The Baptist's Head Compendium Chapman

BGO's two-fer reissue of Michael Chapman's most mysterious recording, Window from 1970, and its sequel, Wrecked Again, are two welcome reissues in the British singer/songwriter's CD catalog. Window is the great anomaly in Chapman's erratic, maverick career. The album was due to be recorded as a quick follow-up to the sensation that his debut, Fully Qualified Survivor, created on the British media scene. According to Marc Higgins' fine liner notes to this package, Chapman was supposed to record between touring dates. After a first demo and track session, Chapman went on tour, returning only to find that EMI had rushed 20,000 copies of the demo to print! Chapman himself warned fans off the record, telling them specifically not to buy it, but has performed songs from it in his live show continually for the last 30-plus years. The material is strong, and at this late date, nearly three and half decades after the fact, it sounds fresh. Immediacy, warmth, and the excitement of "first thought, best thought" are all over the set.

After the critical acclaim Michael Chapman received for Rainmaker in 1969, he followed up quickly in early 1970 with Fully Qualified Survivor, a record more adventurous and haunting than its predecessor, with added production flourishes and equally strong songs. Fully Qualified Survivor is the album that established Chapman as a folk troubadour. Leaving the guitar pyrotechnics largely locked in a shed, Chapman concentrated instead on his songwriting skills, and the sacrifice—for this record anyway—paid off. Leaving the lead guitar credits to a fellow Hull-man, Mick Ronson (who got his gig with David Bowie as a result of his playing on this album), with Rick Kemp making a return as bassist and Barry Morgan on drums, Chapman relied on no less than Paul Buckmaster—then beginning to work with Elton John, among others—to employ and arrange a small string section to fill out the songs.

Party Pieces (Live in Bremen 1975) is a captivating live album by the talented musician Michael Chapman. Released by Mig / Indigo, this album showcases Chapman's exceptional guitar skills and his ability to captivate an audience with his heartfelt performances.

Originally recorded for Criminal Records in 1980, Looking for Eleven finds Rod Clements and Ray Laidlaw of Lindisfarne handling bass and drum duties, rather than Rick Kemp and Dave Mattacks. The resulting set has a somewhat stripped-down sound to it, though the assorted Chapman trademarks are present and accounted for, right down to the offbeat guitar sounds (Chapman, like John Martyn, has always refused to stick with a typical acoustic guitar sound). This album features more than the usual amount of instrumental work, which makes for a particularly engaging listening experience.

5th in Vencenzo Ricca’s Italian ‘Rome Pro(G)ject’ excellent series of mostly instrumental vintage keyboard driven symphonic Prog albums!