To hear tracks from the new complete 801 Live album click here
To buy the new complete 801 Live album click here
Left to right: Bill MacCormick, Brian Eno, Lloyd Watson, Francis Monkman, Simon Phillips, Phil Manzanera
Michael Bloom, Rolling Stone
Kevin Martin, The Lamb, Texas
Stephen Lavers, National Rockstar
Ray Dellar, HiFi News
Ashley Franklin, Liquorice
Vivien Goldman, Sounds
Serious musical acceptance by late 1976
MOST LIVE albums are of no more than token value. The promotional guff will claim that we should have been there but since we weren't we can grab this instead. It's an accommodating consumer service, I suppose, but all the bluster rarely justifies the release of material that's only documenting the minutiae of studio-to-stage transfer. "801 Live" is, like Bowie's "David Live" or Dylan's "Before The Flood", one of the exceptions that prove the rule. It's a properly creative live recording, on which songs differ radically from their blueprints.
801 were conceived by Roxy's Phil Manzanera & Co. as a summer of '76 spree and this is a useful summary of their operations. The set is a mixture of Quiet Sun material, Manzanera/Eno collaborations and a pair of gold-plated oldies thrown in for sheer enjoyment purposes. It's all been sensibly reshuffled and tightly edited to make an untroubled run onto record.
The selections almost obliterate their studio counterparts in terms of tension and spontaneity. Although most amenable, Manzanera's solo album maintained a hedge-hoppingly low profile; potential excitement was often exchanged for painstaking exactitude. Play these versions of "Diamond Head" and "Miss Shapiro" and you'll get the picture. "Diamond Head" began life as a prettily florid melody; here it's unsanctioned purpose and power. Manzanera's guitar feeds greedily off Eno's treatments until he severs the connection for a final break, all metal and mobility. "Miss Shapiro" has 801 wrenching themselves into a ritual frenzy as Eno snaps off chains of image-associated lyrics.
In fact, Eno's singing is a real surprise. I've often found it strangely extraneous on his own records, whereas here it's completely attuned to the band's performance. His neo-nasal delivery of "Baby's On Fire", deadpan intonation on the humorously motorik version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" and philosophical balladeering on the restrained "Rongwrong" are all telling.
Manzanera's "Lagrima" opens, its rarefied melody quartering back and forth like an Andean condor, just guitar and electronics. Whereupon 801 take their breathless arrangement of Lennon-McCartney's "Tomorrow Never Knows" right up into Cloud Nine. A cirrus sweep of keyboards from Francis Monkman and Eno clears the way for Bill MacCormick's exuberant bass, Manzanera and Lloyd Watson's snickering guitars and Simon Phillips' splattered drums and hi-hat. On your feet or out of your head for zero-gravity nostalgia as Eno's vocals are tapeslowed into the mix. The initial momentum is maintained until closedown. "T.N.K." is stoned and immaculate, a peak of psychedelic revivalism.
The name of the 801 game is energy, and an energy undiluted through all the complex changes of "East Of Asteroid" or slipways of "Sombre Reptiles". Watson's slide is a satisfying foil for Manzanera's more acrimonious playing. MacCormick (whose bass is at once intricate and warm-blooded) and Phillips are the kind of rhythm section most bands can only dream about having aboard. Monkman's electric piano and clavinet balance out against Eno's more wayward contributions. The recording quality is excellent, even with both sides well over the 20 minute mark.
It would be great to see 801 become a more permanent live fixture. I almost hope Roxy's sabbatical is extended indefinitely. Who need Roxy Music, now anyway? They simply haven't cut it on album since the cataclysmic "Stranded". In addition, Ferry's solo work has improved noticeably since last autumn. His next record of original songs could well take on from where "Stranded" left off. Roxy have become an ineffectual exercise in self-parody whilst 801 do what they do with unbridled enthusiasm. Admittedly, the two units place their emphasis on very different aspects, but it seems pointless for Roxy to continue firing on less than one cylinder (and I doubt very much whether things will change even after a year's break) - thus ensuring that 801 effectively cease trading as a band right now. In 801 Manzanera has a really strong base on which to build. It's altogether far too good am offer for him to refuse.
