Yes We Have No Mañanas is the seventh studio album by Kevin Ayers, released in June 1976. This LP marked Kevin Ayers' return to the leftfield Harvest label. Producer Muff Winwood employed a straightforward pop production that clipped some of Ayers' usual eccentricities from the tapes.
That's What You Get Babe is the ninth studio album by Kevin Ayers and his final recording for Harvest.
Diamond Jack and the Queen of Pain is the tenth solo album by Kevin Ayers, a founding member of Soft Machine.
Falling Up is the thirteenth studio album by Kevin Ayers, released on Virgin Records in 1988.
Still Life with Guitar is the fourteenth studio album by Kevin Ayers. It was the final recording to feature guitarist Ollie Halsall, who died shortly after its release. Ayers would not record another album of new material for fifteen years.
"Butterfly Dance" was the second Kevin Ayers single. It was an exclusive release that did not appear on the contemporaneous album Shooting at the Moon. The flip side was a French-language version of Ayers’ "May I?".
"Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes" was a Kevin Ayers single release. The song taken from his classic 1971 album Whatevershebringswesing. It would be re-released as a single in 1976 when Ayers re-signed to Harvest Records. The B-side, 'Stars' was a non album track that would be later included on the 1976 compilation Odd Ditties.
Edgar Broughton Band is the self-titled third album by the Edgar Broughton Band. The album is known amongst fans as "The Meat Album", as the album cover features meat on hangers in a warehouse; a human can also be seen hanging amongst the meat. The 2004 CD reissue features three bonus tracks. Several outside musicians were used on this album including Mike Oldfield of Tubular Bells fame.
Nurses Song with Elephants is the debut solo album of David Bedford. It was released in 1972 by Dandelion Records. It features Mike Oldfield, Kevin Ayers and composer Gilbert Biberian.
Hang is the fifth studio album by American indie rock duo Foxygen, released on January 20, 2017 on Jagjaguwar.
