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TheCellarTapes · 09-24-2010, 06:56 AM

Kevin Ayers - Joy of a Toy
(1969)

Tracks

1. Joy of a Toy Continued 2:54
2. Town Feeling 4:54
3. The Clarietta Rag 3:20
4. Girl on a Swing 2:49
5. Song for Insane Times 4:00
6. Stop This Train (Again Doing It) 6:05
7. Eleanor's Cake (Which Ate Her) 2:53
8. The Lady Rachel 5:17
9. Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong 5:35
10. All This Crazy Gift of Time 3:57

Born in Herne Bay in Kent, Kevin Ayers was the bassist and founder member of cult British psychedelic act, The Soft Machine. As a band they were the main focus of the Canterbury scene, a scene which helped forge the path for progressive rock into the seventies. Like so many other out there bands of the late sixties in south east England, they called The UFO Club their home.

Following the release of the band’s self titled debut album and following a support act tour of the US with Jimi Hendrix in 68, The Soft Machine and Ayers parted ways; the departure was actually quite amicable as it goes, Ayers gave his bass to Noel Redding and retreated to the Spanish island of Ibiza to relax and to contemplate. But it was not long before Ayers was back at it again, penning song after song.

What Ayers began to dream up on Ibiza in early 1969 were the songs that would make up his debut solo album, Joy of a Toy. Recording for his debut began in June 69 down at Abbey Road with the album released in November. Ayers was now signed to a fledgling label called Harvest, and in many ways this debut album from Ayers would become the blueprint for all future releases on this very influential label.

Joy of a Toy by Kevin Ayers is littered with folk elements, the avant-garde and the beautiful. Backed by members of The Soft Machine and Syd Barrett on a couple of the songs, Ayers’ ability to command songs with his deep and elegant voice whilst creating a backdrop of sheer delight and eeriness makes this album extremely wonderful.

If I was to pick out some of the highlights on this album, I would have to start with Town Feeling, which has a tremendous classical arrangement underneath. With The Clarietta Rag, Ayers presents a bit of trippy pop, argueably the most upbeat song on the album, it will make any IPod playlist feel a little more complete in my humble opinion. With Song for Insane Times, we see a little bit of Jazz coming into the fray, with perhaps one of the more modern sounding songs from the 1960’s being created, its certainly very smooth and very elegant indeed. And with The Lady Rachel we have a song with a very sinister edge, completing off all the range of emotions and vibes this albums radiates from start to finish.

Joy of a Toy is a lot more accessible than much of The Soft Machine’s output ever was and that actually leads me to the ultimate Ayers question of what if? One could draw many comparisons to the music of The Soft Machine with that of The Velvet Underground. If I was to continue this comparison for one moment, I would say that Joy of a Toy is The Velvet Underground LP, and potentially the gateway to the great many delights that are available on the first two albums. But then again you do have to ask another question, would Ayers have written such a marvellous album if he was still in a UFO kinda mood? That is probably the question Cellar Dwellers that we'll never get answered.

09-24-2010, 06:56 AM	#174 (permalink)
TheCellarTapes Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 490	Kevin Ayers - Joy of a Toy *(1969)* Tracks 1. Joy of a Toy Continued 2:54 2. Town Feeling 4:54 3. The Clarietta Rag 3:20 4. Girl on a Swing 2:49 5. Song for Insane Times 4:00 6. Stop This Train (Again Doing It) 6:05 7. Eleanor's Cake (Which Ate Her) 2:53 8. The Lady Rachel 5:17 9. Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong 5:35 10. All This Crazy Gift of Time 3:57 Born in Herne Bay in Kent, Kevin Ayers was the bassist and founder member of cult British psychedelic act, The Soft Machine. As a band they were the main focus of the Canterbury scene, a scene which helped forge the path for progressive rock into the seventies. Like so many other out there bands of the late sixties in south east England, they called The UFO Club their home. Following the release of the band’s self titled debut album and following a support act tour of the US with Jimi Hendrix in 68, The Soft Machine and Ayers parted ways; the departure was actually quite amicable as it goes, Ayers gave his bass to Noel Redding and retreated to the Spanish island of Ibiza to relax and to contemplate. But it was not long before Ayers was back at it again, penning song after song. What Ayers began to dream up on Ibiza in early 1969 were the songs that would make up his debut solo album, Joy of a Toy. Recording for his debut began in June 69 down at Abbey Road with the album released in November. Ayers was now signed to a fledgling label called Harvest, and in many ways this debut album from Ayers would become the blueprint for all future releases on this very influential label. Joy of a Toy by Kevin Ayers is littered with folk elements, the avant-garde and the beautiful. Backed by members of The Soft Machine and Syd Barrett on a couple of the songs, Ayers’ ability to command songs with his deep and elegant voice whilst creating a backdrop of sheer delight and eeriness makes this album extremely wonderful. If I was to pick out some of the highlights on this album, I would have to start with Town Feeling, which has a tremendous classical arrangement underneath. With The Clarietta Rag, Ayers presents a bit of trippy pop, argueably the most upbeat song on the album, it will make any IPod playlist feel a little more complete in my humble opinion. With Song for Insane Times, we see a little bit of Jazz coming into the fray, with perhaps one of the more modern sounding songs from the 1960’s being created, its certainly very smooth and very elegant indeed. And with The Lady Rachel we have a song with a very sinister edge, completing off all the range of emotions and vibes this albums radiates from start to finish. Joy of a Toy is a lot more accessible than much of The Soft Machine’s output ever was and that actually leads me to the ultimate Ayers question of what if? One could draw many comparisons to the music of The Soft Machine with that of The Velvet Underground. If I was to continue this comparison for one moment, I would say that Joy of a Toy is The Velvet Underground LP, and potentially the gateway to the great many delights that are available on the first two albums. But then again you do have to ask another question, would Ayers have written such a marvellous album if he was still in a UFO kinda mood? That is probably the question Cellar Dwellers that we'll never get answered.