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01 |
Naked death |
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15:42 |
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02 |
Tumbleweed |
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03:58 |
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03 |
Promises |
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05:43 |
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04 |
Embryonic fusion |
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24:08 |
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| Country |
United Kingdom |
| Spars |
DDD |
| Sound |
Stereo |
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Vertigo / Repertoire Records
GTR 009
1971 / 1993
[]
Akarma AK 131
Anna Meek: Vocals
Hugh Eaglestone: Sax
Graham Wilson: Guitars
Robert Calvert: Sax
Thiery Rheinhart: Wind instruments
Catapilla [UK]
Catapilla (71), Changes (72)
West London based Catapilla originally formed in 1970 with a lineup of Jo Meek (vocals), Malcolm Frith (drums), Hugh Eaglestone (sax), Dave Taylor (bass), Graham Wilson (guitars), Robert Calvert (sax) and Thiery Reinhart (wind instruments). Their brand of experimental jazz-rock brought them to the attention of Orange Music, a management company who also handled John Miles, and they arranged for the band to showcase their set to an invited audience of Music Industry people. Black Sabbath manager Patrick Meehan picked up on the band and offered to produce their debut LP. Meek left and was replaced by his sister Anna. The first LP was released in late 1971. To support the band headed out on a nationwide tour with Graham Bond and Roy Harper. However the age of "musical differences" reared its head before the group entered the studio to record their second LP resulting in Eaglestone, Frith, Rheinhart and Taylor quitting to be replaced by Bryan Hanson (drums), Ralph Rawlinson (keyboards), and Carl Wassard (bass). Changes came out in 1972 and was a much more instrumental affair than their debut. Soon after the album's release the band split up. Catapilla is quite good, but Changes is excellent! One of the best prog/jazzrock works I ever heard. It must be in every collection. -- Andras Sumegi
Catapilla
Personnel:
ROBERT CALVERT sax A B
HUGH EAGLESTONE sax A
MALCOLM FRITH drms A
BRYAN HANSON drms B
ANNA MEEK vcls A B
RALPH ROLINSON keyb'ds B
THIERRY RHEINHARDT woodwind A
DAVE TAYLOR bs A
CARL WASSARD bs B
GRAHAM WILSON gtr A B
ALBUMS:
1(A) CATAPILLA (Vertigo 6360 029) 1971 R1
2(B) CHANGES (Vertigo 6360 074) 1972 R3
NB: (1) also issued in the US.
Built around the nucleus of Wilson, Calvert and Meek, this unusual progressive band opts for long tracks, not too clearly structured, but with a unique and quite eerie atmosphere. At times the substance is necessarily overstretched, but mostly it works well and steers clear from any tedious soloing. If the music is spiritually inclined, it is at least never sugar-coated and the piercing, witch-like voice of Anna Meek creeps under your very skin. Purgatoric elements are present throughout, stronger even on Changes, which carries a telling track title: Thanks Christ For George. They have a rare quality: they do not sound like anybody else.
Both albums are particularly collectable coming in the original spiral Vertigo label with the spiral inner sleeve but the second one is particularly difficult to find.
For more information, check the following website: http://web.tiscali.it/catapilla
(Marcel Koopman)
=======================
The embryonic voyage of Catapilla
England, early seventies. Not many years are passed from the hights of UFO Club psychedelia and music almost lives on a whole new strange form of "underground" for a free generation. The key year is 1969: two innovative records breaks that landscape with strong ideas: the former, "In The Court Of The Crimson King", will unintentionally generate the symphonic progressive music; the latter, Colosseum's "Valentyne Suite", will start jazz-prog, a floating peronalized music that will search new structures and formulas.
Like Vertigo's neightbours Colosseum, the west-end londoners Catapilla are intrigued by the strange possibilities of this new multifaced explorative musical mix, a sort of "embryonic fusion". The early protagonists are Malcolm Frith, drums, Dave Taylor, bass, Graham Wilson, guitar, plus a wind section (Hugh Eaglestone, Robert Calvert, Thierry Rheinhart). Joe Meek is the early lead vocalist before the first album is recorded.