Michael Bloom, Rolling Stone
Phil Manzanera and 801 soar
PHIL MANZANERA IS one of the world's last psychedelic guitarists. His electric hippie asides spiced Bryan Ferry's romantic histrionics in Roxy Music, while his practicality often anchored Brian Eno's ballooning aesthetics. Now, with his own floating 801 entourage, Manzanera has created one of the last- and best - psychedelic bands in the world.
Manzanera as bandleader is a sensitive collaborator, sort of a Frank Zappa with humility. Deciding from the start that 801 was to be a communal project, he found players whose contributions would complement his own and who could expand to fill any available space. He's organized his maverick musicians into a smoking performance unit in much the same way that his cohort, Eno, juggles quixotic hooks and phrases into delectable pop songs. That Manzanera has chosen splendid players helps, of course- drummer Simon Phillips (Jack Bruce), bassist Bill MacCormick (Matching Mole), pianist Francis Monkman (Curved Air) and the unfathomable Eno - but most of 801's firepower stems from his own concise direction.
The first record, 801 Live, surfaced in England almost two years ago, as if by accident. 801 was then an ad hoc group Manzanera and Eno formed in order to play a few concerts together. This set, recorded at their third and final show, may well be the most vital live album of the decade. There are no egotistical displays or star wars - even Manzanera's longest solo is a whirlwind two-dozen bars in the intro to "Miss Shapiro". Instead, he teases the performers through momentous changes and tricky offbeats, uniting everyone by ordeal. The band emerges not only tight but spontaneous, and the ensemble texture is rich and explosive, like the finest from the Sixties groups.
Kevin Martin, The Lamb, Texas
After weeks of anticipatory hysteria I finally acquired my copy of 801/Live. Almost destroying my turntable in the process, I played the album and listened intently. It is a record that is filled with many sounds. Strangely enough, the one sound I recall most vividly-is a sharp rapping, like a hammer striking nails. And the nails were being driven into the coffin of Roxy Music.
Perhaps I should back up a bit. The members of Roxy Music have taken a year off for ventures outside the band. Phil Manzanera (quite possibly the best thing that's ever happened to the electric guitar) and former Roxy strategist Eno (profiled in last month's issue) formed a band called 801 and played three concerts this fall. 801 is rounded out by bassist Bill MacCormick (Matching Mole and Quiet Sun), drummer Simon Phillips, Lloyd Watson on slide guitar and vocals, and Francis Monkman (ex-Curved Air) on Fender Rhodes and clavinet. Their performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall was recorded on Island's mobile unit.
It is, in my opinion, one of the best live albums ever made. The selections include two cuts from the Quiet Sun LP, three from Eno's solo albums, and three from Manzanera's solo effort, Diamond Head. The remaining two cuts are Anglo classics. The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" and The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" are given tasteful yet offbeat treatments.
"Lagrima", which appears on Diamond Head and as the beginning of "Sol Caliente" on the aforementioned Quiet Sun album, opens with its most beautiful rendition yet. "Lagrima" slowly merges into "TNK" with Eno's vocals sounding stronger than ever before. This is one of the very few times anyone has done justice to the Fab Four and this cut alone is worth the price of this disc. Following with "East of Asteroid" and "Rongwrong", Quiet Sun again (it should be mentioned that Quiet Sun was Manzanera's pre-Roxy band that he reformed to record an extraordinary album, 'Mainstream'), 801 wins the Soft Machine sound alike contest hands down. Playing with aggression and subtlety simultaneously, if you can believe that, these guys actually improve on the original versions.
The last cut on side one is perhaps the most incredible of all (I hate to compare). "Sombre Reptiles" should cease forever any doubts concerning Eno's compositional brilliance. Taken from his masterpiece Another Green World, "... Reptiles" is the quintessential Eno composition. One of Eno's favorite strategies is laying down a simple progression of notes which becomes complex to the human ear with repetition. This technique is used with tremendous success here. Considering the 'vertical complexity (a favorite Eno descriptive phrase) of "... Reptiles", the fact that it is performed with such skill and emotion is almost unbelievable. Phew! All of this and I haven't even mentioned side two.
