Now this is an odd one. I bought this 2CD set cheap on EBay a few years ago, without really looking at what was on it, but being aware of Allen's solo work.
It turns out that this compilation contains all the tracks from his 1971 Bananamoon album, and the 1977 Now Is The Happiest Time Of Your Life.
In a 2CD set, you'd expect one album on CD1, the other on CD2, but oh no! Irish label Atom Music Ltd decided to release this 2 CD set with the tracks from both albums slapped together in a random order.
Back in the day, I did own both of these albums on vinyl - Bananamoon bought on Virgin's cheap Caroline label from Virgin in Liverpool in the mid 1970s, and Now Is The Happiest Time Of Your Life in Newcastle during university days. And they're very different albums, one raw and proto-Gong, while the other is acoustic, poetic and downbeat. So as I said, an odd juxtaposition. I was tempted to treat them as two separates, and probably would have done if their integrity had been preserved.
So, CD1 opens with It's The Time Of Your Life, the opening track on Bananamoon, a very Gong like loud thrash which wouldn't have been out of place in Camembert Electrique, followed by Now... song, Why Do We Treat Ourselves Like We Do, a very dreamy acoustic song which references the Planet Gong trilogy, and is blissful lovely hippy love and peace fare. by contrast, Fred The Fish (Bananamoon) sounds like an improvised studio jam in a very singsong manner. Fun, but hardly profound. Crocodile Nonsense Poem (Now...) is an acapella half sung/half spoken poem, which harks back to Allen's early performance poet days. It's nonsense and throwaway, but harmless. Deya Goddess (Now...), is another gentle acoustic number, in parts reminiscent of early Roy Harper. CD1 ends with three Bananamoon tracks - the lovely Soft Machine song Memories, written by Hugh Hopper (later recorded by Whitney Houston) and sung by Robert Wyatt; then the rough, angry All I Want Is Out of Here, and finally, the sprawling & His Adventures In The Land Of Flip (a title which makes no sense unless, as on the original album, it follows Stoned Innocent Frankenstein - see CD2). It's twelve minutes of mayhem and over indulgence, with perhaps three or four worth listening to.
CD2 kicks off with Flamenco Zero (Now...), a pleasant Flamenco guitar piece, which I suspect is neither played nor composed by Allen, which doesn't really set up White Neck Blooze/Codein Coda (Bananamoon), a rambling bluesy refrain, hardly exciting or innovative stuff. Tally And Orlando Meet The Cockpot Pixies (Now...) features Allen trying to explain the Radio Gnome Trilogy to his two toddler children over a fairground ride soundtrack, and is a bit too cute and contrived to be rewarding listening, but as on the original album, it leads into the bouncy 60s sounding See You On The Watchtower, not great, not awful. Unlike I'm A Bowl (Bananamoon) which is awful. Poet For Sale (Now...) is another of Allen's spoken poems over a gentle guitar and vocal background. Hmmm.
Stoned Innocent Frankenstein (Bananamoon) is a cheerful, quite catchy little romp, humorous without pretension, a nice piece of whimsy, with two tracks from Now... ending CD2 - Only Make Love If You Want To, another gentle acoustic number, quite pleasant, and the much longer I Am, an ambient soundscape, which is quite enjoyable.
So, the verdict? Two decent albums, both with moments of magic and elements of pretentiousness, silliness and dullness, but individually, each would probably get at least a 3* rating. But the haphazard and frankly bonkers way this compilation has been put together prevents the thread of either album coming through.
2* - a compilation which ruins the sense of two very different albums with a random running order.
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