The Confessions Of Dr Dream And Other Stories [Original recording remastered]

One of the last great Kevin Ayers albums (his first for Island records now re-released on Harvest/EMI), `The Confessions of Doctor Dream', features his irascible wit and quirky writing which is highlighted best by the `Confessions of Doctor Dream' suite which made up side two of the original album.
Other songs on the album are: a remake of `Why are we sleeping' from the first `Soft machine' album, re-titled for this album `It Begins with a Blessing / Once I Awakened / But It Ends with a Curse', the rather splendid `Ball bearing Blues', and the jaunty `Didn't Feel Lonely Till I Thought of You'. Demos for a lot of this material can be found on an album called `What more can I say..' also available from Amazon.

Bonus material has all appeared on CD before three non album songs which made up 75% of the singles from this period the other song appearing on the album. And 4 tracks from a John Peel session contemporary to this release. The sound quality to my mind suffers from the curse of modern mastering in that its loud, and as such some of the dynamics are not as good as they could be. Fans of Kevin Ayers will love this album and the casual buyer will not be disappointed either.

The Band:
KEVIN AYERS - Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars
SAM MITCHELL - Electric Guitar
MARK WARNER - Acoustic & Electric Guitars
RUPERT HINE - Clavinet, Organ, ARP Synthesiser, Electric Piano & Percussion on 3
JOHN PERRY - Bass
MIKE GILES - Drums
THE G'DEEVY ENSEMBLE - Percussion
DORIS TROY, ROSETTA HIGHTOWER and JOANNE WILLIAMS - Backing Vocals
SIMON JEFFES - Brass Arrangement

The Guests:
RAY COOPER [of Elton John's Band] - Percussion on 2 and 9
SEAN MILLIGAN - Backing Vocals on 2
OLLIE HALSALL [of Patto] - Guitar Solo on 3 and Guitar on 14 and 15
MIKE OLDFIELD - Guitar Solo on 4
CAL BATCHELOR - Guitar on 4
HENRY CRALLAN - Piano on 4
STEVE NYE - Organ on 5 and Electric Piano on 8 and 9
MIKE MORAN - Piano on 5
LOL COXHILL - Saxophone on 5
THE HULLOO CHOIR - Backing Vocals on 5
NICO - Vocals on 7
JOHN GUSTAFSON - Bass on 8 - TREVOR JONES - Bass on 9
MIKE RATLEDGE - Organ on 10

I remember buying this album in the summer of 1974 in Dublin - I liked the laminate embossed sleeve, I liked Island Records as a label and I like the price - two quid. But when I got it home and played it - I just didn't get it. I didn't know what to make of the disparate song styles nor did I like the really heavy drug-addiction references that permeated so many of the tracks - especially the 4-part suite on Side 2. But of course across time, and several plays, I grew to love it - and even though I traded other albums in second hand shops to feed my music addiction - I never parted with my two quid deal.

Here's the breakdown...
Tracks 1 to 11 make up the album released on Island ILPS 9263 in May 1974; 12 to 18 are bonus tracks, four John Peel Sessions and 3 non-album singles (65:50 minutes). The 8-page booklet is packed with details and has an album overview by MARK POWELL. But the SOUND is the big news. The original vinyl LP had quiet parts on it and was always difficult to get a copy that wasn't scratched by taking it in and out of its white inner card sleeve - these quiet parts on preceding CDs were hissy and less than useful. Now - on this stunning 2009 REMASTER - it finally sounds like the business - clean and clear and with just the muscle the music's always needed. There's an acoustic break at about 2:33 on "The One Chance Dance" that brought it all back for me - fantastic sound - great stuff - and very cool too.

The remaster has been done by PETER MEW at ABBEY ROAD and in order to put this into a sound-quality context - check out his extraordinary work on the COLLECTOR'S EDITIONS of Dr. Feelgood's "Down By The Jetty" and Jethro Tull's "This Was". He also added sonic uplifts to "Duncan Browne" by Duncan Browne (his 1973 album on RAK with "Journey" on it) and the truly fabulous sound on the DELUXE EDITION of Free's "Fire And Water". I've reviewed them all - he's an engineer's name I'll be looking out for in the future - even Ayers himself has praised his skill having allowed Mew to handle all of his back catalogue remasters.

Mike Oldfield's tasty guitar work makes the mellow and languid "Everybody's Sometimes..." while Nico's vocals empower the druggy "Irreversible..." with a genuinely sinister feel. But by far the best addition is the blistering guitar pyrotechnics of Patto's OLLIE HALSALL ("Didn't Feel Lonely...") who also turns up on two of the four Peel Sessions bonus tracks. They were recorded 7 July 1974 at the BBC's Maida Vale studios. The 24-second "Another Whimsical Song" is a cute ditty, but "Lady Rachel" is beautiful - it's a solo acoustic take of a track off 1969's "Joy Of A Toy" and it sound so good - could have been recorded yesterday. After them follows two band efforts, another "Joy Of A Toy" track and a fab rockin' version of "Didn't Feel Lonely..." where Halsall reproduces that fantastic guitar work again. They are 2009 remasters even though they turned up on 2005's "BBC Sessions" 2CD set - done again for better sound.

The last 3 are non-album single sides - rare on vinyl and make a welcome addition here. "The Up Song" was released ahead of the album in April 1974 on Island WIP 6194 (the album track "Everybody's Sometimes..." was its B-side), while "After The Show" b/w "Thank You Very Much" followed the May LP in July on Island WIP 6201. The acoustic strum and deep-throated vocals of "Thank You..." is very rare and barely even documented outside of fan circles - it thoroughly deserves to be rediscovered.

So there you have it - a strange and wonderful album bolstered up with genuinely superb extras you'll play again rather than play once as a curio and leave there. Top job done EMI - highly recommended.

PS: Two other LPs have received 2009 remasters also - "Sweet Deceiver" from 1975 on Island and "Yes We Have No Mananas..." from 1976 on Harvest - each with bonus material

Phase two of EMI's grand sweep through the career of the gentleman rocker's catalogue finds him at a commercial and creative peak in 1974's Doctor Dream, the last of his works to successfully fuse lengthy leftfield extemporism with droll ditties, funk and sprawling rock. The sleep state is foremost on the menu: former band Soft Machine's `Why Are We Sleeping' rewards in a powerful revisit and then there's the side-long title track, a strange and troubling affair with the somnolent Nico guesting. Lighter moments come courtesy of former Patto guitar virtuoso Ollie Halsall (in feisty form on 'Didn't Feel Lonely 'Till I Thought Of You') in what was to prove a near 20 year long partnership and with the likes of Lol Coxhill, Mikes Giles, Moran and Oldfield playing, and Rupert Horn producing, this could not really go wrong. Top quality re-mastering brings a rich and varied work to startling re-entry and bonuses in non-LP singles and B-sides and some very tight (musically) Peel sessions forge a reissue worthy of the discerning catalogue fan's collection. Ayers was always a pop song writer (check out the Soft's stab at chart stadrom 'Love Makes Sweet Music') and subsequent 70's releases - including 'Sweet Deceiver' and 'Yes, We Have No Mananas' (also being reissued) - though materially strong, are more conventionally-structured affairs. This is Ayers unharnessed...a very good thing.