Not that side two isn't worth mentioning. "Baby's on Fire", from Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets LP, is given a less frantic treatment, and is a vast improvement over the June 1,1974 version. On "Diamond Head", the title cut from PM's solo album, Manzanera displays his guitar virtuosity. The beauty and power of this piece is showcased dramatically. Manzanera's international background provides many influences and flavourings for his compositional and is a direct contributor lo his truly original style. Eno's heavy vocals dominate a high energy version of "Miss Shapiro", another gem from Diamond Head. This points to the strength of the Manzanera/Eno songwriting team. Just the hint of these two men forming any sort of permanent alliance is enough to cause irrational behaviour on my part. The possibilities would be limitless.
A very sophisticated version of "You Really Got Me" follows with Eno's monotone vocal giving the song a mood quite unlike any it has known before. Closing with a reprise of "Miss Shapiro" that has the audience clapping in unison, 801 attempts to end a concert that should achieve legendary status with little difficulty. Not yet satisfied (greedy twits), the crowd demands an encore. And what an encore. An incredible version of Eno's "Third Uncle" follows with Eno apathetically mumbling the lyrics while Manzanera goes absolutely berserk on his guitar.
This brings us back to the question of Roxy Music's future, if it exists. With all of its members displaying the ability to succeed outside the band it seems unlikely we will ever see Roxy Music together again. To quote one who knows:
I remember all those moments lost in wonder that we'll never find again
There's no more time for us
Nothing is there for us to share but yesterday
Bryan Ferry "Song For Europe"
If this is true it is sad indeed. The pop music world will never again see the likes of Roxy Music. But we can remember and we can look forward to many years of incredible music from everyone involved. 801 Live is the beginning of a great new tradition.
Stephen Lavers, National Rockstar
AT last, innovative, immaculate, dynamic techno-rock.
Recorded live at their third and final performance this summer, the band was masterminded by Roxy's Phil Manzanera and former comrade Brian Eno. With the exception of a Beatles' and a Kinks' number, all the material is drawn from their solo albums and Manzanera's pre-Roxy Quiet Sun. Every trick is rearranged and sparkling fresh! They perform with more feeling and cohesion than bands that have been together for years.
'Lagrima', the first track, is a wall of cascading pulsating sound, built up by Manzanera on lead guitar that soon develops into a ripping, spaced-out, flowing adaptation of the Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. Each track is different. There are unusually structured Soft Machine-ish instrumentals like 'East Of Asteroid'. Repeated riffs on guitar backed by an undercurrent of synthesisers combine with a shattering bass rhythm by Bill MacCormick. 'Sombre Reptiles' is a slithering sand dance led by an introspective Eno on snakey synthesizers.
Favourite tracks are Eno's surreal 'Baby's On Fire' and 'Miss Shapiro'. The first opens with funky abstract keyboards contrasting with strange ambiguous lyrics delivered by Eno in detached fake shock horror tones, that is transformed by glinting slide guitar from Lloyd Watson. 'Miss Shapiro' is constructed on an incredible bouncing rhythm laid down by bass, synthesisers and lead guitar interposed by absurd alliterated lyrics that keep you amused as well as becoming part of the total sound. Rock climax is a skull rattling gutsy adaptation of Kinks' 'You Really Got Me' underpinned by one blinking electronic ping.
At last, music for the mind and body.
Richard Williams, Melody Maker
A few weeks ago, while writing in this column about the prevailing ghastly organisation of contemporary rock concerts I mentioned that I hoped one day to leave such an event feeling happy, fulfilled, and not the least bit irritated. Conveniently, and to fit the theory, I'd expunged the memory of one concert which gave me exactly those feelings, in abundance: the appearance of a pick-up group called 801 at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall in September.
