The Bag I'm in

Fred Neil - The Sky Is Falling: The Complete Live Recordings 1965-1971 (2004) {Rev-Ola CR REV 78}
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© 1965-71, 2004 Rev-Ola / Cherry Red Records | CR REV 78
Rock / Folk Rock / Psychedelic / Country Folk Rock

Folk-rock obscurity Fred Neil is regularly touted as one of the movement's pioneering geniuses, and The Sky Is Falling: The Complete Live Recordings 1963-1971 puts his work into perspective for any doubters. Collecting his live 1971 swan song album, The Other Side of This Life (which counts celebrity guests like David Crosby, Gram Parsons, and Stephen Stills), and appending four early rarities taped from a Bitter End performance in 1963, this set bookends Neil's folk-rock career insightfully.

Amongst several delightful examples of mid- and late-baroque German solo cantatas included here, one stands out as a little masterpiece. It's a lamentation by Johann Christoph Bach, the leading composer of the Bach dynasty before Johann Sebastian. I cannot imagine any listener to be capable of hearing this music without in some way being affected by its poignancy.

Formed in 1968, Man earned well deserved praise for a series of wonderful albums issued between 1969 and 1976. Their US West Coast influenced sound also gained them a loyal following on the live circuit where their instrumental prowess was given room to shine. Initially enjoying success in Germany, by 1972 Man had begun to enjoy success in Britain and from 1972 they recorded a series of acclaimed sessions and live concerts for BBC Radio One, had a BBC TV documentary made about them and appeared on the influential TV series The Old Grey Whistle Test. With ever changing line-ups throughout the 1970s, Man disbanded in 1976 after a farewell concert at The Roundhouse in London (a location of some of their legendary concerts). They reformed in 1983, appearing at The Reading Festival that year and would go on to record a further series of excellent albums and undertake extensive touring.