Wwooooaaaa - hold the chequebook! Part of the legend this may be, but beneath its admittedly attractive cover lurks a product whose sound quality is so dreadful it could feasibly herald the rebirth of the wax cylinder as a valid competitor. The bulk of this 50 minute monster offers us 9 songs from a Spanish TV show called Musical Express broadcast on the 3rd December 1981. Venue was more likely to have been Barcelona than Madrid given the TV credits. Presented by serious sub-Pavarottian clone Angel Casas, the programme mixed live studio performance from Ayers with snippets of interview recorded in Kevin's Deia home in Mallorca. Amusing stuff with the pictures, sure, but transferred by Mickey Mouse Productions to CD without the interviews it's grim stuff. Basic band was Ayers, Ollie Halsall in pink suit, the lovely Zanna Gregmar on electric piano and risque leotard and unknown Mallorquin bass player and drums - possibly Daniel Lagarde ( or Pedro Colon? ) and Miguel Figuerola from the December 1980 Deia Vu sessions. John Cale and Andy Summers come and go at different stages of the programme.

The opening songs 'Don't Fall In Love With Me' ( later B side to 'Animals' single ) and 'My Life' would both have been new in 1980. 'My Life', with Spanish chorus, never seems to have been developed further and , to put it kindly, it was unlikely to have ever become a classic. The full documentary then switches to views of Deia and Ayers strolling in the streets with two cherubic blond children, then to his home studio where he strums an acoustic guitar to a demo of 'Howling Man'.

The comforting presence of a Banana Follies poster on the wall contrasts strangely with the presence in the studio of four gyrating bimbos who are probably by now very nice, respectable young ladies. Kevin speaks in Spanish throughout, with all tricky grammatical structures covered by a very useful Anglo-Saxon oath. One suspects the uncharacteristic presence of alcohol too as Sub Pavarotti uncovers Kevin's plans for a concert played on car hooters and a concert with the band gigging on a beach and all the audience in boats out to sea. Kevin also says a few words about the Percusion film project which was to become a reality with 'Howling Man' as its theme tune ( more on t his in future WAWS ).

Apart from brief clips later about Ayers' views on Mike Oldfield ( like a son ), Soft Machine ( frenetic ) and Andy Summers ( ambivalent ), the rest of the film was music back in the studio, all included on this CD. Ayers in fact takes no part whatsoever in 'Heartbreak Hotel' - the rest of his band are fronted by Summers on guitar and Cale, in bowtie and baseball cap, on vocals. Cale falls over once his job is done and writhes artistically for a couple of minutes. Luckily he gets up to accompany 'Howling Man' on viola while Summers disappears and Ayers returns. Not a bad version per se but it's interesting to muse on a comment of Ayers in the interview segment that he was, in 1980, keener to express himself through music rather than lyrics. Not an effective use of his talents - the musical content would surely never salvage either 'Howling Man' or 'Africa'?

The next three tracks represent the most interesting listening of the set when Cale departs and the Ayers band is joined by Andy Summers to complete a unique (?) line - up when Summers and Halsall play together. Fascinating to compare styles - both giants of course, both sweet of tone, Ollie perhaps the Fire to Summer's Ice. Summers leads beautifully on 'Shouting In A Bucket Blues', the two trade leads on 'Didn't Feel Lonely...' and Summers again takes credit for the middle solo in 'Everybody's Sometime Blues'. The richer textures of two guitarists is evident and you curse the execrable sound quality. The interplay emphasises in turn what an open platform for instrumental development Ayers songs present....

Change again as Summers departs and Cale is edited in, adding organ to the instrumental 'Africa' and viola to the show closing 'Stop This Train'. Much horseplay ensues, Ollie loses a shoe and bounces his guitar along the stage and the credits roll over an off-white Halsallian sock caressing the strings of his beloved instrument.....

The CD wraps things up with two 'bonus' tracks - 'May I' and 'Oh My' from the BBC TV Old Grey Whistle Test of 4th April 1972 when the Whole World reformed for a final brief bash. Line-up for these two tracks then was Ayers, Bedford, Coxhill, Oldfield (on bass) and Dufort. Johnny van Derek is the violinist I believe on 'Oh My'. Sound quality again would suggest an open mike in front of a TV speaker.

I sincerely hope I've not encouraged anyone to buy this. If desperate, all the music is available on the usual tape swapping circuit but the bottom line is that listening to virtually any of the official albums would almost certainly give far greater pleasure than this ever will.

MW