This one was a bit of a punt, that I don’t remember buying. I’m speculating that the album cover showing Kirk playing two saxes at once attracted me (I first saw that done by Blockhead Davey Paine on Top Of The Pops).
Everything I know about Kirk has been gleaned from Wikipedia in the last ten minutes, so I’m going to sit back and enjoy this compilation of pieces from 1967- 1975.
There are three tracks from Kirk's 1967 album The Inflated Tear. The title track features a rather wonderful train whistle style refrain, interrupted by some smooth jazz pieces, and it's absolutely lovely, as is A Laugh For Rory, a sprightly flute number, while The Black And Crazy Blues far more moody, slow and brooding.
Other 1960s tunes include, Making Love After Hours, another jaunty, very 1960s sounding flute and piano piece, and Voluntary Slavery, more a bluesy rock song, with more than a hint of Hey Jude in the middle.
However the tunes from the 1970s are less appealing to me. There's a mixture of standards - Duke Ellington's Do Nothing Until You Hear From Me, Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine, Mort Dixon's Bye Bye Blackbird, and the hymn Old Rugged Cross - all competently and sympathetically done, but not nearly as interesting as Kirk's earlier original work, and with the possible exception of the funky Freaks For The Festival, the later original work lacks the impact of the 1960s tracks here.
This may be just dipping a toe into Kirk's music, but it's the earlier stuff that seems more exciting and innovative.
3* - the earlier stuff is wonderful but the 1970s' contributions feel less rewarding.
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