''Joy of a Toy'' is the debut solo album of

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...

, a founding member of

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

. He is accompanied on the LP by pianist and arranger

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

as well as his erstwhile Soft Machine colleagues

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

and

Mike Ratledge Michael Roland Ratledge (born 6 May 1943) is a British musician. A part of the Canterbury scene, he was a founding member of Soft Machine. He was the last founding member to leave the group, doing so in 1976. Biography and career Ratledge was ...

, and his eventual replacement

Hugh Hopper Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands. Biography Early career Starting in ...

, who had previously worked with him in the semi-pro band Wilde Flowers. Among the session musicians are cellist and arranger Paul Buckmaster, jazz bassist

Jeff Clyne Jeffrey Ovid Clyne (29 January 1937 – 16 November 2009) was a British jazz bassist (playing both bass guitar and double bass). He worked with Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott in their group the Jazz Couriers for a year from 1958, and was part ...

, oboist Paul Minns (of

Third Ear Band Third Ear Band were a British musical group formed in London during the mid-1960s. Their line-up initially consisted of violin, cello, oboe and percussion. Most of their performances were instrumental and partly improvised. Their records for th ...

) and drummer Rob Tait (formerly of Pete Brown and His Battered Ornaments before going on to join Vinegar Joe).

Background

After a Soft Machine tour of the US with

the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, Ayers had decided to retire from the music business. Hendrix, however, presented Ayers with an acoustic

Gibson J-200 The Gibson J-200 (formerly the Gibson SJ-200 or Super Jumbo 200), is an acoustic guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. History Gibson entered into production of this model in 1937 as its top-of-the-line flat top guitar, ini ...

guitar on the condition that he continue his songwriting. Ayers repaired to a small London flat where he composed and arranged a whole LP which was then presented to Malcolm Jones' fledgling

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

label, where it was produced by

Peter Jenner Peter Julian Jenner (born 3 March 1943) is a British music manager and a record producer. Jenner, Andrew King and the original four members of Pink Floyd were partners in Blackhill Enterprises. Early career Peter Jenner is the son of Willia ...

for the then exorbitant sum of £4000 (). ''Joy of a Toy'' featured many of Ayers' most enduring songs from "The Lady Rachel" to "Girl on a Swing", the latter still regularly covered by artists to this day such as

Candie Payne Candice "Candie" Payne (born 19 December 1981) is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut album, '' I Wish I Could Have Loved You More'', on Deltasonic in May 2007. She is the sister of singer/songwriter Howie Payne, former fron ...

and

The Ladybug Transistor The Ladybug Transistor is a Brooklyn-based indie pop group associated with The Elephant Six Collective. History Started in 1995 by Gary Olson, Edward Powers and Javier Villegas, The Ladybug Transistor released '' Marlborough Farms'' the sa ...

. It was on ''Joy'' that Ayers developed his sonorous vocal delivery, an avant-garde song construction and an affection for unusual instrumentation, that would have a deep influence far into the 1970s and up to the end of his career. He was assisted in this latter undertaking by David Bedford, who provided the musical arrangements for the album as well as playing piano and other keyboards. For the recording of

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

's first solo album ''

The Madcap Laughs ''The Madcap Laughs'' is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a chequered recording history, with work beginning in mid-1968, but the ...

'', Soft Machine were brought in to do overdubs for a few of Barrett's tracks. It was during this time that Barrett recorded a guitar part for the track "Religious Experience", (later titled "Singing a Song in the Morning"); this version was not released until the 2003 reissue of ''Joy''.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

–

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, bass,

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

– organ *

– bass (1 and 5) * Paul Buckmaster –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

(2 and 7) * Rob Tait – drums (tracks 6 and 9) * Paul Minns –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

Additional musicians on tracks 11, 14 & 16

– guitar (track 11 only) *

Richard Sinclair Richard Stephen Sinclair (born 6 June 1948) is an English progressive rock bassist, guitarist, and vocalist who has been a member of several bands of the Canterbury scene. Biography Born in Canterbury, England, both his father (Dick Sinclair) ...

– bass *

Richard Coughlan Richard Coughlan (2 September 1947 – 1 December 2013) was an English musician, best known as the drummer and percussionist of the Canterbury scene progressive rock band Caravan. He was one of the founding members of Caravan in 1968 and remai ...

– drums * David Sinclair – organ *

The Ladybirds The Ladybirds were a British female vocal harmony trio, most famous for their appearances on '' The Benny Hill Show''. They participated in over 60 episodes between 1968 and 1991. In addition, they were long-standing backing singers to many e ...

–

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Shortly after Barrett's death, Ayers told ''Mojo'' magazine that when Barrett arrived at the studio: "....he was out-of-it....wasn't able to tune his guitar or find the chords". A third guitar is present on track 14 ake 103 most noticeably at 0:54-1:03, 1:37-1:42 and 2:34-2:51.

Technical

* Kevin Ayers – producer *

– producer *

Peter Mew Peter Mew is a retired British music audio engineer. He worked at Abbey Road Studios, where he was the senior mastering engineer. He came to Abbey Road in 1965 as a tape operator and has since worked with many artists at the studio. Kevin Ayers of ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Laurie Asprey –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

References

*''Kevin Ayers'' by Richard Williams (Melody Maker 25 Apr 1970) *''Joy of a Toy'' liner notes by Mark Powell (EMI 2003) *''Joy of a Toy'' liner notes by Martin Wakeling (Harvest Sept 2006)

External links

''Joy of a Toy - Best Albums of All Time by Peter Paphides''
{{Authority control 1969 debut albums Kevin Ayers albums Harvest Records albums Albums produced by Kevin Ayers Albums produced by Peter Jenner