Buying the albums sampled on “Picnic”.
The opening track is, of course the brilliant quasi-instrumental “Joy of a Toy Continued”. The piece has no lyrics, but lots and lots of “la”s, and is irresistibly cheerful. It lasts a mere 2.54 minutes.
Track 2 is “Town Feeling”, the first time the record shows Kevin Ayers’ unique “talking” way of singing, a bit reminiscent of Rex Harrison in “My Fair Lady”. This is a typically clever and well constructed song, with first class instrumental breaks throughout, and the middle 8 spoken refrain “banana”. Wonderful stuff, this one comes in at 4.51 minutes.
Track 3 is “The Clarietta Rag”, a song which does what it says on the tin, and another gem, this one lasting 3.20 minutes.
Track 4 is the classic “Girl on a Swing”. It only lasts 2.50 minutes, but here Kevin Ayers sings in 2 part harmony with himself. This could have come from “A Saucerful of Secrets” in terms of instrumentation, vocals, lyrics, and musical effects.
Track 5 is the celebrated “Song for Insane Times”, which is the most jazz influenced song on the LP, and would have ended Side 1. This one could have come from “Soft Machine Vol I”, and lasts 4.01 minutes.
Next time, we in effect turn the record over.