801 was, of course, the outfit created by Phil Manzanera to fill some of his time during Roxy Music's alleged Sabbatical. Against all the odds, the affair was enchanting and profound in equal measure, an absolute paragon of what can he achieved in this context, given musicians with intelligence, imagination, and sensitivity. Also, in a way, it sums up an era: the one which began, perhaps, with the Soft Machine's first gig and has now peaked as a commercial force. But, hearteningly, the concert never came on like an epitaph; rather, it suggested that there may be much more ground still ripe for exploration than has yet been covered. At the concert's close, I felt that these musicians had successfully proposed their own future, and laid the groundwork for a rewarding, creative longevity stretching far beyond the limits of their status, as an early Seventies commercial phenomenon.
Now, I'm pleased to report, that concert is available, almost in its entirety on an album called "801 Live". Along with "Songs In The Key Of Life," it's this winter's essential purchase. As a live album, it avoids the obvious polarities of function: it's neither a staggeringly 'perfect' monument to past glories (like "Viva Roxy Music or "Rock Of Ages"), nor an impressionistic, journalistic document of a one-off happening (like "Hard Rain" or "June 1, 1974"). This is no dead statement, no oddball jotting. It is valuable simply in its own right, as music pure and simple, with a scope and density of content, virtually unparalleled in its field.
The musicians are Manzanera and Lloyd Watson (guitars), Brian Eno (synthesizer, tapes, guitar, and chief voice), Francis Monkman (electric piano and clavinet), Bill MacCormick (bass guitar), and Simon Phillips (drums). Not, you'll admit, a line-up noted for its homogeneity, beyond the obvious link-ups. Yet somehow they coalesce perfectly for the occasion: you might expect Phillips' schooled and session-honed drumming to be too full of current licks, for instance, but he responds to his colleagues' musical demands with a thoroughly sympathetic and supportive display. The same goes for Monkman, another fearsome musician whose role here is mainly the addition of colour and texture (remember, though, that he was rehearsing a new band with Robert Wyatt before the drummer had his accident a few years ago).
For once, to convey the full value of the record, it's necessary to describe it from beginning to end. The proceedings open with a, train whistle (an amusing reference to the cover of Phil's solo album, "Diamond Head" before the leader performs a short version of his solo piece "Lagrima", his instrument treated by Eno's synthesizer. It's been edited from the full concert length, and it makes you want to hear more of such collaborations between these two, after the manner of the Eno/Fripp recordings. "Lagrima" dissolves into a churning band section composed of contrasting overlaid rifts which, after a couple of minutes, turns out to be John Lennon's "Tomorrow Never Knows".
The choice of this song is the first indication that here is something special: how many other groups would attempt it? Certainly there are none who could an interpretation so faithful to the spirit of the original, yet so full of its own character. The spirits are strangely stirred when Eno's flat, mournful vocal reaches the words ". . . and love is all, and love Is everything/It is knowing. It Is knowing . . ." and I was even more moved to discover that this performance took place ten years and one month, almost to the day, after the release of "Revolver," the song's parent album. There is careful evocation of that period: bubbling keyboards imitating speeded-up tapes underline altered vocal sounds (notably one whooshing entry, presumably the result of echo added during the mixing stage). I hope Lennon hears it: he'll be pleased and proud. (I almost added "of his children.")
"East Of Asteroid" and "Rongwrong" focus on a later period in British rock, when Zappa and the Softs were the twin deities and Quiet Sun were among their lesser-known disciples. Both are in a sense abstract pieces, typical of their time in that they concentrate on solving musical equations, tickling a certain 1970 undergraduate sensibility, yet 801's collective wit is acute enough to transform them, superficially, into thoroughly contemporary artefacts. The wandering bass ending to the second song is, though, a real period piece, an example of the kind of technique that Bryan Ferry would annex in the early days of Roxy, in order to broaden the effect of his songs and to give the band its "experimental" edge.
The side ends with what I remember as being a particularly moving treatment of Eno's "Sombre Reptiles", a highlight of his unjustly neglected "Another Green World" LP. It's a serpentine melodic loop, and I'm sorry it's faded on the album after three minutes, because you wish it to go on forever. Monkman's chattering Fender Rhodes and clavinet add a subtle and apposite extra dimension, and on this kind of composition you can bear Eno growing into something more than a mere purveyor of novelties. (If you don't have "Another Green World," please check it out. It's far beyond "Warm Jets" and "Tiger Mountain" in every sense.)
