Some albums are classic journeyman's efforts, the work of someone who might have gained notice with other bands but was never quite a name in his own right -- thus Andrew Leigh's one-off solo effort Magician, recorded between his stint in Spooky Tooth's final months and becoming part of Matthews Southern Comfort soon afterward.
Despite the cover art and swirl of flutes helping kick things off, Magician is less acid folk/prog whimsy and more an overview of a lot of things in the year of its release, with a little electric bite here and there but otherwise aiming for gentler twang and rough-and-ready acoustic chug. There's stately late-Beatles pop via "Get Myself Together" (one of two songs from friend and fellow pro Kevin Westlake), a bit of moody folk-rock with "Windy Baker Street," easygoing country-tinged rambles like "Solitaire" and "Leaving Song," and more besides.
Throughout, the echoes of people like Bob Dylan, the Band, the Byrds, Free, and many others can be heard, all slotting into what would be Leigh's own career path well and showing that if his work wasn't deathless it was pleasant listening with a bit of flair. Leigh's liner notes are a fun read, the voice of someone who explored a path, then decided on a new one in later years, before returning to music on a casual for-the-heck-of-it basis -- not a bad place to be.
by Ned Raggett
Tracks
1. Magician - 3:22
2. Get Myself Together (Kevin Westlake) - 4:03
3. Goin’ Out To The West (Kevin Westlake) - 4:36
4. Solitaire - 3:57
5. Windy Baker Street - 4:55
6. Take Me Back - 4:50
7. Leaving Song - 2:58
8. Fresh Brown Eggs - 2:29
9. Up The USA - 9:19
10. The Passing (Bonus Track) - 5:01
All titles by Andrew Leigh except where noted.
Musicians
*Andrew Leigh - Vocals, Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Banjo, Recorder, Piano, Mellotron, Claves, Maracas
*Kevin Westlake - Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Drums, Background Vocals
*Bryan Hayward - Electric, Acoustic Guitars
*Reggie King - Piano, Vocals
*Gordon Jackson - Electric Sitar
*Gary Farr - Harmonica, Acoustic Guitar
*Mike Kellie - Tambourine
*Brian Godding - Electric Guitars
*Tony Priestland - Tenor Sax, Flute, Oboe
*Gary Wright - Electric Piano
*Sam Duboff, George Pastel, Philip Lusher, Mutzi Horvath - Hand Clapping
Free Text
the Free Text
Eυχαριστώ Μάριε.
ReplyDeleteYep! I got this one from another source,very good album, it's nice him here see ....
ReplyDeletehaven't seen this before... many thanks Marios.
ReplyDeleteHi, quite gud upload!. legendary record and a long await´d 4 a CD re-edition. Da sound in flac deserves all da hats off.
ReplyDeleteIt´s time 2 leave behind da old vynil copy wid many scratches dat rollin´by da net sum time ago and 2 got dis master opus.
Danks 4 dis
MUZICPROG
Thank you very much Marios. Fantastic, as usual in this great blog.
ReplyDeleteun très bon album et original.
ReplyDeleteMerci
Looking at the cover I was expecting a different kind of music. A good album "Windy Baker Street" is my favorite song. Thank you Marios
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what it's all about, but credits look promising. Another great share, thanks a lot Marios!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this gem Mario ,I don´t know this one but I will follow all sound you will recomend. Keep on surprising us .
ReplyDeleteLobok75
This is a great disc (IMO). The tunes are strong and it has mellotron!!! I enjoyed the listen today.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marios!
ReplyDeleteThanks Marios - I did have a poor copy of this.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good album and has members of Mighty Baby on it.
Shame that OldRockerBr has gone private.
I've herad this one sometime in the past. Really wonderful album. Never had the chance to listen to the bonus tracks. Thanks very much...
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Marios! already listened to the whole album, fantastic album, many thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteNice to see this album. I knew Andy in the late 1960's before he got into the music scene. Really nice guy was going to be an Army Officer but changed his mind. Paul
ReplyDeleteCan you reupload this Marios please?Thanks.
ReplyDelete"Free Text" link is leading nowhere - to invalid page. Maybe the original link is alive, it just need to be displayed properly. Can you fix it, please?
ReplyDelete.....Andrew Leigh - Magician...repaired......
ReplyDelete