VARIOUS ARTISTS
''REFUGEES: AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE FAMOUS CHARISMA LABEL, DISC ONE''
OCTOBER 9 2009
232:37
DISC ONE
1 /America
Leonard Bernstein / Stephen Sondheim - The Nice 6:08
2 /Witchi-Tai-To - Topo D. Bill 3:31
3 /Sympathy
Rare Bird - Rare Bird 2:34
4 /Refugees [Single Version]
Peter Hammill - Van der Graaf Generator 5:22
5 /Lady Eleanor
Alan Hull - Lindisfarne 4:14
6 /Bed Ain't What It Used to Be
Graham Bell - Brian Davison's Every Which Way 9:30
7 /Country Pie/Brandenburg Concerto No. 6
Johann Sebastian Bach / Bob Dylan - The Nice 5:43
8 /Reawakening
Peter Hammill - Peter Hammill 3:58
9 /Looking for Someone
Tony Banks / Peter Gabriel / Anthony Phillips / Mike Rutherford - Genesis 7:08
10 /High Priest of Memphis
Graham Bell - Bell & Arc 3:31
11 /Doubting Thomas - Jackson Heights 4:14
12 /The House on the Hill
Howard Werth - Audience 7:29
13 /Spam Song
Michael Palin / Fred Tomlinson - Monty Python's Flying Circus 2:27
14 /The Black Riders and Flight to the Ford
Bo Hansson - Bo Hansson 4:09
15 /City Song
Alan Hull - Lindisfarne 3:07
16 /Theme One - Van der Graaf Generator 2:54
DISC TWO
1 /Hammerhead
Rare Bird - Rare Bird 3:33
2 /Jackdaw
Keith Gemmell / Howard Werth 7:31
3 /Pioneers Over C
Hammill - Van der Graaf Generator 12:39
4 /Grass for Blades
Jim Pembroke - Hot Thumbs O'Riley 3:54
5 /Twilight Alehouse
Tony Banks / Peter Gabriel / Anthony Phillips / Mike Rutherford - Genesis 7:47
6 /United States of Mind
Alan Hull - Alan Hull 3:07
7 /Why Can't I Be Satisfied - Jack the Lad 4:02
8 /I Am and So Are You - Capability Brown 4:00
9 /Ritt Mickley
Patrick Moraz - Refugee 5:58
10 /Gaye
Clifford T. Ward - Clifford T. Ward 3:37
11 /Freedom Jazz Dance
Eddie Harris - Keith Emerson 3:06
12 /Heartfeeder - String Driven Thing 6:37
13 /Excursion with Complications
Bo Hansson - Bo Hansson 3:28
14 /Mrs. Niggerbater
Graham Chapman / John Cleese / Terry Gilliam / Eric Idle / Michael Palin - Monty Python's Flying Circus 1:08
15 /Red Shift
Peter Hammill - Peter Hammill 8:10
DISC THREE
1 /Steppenwolf
David Brock / Robert Calvert - Hawkwind 9:46
2 /Nadir's Big Chance
Peter Hammill - Peter Hammill 3:39
3 /Star of Sirius
Steve Hackett - Steve Hackett 7:08
4 /The Cask of Amontillado [Original 1976 Version]
Alan Parsons / Eric Woolfson - The Alan Parsons Project 4:30
5 /Starving in the Tropics
James Exell / Colin Fairley - String Driven Thing 5:19
6 /Nuclear Burn
Goodall - Brand X 6:22
7 /Arrow
Peter Hammill - Van der Graaf Generator 9:47
8 /Attic Thoughts
Bo Hansson - Bo Hansson 5:33
9 /Match of the Day
Tony Banks / Phil Collins / Mike Rutherford - Genesis 3:25
10 /Psi Power
David Brock / Robert Calvert - The Hawklords 6:09
11 /Solsbury Hill
Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel 4:22
12 /Sun in the Night
John Goodsall - Brand X 4:26
13 /God Rock
Nik Turner - Nik Turner's Sphynx 7:35
REVIEW
by Bruce Eder
In some ways, this very fully packed triple-CD set is akin to a gift from heaven -- who could have expected, so far into the 21st century, that some producer would assemble the highlights of the Charisma record label in so thorough a manner? Charisma Records wasn't quite like any other record label in England (or anywhere else). Whereas other U.K. companies such as Decca, EMI, and Pye created special imprints devoted to their more adventurous musical acts at the end of the 1960s -- Deram, Harvest, and Dawn, respectively -- Charisma was founded as a progressive rock label from day one; it was never "mainstream" except to the degree -- and revisionists may dispute this, but they would be wrong -- that progressive rock became mainstream in the first half of the 1970s. The company had its share of future superstars, most notably Genesis, and stars in the guise of Lindisfarne and Van der Graaf Generator, and also