Side Two opens up with the third recorded version of the same composer's "Baby's On Fire". In place of the Rainbow recording's blistering fire there's a lighter, more contemporary feel, and the piece is worthwhile for the twin guitar solos. Manzanera's typical soaring excursion, and Watson's furious steel scrabblings. Amusingly enough, it grinds to a halt on the "Black Is Black'/"I'm On Fire" riff.
For the first time, and after an admirable display of reticence, Manzanera takes command for a six-minute reading of his "Diamond Head" theme. Again, it's wholly characteristic: full-blown widescreen romance, the sweet guitar leaping out of the frame in full Todd-AO colour. He's a funny player, some nights sounding like an angel and others unable to hit an E-major chord straight, but here he's consistently workmanlike, and more.
The terse, tough "Miss Shapiro" comes next, from the same source, its eccentricity pinned down by the rhythm section's devotion and work-rate. The guitars snarl, struggling to free themselves during a torrid introduction. Now they loosen up, and the fun begins. A familiar chopped guitar pattern prefaces "You Really Got Me", played with deadpan brilliance and sung in a curious but winning close harmony by Eno, Watson, and MacCormick. Underneath it all, someone hammers out unvarying one-note quavers on a keyboard, and the mind races back through the original "Re-make/Re-model", past "All Tomorrow's Parties", and comes to rest with Terry Riley's "In C". Ray Davies meets the Systems Minimalists! When such confluence can take place, we must realise that we've been living through a period of unusual artistic freedom.
There's an encore: Eno's "Third Uncle"' with the three rhythm guitarists all flicking out the bludgeoning key pattern. Phillips noodles impatiently during the solo, gathers himself and launches the sextet into a final bloody assault. If the funk bands try very hard, this is how they'll sound one day. It's vicious, and the point is driven home when the record ends with the fast chord of the song, applause deleted.
During the concert, these people collectively reached a point where virtually anything is possible. The music seemed to me to embody all the virtues of the very early Roxy Music, with the freedom to try and the freedom to fail. Except that now they're more confident, more able, more eloquent. Manzanera, Eno, and the rest of the "school" to which they belong have, if they wish, a lengthy and increasingly fascinating creative life ahead of them. As the words of "Tomorrow Never Knows" suggest, "801 Live" may well be simply the end of the beginning.
Ray Dellar, HiFi News
AS it seems that I'm destined never to review Stevie Wonder's 'Songs In The Key Of Life' - last month my copy got lost somewhere in Geepeeohland, this month I've received a replacement that's pressed more like corned beef - I feel the next best thing to do is to recommend an album that is, in its own way, of equal importance.
Can it be by Bowie, Stewart or Lennon, you ask? Well no - it's actually by a band known as 801, the album being titled 801 Live. Now I suppose I'd better explain that 801 is really a kind of a Roxy offshoot, conceived by Eno and Phil Manzanera. And on the evidence of this recording, made at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, last September, the band - Eno (vocals/synthesiser etc.), Manzanera (guitar), Bill MacCormick (bass/vocals), Francis Monkman (keyboards), Simon Phillips (drums) and Lloyd Watson (slide guitar/vocals) - would appear to be somewhat more interesting than Roxy itself at this point in time.
M & E's 'Miss Shapiro' is, for instance, a beaut of a track, throwing up lyrical images faster than a well-executed Hindu shuffle. Then, just when you're set and mentally motoring along with the band, a familiar riff is thrown up like a detour sign and you're off down 'deja-vu' alley, via a Surformed version of the Kinks' 'You really got me' that works amazingly well. 801 is a band that really likes to stick its head out.
Not content to zoom through originals like 'Third uncle' and 'Baby's on fire' in a manner that leaves the listener hung up with jet lag, they even have the audacity to present a version of the Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows' that somehow retains the mystic charm of the original yet has that additional something that is very much a part of 801. And any band that pulls off something of that nature - as 801 successfully do - goes immediately to the top of my 'bands to look out for in '77' listing. I suggest you put them on yours.
