To most people, David Bedford is best known for his work with Kevin Ayers and Roy Harper, but Bedford was already a composer with avant-garde credentials before teaming up with them. The title track, for example, is a piece for ten acoustic guitars, with elephants represented by a moistened thumb dragged across the back of the soundbox; the "Nurse's Song" is actually a setting of the Blake poem, with a bass guitar accompaniment by Mike Oldfield (with whom Bedford had worked in {$t   [ read more ]

CD $49.38

The combination of rock and classical elements are heightened on Bedford's musical portrayal of Homer's Odyssey as his multi-layered keyboard work solidly defines the essence of each individual track. Conjuring up mood, compelling rhythmic textures, and elaborate choral arrangements that float above the use of the Hammond organ and the ARP 2600 synthesizer, Bedford with the help of the Queen's College Choir presents a conceptual piece that stays magnificently on course without losing it   [ read more ]

CD $18.98

CD $18.98

CD $18.98

Not strictly speaking a rock piece, this work started life as a children's opera but reached the world as a finished recording. The music mixes avant-garde and rock elements in what, by the standards of typical progressive rock, was fairly daring form -- the dissonant elements were challenging, and Robert Powell's narration demanded that the music be used for something more than listeners' druggy diversions. Most of it is engaging and diverting, and all of it makes Tubular Bells look amateurish by com   [ read more ]

CD $12.33