Kevin Ayers has always had a reputation as being one of the great under-achievers of British Rock music. In many ways this is true because although Ayers had the looks, the talent, the rich baritone voice, the laconic charm and the charisma to be a star (Bryan Ferry would have given his right arm to be as naturally stylish as Kev), he never could quite get himself together enough to make the step up from cult figure status. Thing is, Kev didn't seem to care too much anyway. As long as he could afford to indulge his passion for fine wines and soak up the sun in the Med then he was perfectly content.
All of this made for a body of work that varies wildly in style and consistency, but when he was on form Ayers could seduce your ears like few other singer-songwriters.
"Whatevershebringswesing" was his third album since departing the legendary Canterbury jazz & psychedelic rock band Soft Machine. The first, "Joy Of A Toy", had been a natural extension of his work with the Softs, combining psychedelia and traces of Soul and Jazz with a love of the bizarre. The follow-up, "Shooting At The Moon" had been recorded with his new backing group, The Whole World, an aggregation stuffed with characters as fascinating and complex as their leader, such as soon-to-be-a-superstar Mike Oldfield, keyboardsman and orchestrator David Bedford and avant-garde saxist Lol Coxhill. The resulting album probably confused many of those who heard it, varying wildly from experimental squalling to tender ballads in the blink of an eye.
Whatevershebrings..." wasn't as extreme as SATM had been, and although each song has a different mood and style, the album as a whole hangs together surprisingly well. Actually it's my favourite Ayers album of all, containing at least three classic Kev tracks.
The album gets off to a sombre start with the heavily orchestrated "There Is Loving", a three-piece suite (sofa so good!) but soon lightens up with the gorgeous ballad "Margaret", Ayers' plummy tones anchoring the flowery sentiments of the lyrics in almost parodic fashion.
"Champagne Cowboy Blues" is a spoof of those awful, sentimental Country songs that Granny likes. Like most spoofs it palls on repeated hearing but the part near the end when Kev croaks "goodbye old horse" always cracks me up.
"Oh My" is a bit of an old-time swinger while "Lullaby" is a flute-flavoured... well, lullaby.
I've left the three best tracks until last. "Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes" is a hilarious tale concerning the pleasures of certain illegal substances, over which David Bedford plays the most ridiculous Honky-Tonk piano that's ever been recorded.
"Song From The Bottom Of The Well" has Kev doing the old Horror Movie bit while Mike Oldfield's guitar drones, squeals and howls in most extraordinary fashion. Since his global domination with the tubular clangers it's often forgotten that the man is a genius guitar player. In fact, Oldfield also guest-stars on the relaxed title track, contributing a mellow, meandering solo that perfectly complements Kevin's advice that "If you really want to have a good time, let the good time have you". Ayers' former Soft Machine band-mate Robert Wyatt's harmonies float above Kevin's deeper voice and the effect is like having your eardrums massaged by angels. Perfect!
If you buy the expanded CD edition you also get four nice bonus tracks, including the wonderfully titled "Fake Mexican Tourist Blues".
Typically, after completing the album Ayers took himself out of the loop, retiring to France where he looned about with Daevid Allen and Gong for several months. Despite good reviews "Whatevershebrings..." became another tick in the should-have-done-better column of Ayers' career. That's a shame because it's a consistently entertaining, exceptionally varied album of top tunes that is actually far more accessible than many more overtly commercial artists were able to deliver. Try it. You might be pleasantly surprised.