The band direction can be described rapidly as "the canterbury sound in acid": an uneasy, but somewhat essential approach to jazz-prog, without symphonic traces as in other bands of the moment such as Affinity, Cressida, or Spring. In this way, Catapilla shows their strange form of modernism that keep them out from time shifting. Their extremism starts where is the end of british blues revival, with a lot of influences of psychedelic studio work approach and the oblique meaning of "total music" as imagined being and becoming at the end of sixties.
The band find soon Orange Music management with Black Sabbath manager Patrick Meehan, that produces their first effort. The record is released and the cover image is just surprising. To a world that till that day was just decored with beatlesque "apples", Catapilla declare theirself as (truly) "caterpillar" that destroy that utopic perfection, starts tunnels, go penetrate and rotten the idea of british pop-sykedelia, eating the green ears of pepperland people too long lost in strawberry fields.
In "Catapilla" perhaps the production is not so strong as it was necessary: however, the many instruments and the intricated fluxus of ideas keeps a notably fluidity. The long guitar axis explorations and winds go on and on searching ecstatic notes. "Naked Death" is almost 16 munutes and "Embryonic Fusion" surpasses the 24. The former has more to be confronted with esoteric bands of that period such as Room, Hannibal, Aquila, Brian Davison's Every Which Way, VDGG or the Neil Young in his more lenghty, bluesy efforts, than to "canterbury" bands such as Nucleus or Soft Machine. In fact the scope of Catapilla music is never to update Miles Davis, and in their non-focus we can find now something in many aspects fresh and new.
Very few are Catapilla gigs as headliner (a sort that they shared with all minor Vertigo bands), but helped to stimulate the band to new fronteers. Catapilla in 1971 find a new standard for "avantgarde pop music", meaning "pop" not as it is today conceived. With little exemples to follow, Catapilla can now produce a totally original sound but they fail to create some attention around them as bands such as Van Der Graaf Generator. Just VDGG with their psycho-drama seems the nearest to Catapilla, with Anna Meek witch-like vhispers а la Gilly Smith.
There will be a Vertigo tour with Graham Bond and Roy Harper after the record. Eaglestone, Frith, Rheinhard and Taylor will be substitute with Bryan Hanson (drums), Ralph Rawlinson (keyboards) and Carl Wassard (bass). "Changes" is the result of the new line-up, a true masterpiece, four tracks particularly well-produced with strange effects in studio, with a sound rather underwater-like.
"Changes" is a record particularly otherwordly. Every picture seems not onlu played, but a particular state (or illness) of the mind. I.e., "Reflections" opens with a cappella vocal intro that sounds like sampled music from another galaxy/universe (and sampled certainly it isn't, we are in full 1971). The effect is a "liquid movement" that transcend the formal idea of "progressive music" in a cosmic way. The notes are in some point of the record such as surrounded by a circular echo, as a stone throw in the water: an idea that can sound strange but it seems very avantgardish also in 2001.
The incredible beauty of "Reflection", by itself, can push to buy this record (I did something like this many years ago). Surely "Changes" could be astonishing and astounding for many and many listeners of today that never will hear a "progressive record".
Stanz
Catapilla
Jo Meek, Graham Wilson, Malcolm Frith, Hugh Eaglestone, Dave Taylor, Robert Calvert and Thiery Reinhardt formed Catapilla in London, 1970. The group played a jazz-influenced kind of progressive rock with focus on long and jam-oriented tracks. A management company called Orange Music soon picked up Catapilla, and they offered the band to play their music to an invited audience of Music Industry people. Amongst the audience was Patrick Meehan, who was the manager for Black Sabbath at that time.
Meehan liked what he heard, and the band had soon got a contract with Vertigo. In the meantime, Jo Meek had left and was replaced by his own sister Anna. Meehan also produced the self-titled first album. The band then toured around the whole country, before entering the studio again to record the second album, "Changes", which was released in 1972. But before that, Eaglestone, Frith, Reinhardt and Taylor had left the group. Brian Hanson and Carl Wassard replaced them, and the band also added a keyboardist, Ralph Rolinson.
However, the band soon split up after the release of the second album, and disappeared into obscurity. Just like too many other progressive rock bands from the same time. But their two albums contains some of the most truly progressive and orignal music released on the legendary Vertigo-"swirl" label.
