SUMMER 2007

Not merely content with creating some of the most adventurous concept albums of the ‘60 and perfecting the term progressive rock, The Moody Blues were also frequent guest stars on a number of BBC related radio and TV shows between 1967-1970. The heyday of the second Moody Blues lineup—the one with both Mike Pinder and Justin Hayward—’67-’70 was the time when the great U.K. rock legends were defining progressive music as we would come to know and love it. Nay sayers who doubted that the Moodies could hold their own in a live setting—no doubt because of the orchestral Mellotron drenched arrangements of Pinder and the studio genius of producer Tony Clarke—will eat their words upon hearing Deram’s 41 track double CD set. Although several of these tracks are scattered as bonus cuts on Deram’s 2006 Moody Blues Deluxe Edition remasters, Live At The BBC 1967-1970 is the first time all the Moodies BBC tracks of that era have been collected under one roof. A second CD of live performances from a variety of television shows—including tracks from Tom Jones Show (1968) and Lulu’s TV show (from 1968)—along with in depth 2007 liner notes and never before seen color photos of the Classic 7 Moodies lineup seals the deal on this vital retrospective. www.mikepinder.com

Back in 1979, the jazz-rock scene that started so promisingly in the early ‘70s was peaking. Like volcanic ash rising to the surface of the instrumental fusion world, Bruford forged the talents of the greatest jazz-rockers of the age. Founding Yes drummer Bill Bruford—joining forces with Dave Stewart (keyboards), Allan Holdsworth (guitars) and Jeff Berlin—was a short lived musical miracle that recorded one brilliant vocal / instrumental debut effort with jazz singer Annette Peacock in 1977 and a second Bruford quartet album in 1979. Holdsworth and Ms. Peacock didn’t stick around long enough for The Bruford Tapes—caught live at My Father’s Place on Long Island—but now it seems Bill has unearthed a live concert CD and companion DVD, originally recorded and filmed for the BBC at Oxford Polytechnic on March 7th, 1979 with the original five Bruford members including Ms. Peacock. Not quite as glorious sound-wise as The Bruford Tapes, the 2007 CD Rock Goes To College is nevertheless the only live artifact of the power and grace that Bruford and this legendary lineup brought to the jazz-rock world in 1979. The DVD and CD booklets also feature extensive discography info and some truly ironic liner notes from Bill Bruford.


On May 23, 2007, Robert Silverstein of MWE3.com spoke to Bill Bruford about Rock Goes To College
 
MWE3: The 2007 CD and DVD release of Rock seemed like exceptionally good timing to speak with you about 30th anniversary of the Bruford band. Were you planning to make Rock Goes To College a 30th anniversary CD/DVD?

BB: Not really. Getting stuff from the BBC is very difficult and expensive. We were just trying to make the numbers work and everybody could enjoy it. But it cost a lot of money to get that stuff from the BBC. They do a very good job so they’re worth it.

MWE3: How did you hook up with the other players in the Bruford band for that priceless moment in rock history?

BB: Just going back to the time, I was figuring what I wanted to do after I left Genesis in ‘76/’77 was start my own recording career. To do that you need to call some people. I found Jeff Berlin in Long Island, Great Neck where he was living. And I knew I wanted Allan Holdsworth. With Allan, you needed a bass player who could keep up. Against those two, you really needed a steady keyboard player who wasn’t going to be a soloist so much. So Dave Stewart was the obvious keyboard choice for this thing.That was the core group but we also added a jazz flugelhorn player here called Kenny Wheeler and Annette Peacock, who was Gary Peacock’s wife, the bass player with DeJohnette. She was residing here in the U.K. at the time. So it was kind of a cool quartet with guests really. It was great. We hit if off right from the start. Allan was terrific. Around that time, America was pretty unfamiliar with Allan in the late ‘70s. We knew him here. And in a way, that was the bridge for Allan between the U.K. and the United States.

MWE3: You wrote some very nice liner notes for RGTC and you say, “what we could do with that group now!” Can you speculate what might have been the next step with that lineup and do you still keep in touch with Allan?

BB: They were big albums and they’re much talked about these days. It was great. I think that the comment in the liner notes is kind of facile probably. These things do have a moment in time when they are relevant. They were relevant in ‘77, ‘78 and ‘79 with U.K. and that band Bruford and everything. That was it’s period. By 1980 I was back in Crimson doing doing like electric world music. That was fine and that’s the way it should be. I’m not in anyway a kind of nostalgia guy who wants to go back to these things. The point is to go forward. That’s what you pay me to do. You pay me to go forward, not backwards.

MWE3: Do you have any updated information on Bruford keyboardist Dave Stewart and the others?

BB: Well, he’s out west, way down in the dark countryside. He’s pretty much retired from the music industry I think. He’s no longer in active service. Jeff Berlin is around in Florida doing all his things. Allan’s in California so he’s too far from me. Annette’s back in Woodstock actually. I’m familiar with all of them but you understand it was a band and a moment in time for two or three years. In fact, the band you see on the DVD, with Annette Peacock, only did two shows. Both of those shows were national British television shows. We never did a live date, other than in front of TV cameras. And the one that have, Rock Goes To College, that’s one of the two of them. The second one was unbelievably bad.

MWE3: Allan left the band after the Rock Goes To College show which was March 7th, 1979. I saw the band play at My Father’s Place in July 1979 and we were surprised that Allan wasn’t playing guitar anymore!

BB: Yeah, I was surprised Allan wasn’t with me! When you get to know Allan, you get to know, he’s a free spirit. Sometimes he comes and sometimes he doesn’t.

MWE3: Is there any reason why you don’t work with guitar players much these days?

BB: I moved literally from electric rock to acoustic jazz. I play pretty much acoustic jazz full time now with pianos, saxophones and basses. Any reason? No, not particularly. I’m more interested in people then the instruments they play. The people I want to play with right now play pianos and saxophones and basses. Guitar right now. I’m not hearing what it is I want to hear musicians do. But hey, I spent a lot of time with guitarists, its nice to have a change.

MWE3: So there’s no chance of a reunion with that Rock Goes To College lineup?

BB: No, there’s no chance of that Robert. There’s no more material with that band available! (laughter) I’m not sitting on boxes of material that was never released.

MWE3: So will there be any more vintage material on your Winterfold label?

BB: I’m not sure. You just have to wait and see, as I will. I’ve probably said everything I can about Rock Goes To College. I really liked it. I loved the band. I loved being the leader of the band. I consider it a privilege to have worked with those people at that time. And of course it was my first effort, to compose music that would attract these people. To give them something to play. It’s not easy to find something for somebody as good as Allan Holdsworth to play. You had to think like a guitar player, which I wasn’t really doing. You need to under write because Allan’s going to fill for much and that’s what you want to hear. And of course, I over wrote everything. So, in a way when he got pissed off at being boxed in by the music, I think he was probably right to feel that way. In a way, I did nail him to the ground a bit but on the other hand he was used sparingly but to devastating effect.

MWE3: I think his playing is maybe the greatest thing he ever did.

BB: Did you tell Allan that? ‘Cause he wouldn’t be happy to hear you say that.

MWE3: Feels Good To Me might also be among the greatest solo albums by any Yes member including Fish Out Of Water, which I know you also played on.

BB: I appreciate it! Very nice of you to say so Robert.

thanks to Bill Bruford @ www.BillBruford.com