Indulge me if you will in a spot of “re-living my youth” circa 1976. Way back then a kid who was a near neighbour at the time told me about an album by a band oddly named 801 telling me if was top notch.
Curious, I bought a copy to learn it was a project fronted up by none other than Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera for something to do whilst Roxy were on a break. Phil co-opting a heavyweight group of musicians to join the fun such as Brian Eno, Lloyd Watson, Francis Monkman, Bill MacCormick and Simon Phillips.
They’d play only three concerts – the last of which from the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London was recorded resulting in 801 Live. My old copy long since lost in the mists of time and on seeing it pop up on Amazon the other day for under seven English pounds the order button had to be hit.
On arrival and listening to the CD it took me back in time almost fifty years to enjoy once more a sublime album of classy musicians strutting their considerable stuff through a varied set made up of interpretations of solo work from Manzanera and Eno with some covers thrown in.
It’s punchy, progressive, ambient and a bit jazzy, a bit Latin and very enjoyable.
The sublime instrumental of Lagrima starts the set. An effortless instrumental which is progressively ambient with Manzanera strutting his stuff over swells of lush keyboards.
T.N.K is an “out there” over for the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Dies. East of Asteroid has the superb Simon Phillips drumming up a storm with the keyboards keeping pace before Manzanera crashes in with the frantic guitar.
Eno shows a nice sensitive vocal on the lazy atmospheric Wrong Wrong. Then to mix things up further we have Baby’s on Fire spitting along quite ferociously with a punchy/new wave slant to it – well, it was the emerging style here in the UK at the time…..
Diamond Head for me is the highlight. The superb instrumental title track from Manzanera’s solo album. So, so good (as it the album itself) with such a sublime composition and performance. Have a listen:
Miss Schapiro is quite fun as is in a weird way the energetic cover of the Kinks’ You Really Got Me. Then Third Uncle closes it out in a style which is Floyd-like.
The sound quality is fresh and clear and it’s been such a pleasure to re-discover 801 Live after almost five decades, not least because of that bargain price. Do check it out.
>> 801 LIVE ON AMAZON <<
The following year, 1977, there was the sole studio album – Listen Now – issued as Phil Manzanera/801. That’s a good ‘un too. Which reminds me, I have that somewhere. Must dig it out.
Quickly a spot of New Wave of British Heavy Metal news……hearing that Satan has a new album slotted for release in September. Songs in Crimson. I’ll be sure to bag a copy with review to follow.
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