a brace of artists that, sad to note in the context of this set, never did find suitable homes elsewhere, following the demise of the company and its founder, Tony Stratton-Smith (an ex-sports journalist with an interest in music). In many instances, the most familiar artists here (Genesis, the Nice, Van der Graaf Generator, et al.) are represented by relative obscurities, such as single edits and B-sides, which gives this set some appeal to completists, while the genuinely obscure people, such as "Topo D. Bill" on "Witchi Tai To" (actually Legs Larry Smith of the Bonzo Dog Band), do manage to get airings amid this august company, all to their advantage. And the makers have left few stones unturned, even including the Monty Python "Spam" song plus other bits of inspired madness and '70s-era U.K. whimsy. All of the expected bases are touched, not only Genesis, Peter Hammill, Peter Gabriel, et al., but also Lindisfarne and their offshoot group Jack the Lad, plus Alan Hull's solo work. And the Nice successor group Refugee gets a good accounting as well. And speaking of progressive keyboard music, Bo Hansson (of Lord of the Rings album fame) commands some space here, along with the first incarnation of Rare Bird. The sound is excellent and producer Phil Smee has not skimped on the annotation on this nicely designed triple-CD, 40-track package. The only caveat might be that, as one might expect, this set is for the already converted -- anyone not already enamored of progressive rock or the more adventurous sides of U.K. folk-rock of the 1970s may remain unmoved by much of what's here (Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" will be the most familiar track to casual listeners). But as an overview of a label that dominated that field as much as any of the majors, this set is a top choice, if not exactly an ultimate or all-encompassing resource.
''REFUGEES: AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE FAMOUS CHARISMA LABEL, DISC ONE''
OCTOBER 9 2009
232:37
DISC ONE
1 /America
Leonard Bernstein / Stephen Sondheim - The Nice 6:08
2 /Witchi-Tai-To - Topo D. Bill 3:31
3 /Sympathy
Rare Bird - Rare Bird 2:34
4 /Refugees [Single Version]
Peter Hammill - Van der Graaf Generator 5:22
5 /Lady Eleanor
Alan Hull - Lindisfarne 4:14
6 /Bed Ain't What It Used to Be
Graham Bell - Brian Davison's Every Which Way 9:30
7 /Country Pie/Brandenburg Concerto No. 6
Johann Sebastian Bach / Bob Dylan - The Nice 5:43
8 /Reawakening
Peter Hammill - Peter Hammill 3:58
9 /Looking for Someone
Tony Banks / Peter Gabriel / Anthony Phillips / Mike Rutherford - Genesis 7:08
10 /High Priest of Memphis
Graham Bell - Bell & Arc 3:31
11 /Doubting Thomas - Jackson Heights 4:14
12 /The House on the Hill
Howard Werth - Audience 7:29
13 /Spam Song
Michael Palin / Fred Tomlinson - Monty Python's Flying Circus 2:27
14 /The Black Riders and Flight to the Ford
Bo Hansson - Bo Hansson 4:09
15 /City Song
Alan Hull - Lindisfarne 3:07
16 /Theme One - Van der Graaf Generator 2:54
DISC TWO
1 /Hammerhead
Rare Bird - Rare Bird 3:33
2 /Jackdaw
Keith Gemmell / Howard Werth 7:31
3 /Pioneers Over C
Hammill - Van der Graaf Generator 12:39
4 /Grass for Blades
Jim Pembroke - Hot Thumbs O'Riley 3:54
5 /Twilight Alehouse
Tony Banks / Peter Gabriel / Anthony Phillips / Mike Rutherford - Genesis 7:47
6 /United States of Mind
Alan Hull - Alan Hull 3:07
7 /Why Can't I Be Satisfied - Jack the Lad 4:02
8 /I Am and So Are You - Capability Brown 4:00
9 /Ritt Mickley
Patrick Moraz - Refugee 5:58
10 /Gaye
Clifford T. Ward - Clifford T. Ward 3:37
11 /Freedom Jazz Dance
Eddie Harris - Keith Emerson 3:06
12 /Heartfeeder - String Driven Thing 6:37
13 /Excursion with Complications
Bo Hansson - Bo Hansson 3:28
14 /Mrs. Niggerbater
Graham Chapman / John Cleese / Terry Gilliam / Eric Idle / Michael Palin - Monty Python's Flying Circus 1:08
