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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The Hatfields were the archetypal Canterbury rock band - good musicianship, modest egos, whimsical lyrics, a dash of student humour, a litle jazz, a little rock, complex time signatures and myriad sometimes vulgar key changes (often in mid phrase). The band's personnel tied them in to every other Canterbury band to varying degrees, whose interchange of ideas helped formulate the unique Canterbury "sound". Thus it is no surprise to see Robert Wyatt on one song, Jeremy Baines or Geoff Leigh on another.
The songs on the album frequently flow from one to the next with little discernible break, and vary in length from a few seconds to 15 minutes. THe distiguishing Hatfield sound consists of Richard Sinclair's poignant, melancholy voice, his fluent bass playing, and Dave Stewart's omnipresent keyboards. Less prominent are Phil Miller's understated jazzy guitar and Pip Pyle's drumming. Unusually a female choir - branded as "The Fabulous Northettes" augments the vocals with occasional beautiful aplomb. Outstanding tracks for me are Homerton on side one, and the strangely sad (yet typically meaningless) Fol de Rol, on which the phone rings half way through, which Sinclair answers, and the callers can be heard singing the chorus of the song from the other end! The song ends abruptly with the sound of the phone wordlessly replaced on the receiver.
Hatfield & The North are one of the few bands from the Seventies I can still listen to with pleasure, perhaps because they never made enough money to take themselves seriously, and with their short musical catalogue they left a small enthusiastic following yearning forever in vain for more.
The songs on the album frequently flow from one to the next with little discernible break, and vary in length from a few seconds to 15 minutes. THe distiguishing Hatfield sound consists of Richard Sinclair's poignant, melancholy voice, his fluent bass playing, and Dave Stewart's omnipresent keyboards. Less prominent are Phil Miller's understated jazzy guitar and Pip Pyle's drumming. Unusually a female choir - branded as "The Fabulous Northettes" augments the vocals with occasional beautiful aplomb. Outstanding tracks for me are Homerton on side one, and the strangely sad (yet typically meaningless) Fol de Rol, on which the phone rings half way through, which Sinclair answers, and the callers can be heard singing the chorus of the song from the other end! The song ends abruptly with the sound of the phone wordlessly replaced on the receiver.
Hatfield & The North are one of the few bands from the Seventies I can still listen to with pleasure, perhaps because they never made enough money to take themselves seriously, and with their short musical catalogue they left a small enthusiastic following yearning forever in vain for more.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I've just listened to this debut album of Hatfield and the North, for the first time in 15 years (recently purchased the Caroline import CD). I have no reservations in telling the uninitiated that this is a work of pure genius in the progressive mode. Hatfield were the "marrying" together of four brilliant musicians : Dave Stewart (keys), Pip Pyle (drums), Richard Sinclair (Bass and Vocals) and Phil Miller (guitars), from progressive groups in and around the London/Canterbury area in the early 1970's.
Formed from such groups as Matching Mole, Egg, Gong, Caravan etc. This album was recorded at a time when fans such as myself believed that there was indeed somewhere to progress too. They were covering new ground, synths were still relatively new and not the glorious polyphonic keyboards that the modern digital studios use today. However, some of the sounds produced by the moog on his album would still favourably grace themselves on any new recording.
Most satisfactory tracks are Going up to people and tinkling (a beautifully phrased jazz meandering on the fender rhodes from Mr Stewart, ably accompanied by inventive playing from the rest especially Richard Sinclair on Bass), Calyx a track that includes guest star Robert Wyatt on vocals (Wyatt performs a solo "scat" which suggests the melody throughout and is reminiscent of Matching Mole, but is nonetheless sublime).
Probably, the finest track on the album is Fol de Rol (Sinclair) which again drifts along in melodic jazzy style and features a stunningly understated solo by Richard Sinclair on Bass.
Personally, I have always thought that this album along with Gong's You take over the progressive baton where Pink Floyd's Dark Side left off. Hatfield went on of course to later (1975) produce the prog rock jewel in the crown with the Rotters Club, an album which deserves 10 stars.
If you are in the business of investigating prog rock starting in the mid 70's your shillings won't be wasted here some 30 years later...awesome!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Is one of the great song titles of the last fifty years or so,Hatfield and the north,were one of the more interesting Prog rock bands of the early seventies,signed to the (then)excellent virgin label,this is an intricate piece of whimsical,but highly enjoyable prog rock,Richard sinclair(also with Caravan)Pip Pyle(Also with Caravan)Phil Miller and Dave Stewart(From Egg) make a joyous cacophony of sound.
The tracks segue seamlessly into each other creating a suite of strang titled Songs that still sound good 36 years later
The tracks segue seamlessly into each other creating a suite of strang titled Songs that still sound good 36 years later
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Curate's Egg
This album is a curious mix of Caravan, Soft Machine, In Cahoots and (curate's)Egg,and - as such - is good in parts, especially the tracks featuring the 'urgency' of Phil Miller's... Read more
Published 12 months ago by musician
Echoes of Virgin labelmates
Having been 'into' prog for longer than I care to remember (25 years +) I'm ashamed to admit that Hatfield & The North are a recent discovery, despite the fact that I used to live... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Chris M.
Dense, rewarding, costly...
The Hatfields were amongst the more commercial of Virgin's 70's output (which is going some) harnessing the classical/rock influenced former Egg keyboard wizard Dave Stewart to the... Read more
Published on 7 April 2010 by Rob Brook
Little-known masterpiece
A great record - whimsical jazz-rock from the Canterbury school. With Dave Stewart at the helm this CD glides from one track to another and is only surpassed in brilliance by the... Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2010 by Mr. Michael L. Godwin
Ethereal noodles
As someone who has liked virtually everything else the musicians on this record have created I was surprised to find I didn't like it. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2009 by malc400
Hurtling through the stars
We'll never hear their like again, music has been in reverse gear ever since. I quite like it to the point of sweeping overstatement tempered by irony.
Published on 13 July 2008 by Fitter Stoke
Progressive Masterpiece
A fantastic debut album from the canterbury supergroup.
This is what progressive rock's all about - complex yet enjoyable music. Read more
This is what progressive rock's all about - complex yet enjoyable music. Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2004 by B. Haimovici
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