This remastered edition of All's Well from London's Camberwell Now culls together all the official recordings of the band from 1983-1987, that being Medidian, The Ghost Trade, and Greenfingers. The band was made up of Charles Hayward (vocals, drums, keyboards), Trefor Goronwy (bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion), and Stephen Rickard (tape switchboard, loops), and they played in a style that is pretty unique, part progressive rock, part avant-garde, part British garage rock. Although guests appear on the releases (female vocals, sax, trombone), it's mostly the trio that come up with and create the assortment of sounds of this release. When Camberwell Now focus on being a progressive rock band, as they do on tracks such as "Resplash" and "Working Nights", things get interesting, as they combine elements of bands like 80's era King Crimson, The Work, and a little Talking Heads into a cohesive and risk taking sound. Their avant-garde leanings however are certainly an acquired taste, but offer plenty of hidden nuggets that get unearthed after repeated spins. Tunes like the haunting "Wheat Futures ", with its creepy vocals and undulating keyboard effects, and the epic "The Ghost Trade ", a sort of head-on collision between Van Der Graaf Generator and late 70's David Bowie, will not instantly click on first listen, but they really have a lot to offer. The more upbeat tunes like "Speculative Fiction", "Greenfingers", and "Green Lantern " have almost dance-like beats and techno keyboards, and add to the variety factor here.
Overall All's Well is a charming look back on an underground British band who probably had the tools to break through to the mainstream, but were a bit too avant-garde to really make it happen. This remastered edition from ReR Megacorp USA collects all their recorded work and is worth checking out.
Track Listing
1. Cutty Sark (Tracks 1-4 "Meridian"-EP, 1984) 2:49
2. Pearl Divers 3:32
3. Spirit of Dunkirk 2:39
4. Resplash 7:56
5. Daddy Needs a Throne (from TOUCH casette "Ritual Magnetic North", 1985) 3:24
6. Working Nights (Tracks 6-11 "The Ghost Trade"-LP, 1986) 7:45
7. Sitcom 4:40
8. Wheat Futures 6:15
9. Speculative Fiction 6:11
10. Green Lantern 3:17
11. The Ghost Trade 11:14
12. Greenfingers (Tracks 12-15 "Greenfingers"-EP, 1987) 5:53
13. Mystery of the Fence 3:12
14. Know How 3:45
15. Element Unknown 1:35
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