UK 1972 ORIG ? KEVIN AYERS ? WHATEVERSHEBRINGS Prog Psych SOFT MACHINE Gong PROG

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   1972 UK PROGRESSIVE "HARVEST RECORDS" ORIGINAL!

                  KEVIN AYERS

      Whatevershebringswesing

                                UK - HARVEST RECORDS - SHVL 800

SOLID ... COLLECTION COPY !

1972 ORIGINAL -- BRITISH-ONLY "Harvest Records" collectible pressing in grainy textured gatefold sleeve ... the great Kevin Ayers third 'solo' album since leaving the Soft Machine, and arguably his best -- it's a real grower that 'hooks' the listener after a couple of spins...

In 1971, Kevin Ayers started recording what would become his magnum opus, Whatevershebringswesing accompanied by members of Gong and his previous backing band The Whole World. Feted by world music critics, the album realised all the musical aspirations Ayers had harbored since the inception of Soft Machine. Its influence on subsequent albums like Brian Eno’s Here Come the Warm Jets is self evident on melodic structures alone.

As with most Ayers albums, a collision of disparate styles confronts the listener but in this instance they work to extremely powerful effect. The title track with Mike Oldfield's exceptional guitar accompaniment and Robert Wyatt’s wracked harmonies, would become a template for Ayers 70s output.

The album opens with “There Is Loving Among Us” accompanied by his dramatic arrangement. This segues into the vignettes “Margaret” and “Oh My” where Ayers juxtaposes terse lyrics against measured backing to considerable impact. “Song From A Bottom of a Well” marries a Stockhausen-esque arrangement to Ayers’ cryptic lyric “This is a song from the bottom of a well / There are things down here / I've got to try and tell”. “Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes”, a flirtation with Ayers love of early rock and roll, would become a staple of his live set for years to come and a song he would re-record twice that decade.

Melancholic and reflective, Whatevershebringswesing finds the ultimate underachiever languishing in a realm of ballads, free from the façade and pretensions of prog rock that plagued so many groups in the era. In the interim between Shooting at the Moon and Whatever, Ayers gigged with his friend Daevid Allen's band, Gong, on a European tour. Afterward, Ayers plucked Didier Malherbe out of Gong momentarily to supplement the sound on his next album. Whatevershebringswesing has often been cited as Ayers' magnum opus.

There is Loving/Amongst Us/There is Loving
Margaret
Oh My
Song from the Bottom of a Well
Whatevershebringswesing
Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes
Champagne Cowboy Blues
Lullabye

CONDITION: The Cover: rated: near M- ... delicate UK textured/grainy gatefold and clean with no bends, no split seams and no writing making for a very nice collectible...

The Vinyl: rated: M- both sides retain original gloss, and shines brightly then play graded minty clean audio with no audio surface - the UK HARVEST labels are both CLEAN