This CD, catalogue number DISC 1 CD, was the first on Discus Records 20 years ago*. And it's still available. Three cheers for Discus! The album must be on at least its sixth pressing by now ;-)
You may remember from their Live in Leeds tape that Feetpackets was a 14-piece band, convened by Mick Beck. I say convened, rather than led, because compositions came from several different members, and even the 'compositions' left considerable space for group improvisation.
I'm pretty sure I got the CD around the time of its release, following on from the earlier tape. Peter Stubley's site mentions a third live release, also on cassette, but I missed that. During the nineties (and probably still to this day, though I haven't seen him since I left Sheffield), Mick Beck would record his gigs and offer to post a cassette copy to audience members in return for a small consideration — I have a tape of a performance by him, Martin Archer and John Jasnoch at The Grapes in July 1995, which Mick titled "Concerto for Burglar Alarm."
Well done to allmusic for reviewing the CD, concluding "This disc has aged rather well and provides a rare glimpse into the Sheffield scene at the time."
For me it's a great reminder, particularly hearing the improvised vocals of Linda Lee Welch, who was a very distinctive presence whenever she took to the stage.
Mick's MySpace page mentions that, four years ago, he initiated a new 15-piece workshop band "to re-explore the interaction of composition and improvisation". They're called Gated Community — could have been Kneepackets? — and in this video you can see Mick, Martin Archer, Charlie Collins, John Jasnoch (like the new beard!), Derek Saw and (I think) Neil Carver, plus many others I don't recognise.
*OK, so Discus released an LP the year before, but my sentence is still technically correct.
| Buy direct from Discus | Peter Stubley's European Free Improvisation entry for this album |
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