rosen@ucbvax.ARPA (Rob Rosen) (07/20/85)
Has anyone out there even heard of the above-mentioned musicians?
The Enid is/was a group of classically-oriented guys who have apparently
put out a number of instrumental classical/rock pieces during the period
1976-1984; they are led by a gentleman by the name of Robert John Godfrey,
whom I believe has something to do with the British classical scene and/or
is a reviewer/columnist for at least one British music magazine. I have
IN THE REGION OF THE SUMMER STARS (1976), AERIE FAIRIE NONSENSE (1977), and
LIVE: VOL II (1980). I know there are at least three other albums out there
by The Enid but considering the amount of trouble I had to go through just to
get these three (import only), I'd like to get some input from others who are
interested. They put out music that sounds like Brahms but orchestrated for
a rock band -- some of you who are interested in more unusual music might want
to check them out. They have their own label and apparently do not sell
records to franchises - I think they want you to write to them to request
their latest stuff (they give an address on the back of Live: Vol II).
Also, David Van Tieghem is a really talented percussionist out of New
York who has apparently done quite a bit of studio work with such artists as
Laurie Anderson and Brian Eno. He has an album out which is entitled
THESE THINGS HAPPEN (Warner Brothers, 1984); it was used for the Twyla Tharp
Dance Ensemble tour the last time they came around here (I think it was about
a year ago but my memory's sort of dim). His music is instrumental and
is kind of hard to describe - it's similar to the music on MY LIFE IN THE
BUSH OF GHOSTS (Eno/Byrne, 1981), which he in fact played on.
The last guy I'm going to mention for now is a Japanese fusion guitarist
whose work is remarkably good. His name is Kazumi Watanabe and he's put out
two disks on ECM (I believe), entitled MOBO I and MOBO II. In addition, I
believe he has a CD out on Denon entitled SHO TI KA (??) which I would love
to get on vinyl because I don't yet own a CD player (does anyone know if it's
availible on vinyl at all - my searches have proven fruitless). His work
is rather reminiscent of a blend of King Crimson, Black Uhuru and perhaps a
dash of Weather Report; his music combines jazz-oriented time signatures with
the reggae rhythm section of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare (I believe Omar
Hakim and Marcus Miller also appear on some cuts) and searing lead work which
is wonderfully fresh and innovative. "All Beets are Coming " is a 14 minute
track that closes MOBO II and I would estimate that about 10 minutes of it
is pure guitar solo; 10 minutes of guitar solo is generally more than enough
to put me to sleep (I'm a guitarist but ENOUGH is ENOUGH), but this solo never
fails to captivate me - I LOVE IT!! I urge any devotee of guitar music (or
for that matter fusion, reggae, or new wave) to check this guy out! Regrettably
he came around a few months ago at a rather bad time - one day before finals.
I was unable to catch him in concert but I'm sure he will be around again soon.
--Rob Rosen
...ucbvax!rosentp@ndm20 (07/27/85)
Does The Enid sound as much like Sky as your description would lead one to believe? If so, I'm interested! Terry Poot