''June 1, 1974'' is a live album of songs performed at the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...

in London on the titular date. The album is officially attributed to Kevin Ayers,

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

and Nico, although other well-known musicians, including Mike Oldfield,

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 Ollie Halsall, also contributed to the concert.

Content

The cover photograph was taken by Mick Rock in the foyer of the

shortly before the concert began. The bemused stare between

(right) and Kevin Ayers is said to be explained by the fact that Cale had caught Ayers sleeping with his wife the night before the show. The couple would divorce the next year. Other songs that were performed but did not make the LP include Ayers' "I've Got a Hard-On for You Baby" (with Cale on backing vocals), Cale's "Buffalo Ballet" and "Gun", and Nico's "Janitor of Lunacy" and her rendition of " Das Lied der Deutschen". Nico’s performance of "Das Lied der Deutschen" was released as a bonus track on the 2012 reissue of her 1974 album '' The End...''.

Critical reception

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote of the record in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981):

Track listing

Personnel

* Kevin Ayers – vocals (B1-5), guitar (B1-5), bass guitar (A1-2) *

– vocals (A1-2), synthesizer (A1-4, B5) *

– vocals (A3), piano (A2), viola (A1, B5) * Nico – vocals (A4), harmonium (A4) * Mike Oldfield – lead guitar (B4), acoustic guitar (B5) * Ollie Halsall – piano (A1), guitar (A2-3, B4), lead guitar (B1-3), acoustic guitar (B5) *

John "Rabbit" Bundrick John Douglas "Rabbit" Bundrick (born November 21, 1948 in Houston, Texas) is an American–English rock keyboardist. He is best known for his work with The Who and associations with others including Eric Burdon, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roge ...

– organ (A1-3, B1-5), organ, piano, electric piano (B1-3) *

– percussion (A1-3, B1-3 + 5) *

Doreen Chanter Doreen Chanter is a British singer best known as a member of the Chanter Sisters, and for her work as a backing vocalist and session vocalist, primarily during the 1970s and 1980s. Chanter Sisters Chanter started as a member of a group called ...

– backing vocals (A3) * Archie Leggatt – bass guitar (A1-3, B1-3 + 5) * Eddie Sparrow – drums (A2–3, B1-3),

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

(A1),

tympani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

(B5) * Liza Strike – backing vocals (A3) * Irene Chanter – backing vocals (A3) ;Technical * John Wood – engineer * Phil Ault – assistant engineer * Ray Doyle – assistant engineer * Ian Tilbury – concert presenter * Richard Williams – producer

References

External links

* {{Authority control Kevin Ayers albums John Cale live albums Brian Eno live albums Nico albums Collaborative albums 1974 live albums Albums with cover art by Mick Rock Island Records live albums