15 /Red Shift
Peter Hammill - Peter Hammill 8:10
DISC THREE
1 /Steppenwolf
David Brock / Robert Calvert - Hawkwind 9:46
2 /Nadir's Big Chance
Peter Hammill - Peter Hammill 3:39
3 /Star of Sirius
Steve Hackett - Steve Hackett 7:08
4 /The Cask of Amontillado [Original 1976 Version]
Alan Parsons / Eric Woolfson - The Alan Parsons Project 4:30
5 /Starving in the Tropics
James Exell / Colin Fairley - String Driven Thing 5:19
6 /Nuclear Burn
Goodall - Brand X 6:22
7 /Arrow
Peter Hammill - Van der Graaf Generator 9:47
8 /Attic Thoughts
Bo Hansson - Bo Hansson 5:33
9 /Match of the Day
Tony Banks / Phil Collins / Mike Rutherford - Genesis 3:25
10 /Psi Power
David Brock / Robert Calvert - The Hawklords 6:09
11 /Solsbury Hill
Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel 4:22
12 /Sun in the Night
John Goodsall - Brand X 4:26
13 /God Rock
Nik Turner - Nik Turner's Sphynx 7:35
REVIEW
by Bruce Eder
In some ways, this very fully packed triple-CD set is akin to a gift from heaven -- who could have expected, so far into the 21st century, that some producer would assemble the highlights of the Charisma record label in so thorough a manner? Charisma Records wasn't quite like any other record label in England (or anywhere else). Whereas other U.K. companies such as Decca, EMI, and Pye created special imprints devoted to their more adventurous musical acts at the end of the 1960s -- Deram, Harvest, and Dawn, respectively -- Charisma was founded as a progressive rock label from day one; it was never "mainstream" except to the degree -- and revisionists may dispute this, but they would be wrong -- that progressive rock became mainstream in the first half of the 1970s. The company had its share of future superstars, most notably Genesis, and stars in the guise of Lindisfarne and Van der Graaf Generator, and also a brace of artists that, sad to note in the context of this set, never did find suitable homes elsewhere, following the demise of the company and its founder, Tony Stratton-Smith (an ex-sports journalist with an interest in music). In many instances, the most familiar artists here (Genesis, the Nice, Van der Graaf Generator, et al.) are represented by relative obscurities, such as single edits and B-sides, which gives this set some appeal to completists, while the genuinely obscure people, such as "Topo D. Bill" on "Witchi Tai To" (actually Legs Larry Smith of the Bonzo Dog Band), do manage to get airings amid this august company, all to their advantage. And the makers have left few stones unturned, even including the Monty Python "Spam" song plus other bits of inspired madness and '70s-era U.K. whimsy. All of the expected bases are touched, not only Genesis, Peter Hammill, Peter Gabriel, et al., but also Lindisfarne and their offshoot group Jack the Lad, plus Alan Hull's solo work. And the Nice successor group Refugee gets a good accounting as well. And speaking of progressive keyboard music, Bo Hansson (of Lord of the Rings album fame) commands some space here, along with the first incarnation of Rare Bird. The sound is excellent and producer Phil Smee has not skimped on the annotation on this nicely designed triple-CD, 40-track package. The only caveat might be that, as one might expect, this set is for the already converted -- anyone not already enamored of progressive rock or the more adventurous sides of U.K. folk-rock of the 1970s may remain unmoved by much of what's here (Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" will be the most familiar track to casual listeners). But as an overview of a label that dominated that field as much as any of the majors, this set is a top choice, if not exactly an ultimate or all-encompassing resource.
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