Buying the albums sampled on “Picnic”.
Track 9 on the 2003 Deluxe CD reissue of this record was the penultimate track on the LP, being the utterly splendid “Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong”, which lasts 5.36 minutes. The vocals comprise the tuneful chant of the “words” in the title, repeated several times, and which only appear towards the beginning of the song. The rest is a strange piano based instrumental, based loosely on the rhythm of the lyrics. Classic.
Track 10 was the closing track on the LP, a most brilliant cadence called “All This Crazy Gift of Time”. This is the second best on the vinyl after “Eleanor”. It is a super song in every respect, and again features Kevin Ayers singing in harmony with himself. I can think of no better way of ending an album, with the exception of course of “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye” on “Wildflowers”.
The first bonus track, Track 11, is the first of the three versions of “Religious Experience”, this one, uniquely featuring Syd Barrett. More about the song itself on the later versions, but for now this from Mark Powell’s notes on this particular rendition:
“An avid enthusiast of Syd Barrett, the wayward ex-Pink Floyd genius, Ayers felt Syd’s contribution could enhance his latest composition. On the way to Abbey Road studios, Kevin called into Barrett’s flat and requested his presence on the session. And so it was on November 9th 1969 Kevin Ayers and Syd Barrett worked on the first version of Religious Experience. Present earlier in the day were Richard Coughlan and Richard Sinclair from Canterbury band Caravan.”