Discography
Catapilla (1971 Vertigo 6360 029)
Changes (1972 Vertigo 6360 074)
Catapilla - "Catapilla" (1971) The first of their two albums. Compared to "Changes", this is a less atmospheric but also more structured album. Of course, the music is pretty much based in jams here too, but the themes and riffs are clearer than on "Changes". Two of the tracks on the album, "Tumbleweed" and "Promises", reminds me in fact a little bit of Affinity (another Vertigo-"swirl" band). Anyway, the album opens with the 15-minute "Naked Death". Powerful vocal-parts, and the usual long jam in the middle. I think the saxophone playing here lacks some of the atmosphere and emotion it had on the second album, but it's still good. The highlight on the album is of course the 24-minute "Embryonic Fusion". An intense blowout of energetic, saxophone-driven early 70's jazz-influenced progressive rock. It features great jamming and aggressive, tormented vocals from Meek. A good album for anyone who likes saxophone-dominated progressive rock.
Catapilla - Catapilla
Released: 1971/2000
Label: Vertigo Records / Akarma
Cat. No.: AK-131
Total Time: 49:36
Reviewed by: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck, August 2002
Catapilla is early progressive rock that needs another serious look by music historians and further inspection by listeners. This is their original recording on the Vertigo label released in 1971 and reissued on 180-gram vinyl by Akarma Records in 2000.
Vocalist Anna Meek sounds like a distraught Nico as she wails, cry's, and screams out her pleas to anyone that will listen. I didn't particularly care for her voice; it was out of tune and annoying for the most part. The music however is what saves her from complete disaster.
This group was known for its long instrumental breaks, and thankfully that is what a majority of the album gives you. A lot of saxophone is utilized giving their sound an eerie albeit free form setting without any room for compromise. Side two is comprised of one song that runs for 24:09. It's wasn't your typical prog-rock song mind you, keep in mind this was 1971 and these folks were making groundbreaking music. Today it's more commonplace for one song to go on for that long on a studio album, it does happen; however it's apt to be in live setting that it happens more often.
I have to give them credit, they were a force in music in Britain in their short lifespan and they helped to create a wake that many groups would continue after they dissolved.
Rating: 3.5/5
More about Catapilla:
Track Listing: Side One: Naked Death (15:36) / Tumbleweed (3:58) / Promises (5:43)
Side Two: Embryonic Fusion (24:09)
Musicians:
Anna Meek - Vocals
Theirry Reinhardt - Tenor Alto Flute, Clarinet
Hugh Eaglestone -Tenor Saxophone
Robert Calvert - Alto Tenor Saxophone
Dave Taylor - Bass
Malcom Firth - Drums
Graham Wilson - Lead Guitar
Contact:
Fan website: web.tiscali.it/catapilla/
Note: will open new browser window
Discography
Catapilla (1971)
Changes (1972)
Catapilla - Catapilla
Member: Rick Fusion 10/13/03
My first thought upon hearing this was "Wow". Jazzy, psychedelic progressive rock that was a few years ahead of it's time. They probably would have achieved greater fame had they been around at the height of fusion in the mid to late seventies.
The album kicks off with ?Naked death¦, clocking in at over 15 minutes. Graham Wilson flexes some psychedelic guitar muscle, but, the real force behind this session is Robert Calvert (Yeah, the voice of Hawkwind) on saxophone. ?Tumbleweed¦ and ?Promises¦ are shorter and a bit more melodic. I would assume these were recorded in an attempt to get some airplay. Don't get me wrong they're both very good just short. Anna Meeks vocals are a cross between the screams of Grace Slick and the ballsy belts of Janis Joplin. The album ends with the 24 minute Embryonic Fusion. Robert Calvert's and Hugh Eaglestone's dual sax playing on this track is inspirational. Of course at 24 minutes all band members have the opportunity to shine on this jam.
Catapilla will not only appeal to fans of the fusion and Canterbury scene, but psychedelia and jambands fans as well. Originally released on vertigo records in 1971, it has now been released on CD by Akarma Records in 2000.
Catapilla
Anna Meek - vocals
Thjerry Reinhardt - tenor alto flute clarinet
Hugh Eaglestone - tenor saxophone
Robert Calvert - alto tenor saxophone
Dave Taylor - bass
Malcolm Frith - drummer
Graham Wilson - lead guitarist
