Bananamour is ripe with
Kevin Ayers' most mature and accessible compositions to date.
Ayers grounded himself in a newly formed trio for his follow-up to
Whatevershebringswesing. With bassist
Archie Leggett and drummer
Eddie Sparrow at the hub,
Ayers selected guest artists for a handful of the tracks:
Whole World colleague
Dave Bedford (
"Beware of the Dog"),
Gong's new guitarist
Steve Hillage (
"Shouting in a Bucket Blues"), and former
Soft Machine mates
Robert Wyatt (
"Hymn") and
Mike Ratledge (
"Interview").
"Interview" is easily one of the album's strongest, most original tunes, charged with a rugged, positively electrifying guitar sound courtesy of
Ayers and psychedelic organ flourishes by
Ratledge. And
"Shouting in a Bucket Blues" is
Ayers' inspired
pop/
blues groove. Armed with a few biting lyrics, the song became a concert staple, fronted by a number of well-known guitarists over the years including
Mike Oldfield and
Andy Summers.
Hillage delivers heat in this original studio recording of the song; he went on to repeat the performance many times while in Europe with
Ayers' Bananatour band,
Decadence. The song
"Decadence" is the album's centerpiece and towering achievement. Here,
Ayers,
Leggett, and
Sparrow create progressive, atmospheric music quite unlike anything else on the record. An original, spine-tingling workout with potent lyrics concerning
Nico,
"Decadence" is a kind of superior foreshadowing to the following year's
"Confessions of Dr. Dream" epic, which features a vocal collaboration with
Nico on
"Part One." The compositions on
Bananamour emphasize the vocal aspects of the material; in fact,
Ayers secured the industry's premier session vocalists to back him on the recordings:
Liza Strike,
Doris Troy, and
Barry St. John. In various configurations, the trio fleshs out the songs, adding a compelling depth to the album that pleasantly expands
Ayers' eclectic repertoire. In particular, they lend a
gospel quality to the
Beatles-tinged opener, and imbue
"When Your Parents Go to Sleep" with rather soulful
Ray Charles stylistics. Intended to break
Ayers to a wider audience,
Bananamour was his last release on
EMI/
Harvest before switching to a new label (
Island) and a new manager (the influential
John Reid,
Elton John's manager at the time). The ideas on
Bananamour, arguably
Ayers' finest work, gave way to some very focused, full-fledged
prog rock and
blues numbers on his ambitious follow-up,
The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories (
Island Records, 1974). ~ David Ross Smith
