5 February 2019

MiRAGE - Now You See It... (Compendium 1977)


This one is minor rarity for Canterbury scene followers. Steve Cook was bassist in Soft Machine (Alive and Well in Paris era), Dave Sheen played in Soft Head. Other two are also familiar names. Music on band's only album on Norweigian label flows in jazz/rock vein. Not my rip, found via torrents. I see now it was reissued on CD by Vocalion with 2 bonus tracks in 2007, but seems to be OOP.

MiRAGE - Now You See It... (Compendium 1977)

A1 King's Heads
A2 Always Leaving
A3 Time Less Words
B1 Elephant's Tales
B2 Ballade
B3 Underneath The Arches And Beyond

GEORGE KHAN - tenor, alto & soprano saxes, flute
BRiAN GODDiNG - acoustic, electric & tenor guitars
STEVE COOK - electric & string bass
DAVE SHEEN - drums, percussion

Compendium Records 1977, Fidardo 9 (vinyl rip)

CD version added -- see Mr. propylaen2001 comment!

13 comments:

miloo2 said...

flac @ ulozto.net

mp3 @ ulozto.net

If any can provide CD rip, it would be welcome.

Paul Jefferson Woods said...

How cool is this with the exception of Dave Sheen all Mike Westbrook personnel. Met Steve Cook when he was the bass tutor for a MU workshop in Newcastle with other guys from the Westbrook band including Alan Wakeman, Malcolm Griffiths and Alan Jackson. Steve also played and recorded with seventh wave ane Annette Peacock - Thanks for this gem.

rev.b said...

I haven’t heard or thought about this album for many many years, one of the more obscure ones from the handful of releases on the amazing Compendium label from Norway. Thanks for this forgotten memory

BT said...

Thank-you very much

Destroyer1985 said...

Thanks!

apf said...

Thank you !

brian said...

fantastic!

Captain Beyond said...

Thanks a lot! Would also love to hear the CD version!

propylaen2001 said...

Here is the cd version with almost 35 minutes of bonus material:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s_5Fre196-gFd82h0l6z5ygJFsgH4lz8

Ernst Grgo Nebhuth said...

Yow - thanks very much. Herzlichen Dank ;-)

miloo2 said...

Wow, thank you Propylaen. And thanks to discussion on The Canterbury Scene fb group I also discovered two Solid Gold Cadillac albums!

correct silence said...

In my opinion this record does not have much to do with the sound of Canterbury and I'm not talking about its quality. The sound of Canterbury can be defined by two major characteristics. On the one hand the predominance of keyboards which have a much more important place than guitars, Of course Phil Miller is at the origin of Delivery then will play in Hatfield And The North and finally in National Health but the influential keyboards in this style are more numerous: Mike Ratledge, Dave McRae, Dave Stewart and Alan Gowen. There is no keyboards in this album and in all the bands from Canterbury, the keyboards were the most significant part of the musical colour. But above all this record does not present the style of writing characteristic of Canterbury, the fact that in the same piece there is complexity and simplicity, a kind of melodic impressionism supported by a very complex writing. One of the most significant examples of this style is undoubtedly National Health's first album, which is an absolute accomplishment of this dualism.
Despite the presence of many famous names of the Canterbury school in bands like Soft Head or Soft Heap, those bands are more in the jazz rock style than in the Canterbury prog.

Farmer Allan said...

Propylaen ! Thanks for upping the extended CD version (and for keeping it published!!)

You're the kind of person I want to grow up to be

Well, you and Nisar Ahmed Khan, that is!

Thanks again