You can't help but envy Windsong! They've cornered the access to an unbeatable product with a guaranteed market. What's good too is that they've not just picked out the megabands but are treating it like the archive that it is, where everything is of value to someone somewhere. They've had some stick from some quarters over presentation and inaccuracies but at least they're releasing stuff no-one else is and I hope they go on for many years releasing every scrap. The alternative is that it stays in the vaults where we've no choice.

No carping on this little beauty which brings us a set of 9 songs from a BBC In Concert programme recorded at the Paris Theatre, London on the evening of Thursday 6th January 1972 and broadcast on the evening of Saturday 15th January 1972, compered by 'Whispering' Bob Harris whose whispers have been, regrettably for the extra two minutes they would have consumed, expunged from the CD. To put the set into context, the third Harvest album WHATEVERSHEBRINGSWESING had just been released, Ayers had left Gong after a two month tour of Europe and the UK and the initial promotional plan was to tour with band and small orchestra. The genesis for this lay in Ayers' desire to explore the more 'symphonic' side of things as a direct result of the 'There is Loving/ Among Us/ There Is Loving' track that opens 'Whatevershebrings'. With a central chunk that recycles 1970's 'Butterfly Dance', the track gives free reign to David Bedford's talents as an arranger. Bedford went on to provide orchestral arrangements for more of Kevin's songs, new and old - a logical extension of work on 'JOY OF A TOY'- and these form the basis of the Windsong set. Listening to some of the arrangements, I'm sure that Bedford had been carrying them around in his head for a long time as little trills and frills and snatches from the band's sets back in 1970 keep appearing.

Ayers reassembled the Whole World for the gig - Bedford, Coxhill, Oldfield and Dave Dufort on drums. This was a line-up that hadn't played together as such since early 1971. ( Coxhill had left to return to Delivery, Dufort left in May 1971 to play with Alex Harvey (?) and William Murray on drums and Andy Robertson on bass had joined the Whole World ). Dufort isn't mentioned in the Windsong note though Archie Legget is. He was certainly a lodger in Lady June's flat around this time and of course a few weeks or so after the In Concert gig was playing with Kevin as Archibald but there doesn't seem to be any evidence that he played as part of this earlier project. Definitely not present was Mick Fincher - music's best disappearing act - fondly remembered in Kevin's sleeve note.

The orchestra was a 12 or 14 piece one, depending on different evidence. Girl singers were also there, possibly the Ladybirds. There were reported problems with amplifying the acoustic instruments and problems with under-rehearsal which perhaps explain why the orchestra is more in evidence on some tracks than others. With unashamed bias I like all the songs very much, they're all strong, Golden Age Ayers and it's only personal preference rather than objectivity that will separate the tracks in the view of most enthusiasts. For the Desert Island I'd choose 'Colores Para Dolores' as the most satisfyingly embellished track; on the other hand I'd select 'Why Are We Sleeping' as the track that doesn't quite respond as well to orchestral treatment because its force depends on its rawness. Oldfield fans will note with glee the 'Tubular Bells' bit though a touch of the Hornpipe was again a long established Whole World tradition.

For some reason which shouldn't be necessary on a CD, Windsong have altered the original order of the set. If you wish to restore this then the CD program should read 2,5,6,4,3,7,1,8,9. The orchestral project never progressed any further on a public stage due to the prohibitive cost. One recorded version of 'Lady Rachel' from February 1972 survives on 'Odd Ditties' and of course we shall always wonder if there's more somewhere. The Whole World came together one final time to play the Old Grey Whistle Test on the 4th April 1972 when they did 'May I' and 'Oh My'. Why do bands like that have to become history?

Thank you, Windsong. Just to help you with the next batch, there's an In Concert 'Banana Follies' from 07/10/72 and wouldn't the two sessions from 19/04/75 and 23/10/76 fit nicely onto one CD!

(MW)