Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead
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Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead is the 1974 debut solo album by British musician, writer and comedian Vivian Stanshall.
The initial pressing was withdrawn and deleted by record label Warner Bros. soon after release, having sold only 5,000 copies. The record remained unavailable in any commercial form for a little over 35 years, until its 2010 reissue on CD and vinyl LP by Harkit Records. The CD featured notes by Dutch dada-ist Freek Kinkelaar and featured two bonus tracks not on the original LP - "Baba Tunde" and "Lakonga".[1]
A second re-release by Poppydisc Records, again on CD and vinyl LP, followed on 21 May 2012, in a remastered edition sanctioned by Stanshall's estate and family.[2]
Track listing
All songs written and arranged by Vivian Stanshall, except where noted:
Side 1
- Afoju Ti Ole Riran (Dead Eyes) (Vivian Stanshall/Gaspar Lawal)
- Truck-Track
- Yelp, Bellow, Rasp Et Cetera
- Prong
- Redeye
Side 2
- How The Zebra Got His Spots
- Dwarf Succulents
- Bout Of Sobriety
- Prong & Toots Go Steady
- Strange Tongues
Bonus tracks on 2010 reissue (CD version only)
- Baba Tunde (single B-side)
- Lakonga (single A-side)
- (as tracks 11 and 12 respectively, despite incorrect order as compared[3] to the original Lakonga 7" vinyl single. Both tracks written jointly by Stanshall and Lawal as per album track 1)
Personnel
- Vivian Stanshall - vocals, recorder, euphonium, ukulele, Chelonian pipes
- Anthony "Bubs" White - electric guitar
- Steve Winwood - bass guitar, organ
- Gaspar Lawal - talking drums, congas, xylophone, drum kit ("How The Zebra Got His Spots")
- Neil Innes - piano, slide guitar, organ ("How The Zebra Got His Spots")
- Jim Capaldi - drum kit, lesser log
- Deryk Quinn - cabassa, Nigerian coffee tables, greater log
- Ric Grech - violin
- Reebop Kwaku Baah - congas ("Prong & Toots")
- Doris Troy, Madeline Bell, Barry St. John - backing vocals
- Ayus Ape, Gani, Gaspar Lawal - male Yoruba chorus
- unidentified West Indian taxi driver - bass guitar ("Lakonga" and "Baba Tunde")
- unidentified West Indian taxi driver's friend - drum kit ("Lakonga" and "Baba Tunde")
References
- ^ "Vivian Stanshall - Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead". Harkit Records. 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
- ^ "Vivian Stanshall: Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead" at piccadillyrecords.com
- ^ "Vivian Stanshall - Lakonga 7" single tracklist". Discogs™ online record database. Discogs.com. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
External links
- Men Opening Umbrellas page on Ginger Geezer website