Kevin Ayers- Joy of a Toy (1969)

I will kick off the revived blog in similar fashion to the old, reviewing an album from a recently deceased member of the Canterbury Scene in their honor. Kevin Ayers was an original member of Soft Machine, performing in their early shows and on their first album. He left in 1968, retreating to Ibiza off the Coast of Spain. The songs on Joy of a Toy were written during this productive, reclusive phase.

Joy of a Toy is above all a whimsical album. This is not one of those gloomy, brooding Progressive Rock albums. Instead, Joy of a Toy is one of the most upbeat, refreshing, and relaxing albums in the movement. Must of the music is largely acoustic in nature. The entire thing is shock full of upright piano, horn, and flute touches, with mostly bouncing beats. This is also notably a a very lyrical album. However, again, no existential angst, the lyrics are very simple, upbeat, often about love, and come off like a fairy tale  What makes  Joy of a Toy work as an early Prog album, however, is it's play with sound. Tracks like "Girl on a Swing" combine a subtle synth track and occasional electronic sounds into a pastoral piece, and it sounds interesting, but not disturbing. "Stop This Train (Doing it All Again)" uses a slowed down opening to create a chaotic effect which matches its lyrics about disease in a public place. Little touches like these help the album gain a unique little bit of panache that makes Ayers into a relatable storyteller and folsky progster. OTher standout tracks that I adore are "Song for Insane Times", which is a matter of fact ode to the swinging sixties which Ayers seems to know was on its way out, and "The Lady Rachel", a slower piece that tells the tale of either a dreaming woman or a suicide, depending on how dark you want to read the lyrics.

Ayers did something very cool an unique on Joy of a Toy. I've never quite seen another member of the Prog Rock seen effectively fuse a childish feel and whimsical doings on with well thought out music theory and effective use of the studio. The album does not fall particularly well into the Canterbury catalog, but that is to its credit, not its fault.

Grade: A-