Rating: recording A (very good); performance 1* (outstanding)
Ashley Franklin, Liquorice
801 was born out of Phil Manzanera's desire "to play a few summer festivals", something which he never had the chance to do as a member of Roxy Music. Similarly, 801 is a product of what Manzanera has never had enough elbow-room to produce under Ferry. Come next Spring, Roxy will be needing Manzanera, but does Manzanera need Roxy?
'Siren' pales in comparison with '801 Live', an album brimming with ideas and inspiration - all the more shame that this group isn't going to be allowed to develop any further One doubts the necessity and validity of so many live albums nowadays, but '801 Live' passes the test - a perfectly balanced melange of fresh compositions, classic oldies and radically reworked studio material. Eno doodles on the synth, treats the guitars and gives off a surprisingly more than passable voice; Bill MacCormick plays his typically flourishing bass lines; Lloyd Watson does Melody Maker proud as he strikes, slides and slurps his guitar to great effect; drummer Simon Phillips hammers away most assuredly; Francis Monkman, who painted rainbows in Curved Air, soars and scans on the keyboards (good to see him in action - he's understated his talent for too long).
Album highlights are 'Lagrima" which receives the phased swirling Manzaguitar treatment, and which segues into 'TNK' (Tomorrow Never Knows), a bold version of Lennon's neglected 'Revolver' classic. The meshing of the instruments is quite masterful, and Monkman's contribution dazzling. 'Diamond head' shows the lush, floating magic of Manzanera's guitar of the studio version transformed here to one of raw, stirring power. 'You Really Got Me' receives a neat, novel treatment, and Eno even sings in tune.
We need more bands like 801 - bands with a wide, cross-sectional approach, unafraid to experiment, and committed more to innovation than income. You know, bands like 801 ought to be given arts council grants.
Vivien Goldman, Sounds
Rocksy music
THURSDAY September 2, 1976. British Left-Fielders' night out at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. It was 801's second and last gig (the other was Reading Festival). Phil Manzanera put together the six musicians, some of them from his former band Quiet Sun, specially for those two dates. Just for kicks.
As you might expect from musicians of Eno's and Phil's imagination and dedication, 801 were in no way a jamming band. Although the musicians don't play together on any regular formal basis, 801 are tight, responsive and as mutually sympathetic as any established gigging/ recording band. Their music's a fruitful meeting-ground between Quiet Sun's experimental free form jazz, Roxy's snazzy commercial bite, and Eno's highly personal games/adventures with words and music. The tracks are from Phil's solo 'Diamond Head' album, Eno's three Island solo albums, and Q.S's 'Mainstream.'
Drummer Simon Phillips dominates, free as jazz but militant' (i.e. brisk, stirring, aggressive) as the best Jamaican drummers. Eno's vocals are always exciting. His delivery's polished and stylised, like Ferry's. Meanwhile Manzanera, notably on his instrumental showcase, 'Diamond Head', reels off shimmering silken ribbons of guitar lines with Allmanesque fluid grace, or rocks ferociously. Three cheers for the Island Mobile's crystalline recording they don't miss a lick. 801 produced, at Basing Street, and the sound's so immaculate that if it wasn't for tumultuous waves of applause phasing in and out, 'Live' could pass for a studio album. The unmistakably live quality is due to the exuberance and spontaneous energy in the music, not, as in most live albums, the roughness of the sound.
'Miss Shapiro' judders with excitement. Phil's eloquence is pure soul, Phillips' drums are frighteningly intense. Eno implodes into the song -first biting off words like bullets, then opening sensually in the middle break. His enunciation is clipped and English, as always, clear and tough as a diamond; then Phil's angry guitar slams the band forward into a menacing attack on the Kinks' 'You Really Got Me'. Eno sounds psychotic, as his keyboards bleep with infuriating deliberation; like an Oriental water torture, each note drips inexorably into the nerve centres.
All this, and rock 'n' roll too.
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