On first glance, British indie-rock stalwarts THE BEVIS FROND don’t seem to have much in common with prog of yore, yet, given the ensemble leader, multi-instrumentalist Nick Saloman’s proclivity for psychedelia, it’s hardly surprising to hear cosmic passages on the collective’s albums. What can surprise many a follower of this genre is the fact that at a certain point the band were a trio in which Saloman’s voice and guitar were accompanied by a fantastic rhythm section: bassist Ade Shaw and drummer Andy Ward, the former famous for his late ’70s stint with HAWKWIND and the latter mostly known for his tenure with CAMEL early in the same decade, who may have not appeared on together on any of Nick’s studio records, but graced the world’s stages for some time.
There were quite a few CD-Rs released in 1998, documenting the group’s then-recent performances, and one official platter, titled “Live At The Great American Music Hall” and featuring a dozen cuts from THE BEAVIS FROND’s repertoire and a LOVE cover, which somehow passed by the players’ followers due to a run that made it out of print for a quarter of a century. Fortunately, after the vinyl reissue on Record Store Day, October 25th will see the CD edition of this classic San Francisco concert from April 16th, 1998 – coinciding with the band’s first tour in 25 years. Finally!
1. Hole Song #2
2. Maybe
3. Love Is
4. New River Head
5. Stoned Train Driver
6. Lights Are Changing
7. Red Hair
8. He’d Be A Diamond
9. Well Out Of It
10. Stain On The Sun
11. The Wind Blew All Around Me
12. Signed DC