Review: Quiet Sun – Mainstream (1975)

Mainstream is Quiet Sun’s first and only studio album.

Quiet Sun was founded in 1970 by guitarist Phil Manzanera, bassist Bill MacCormick, keyboardist Dave Jarrett, and drummer Charles Hayward. The band played guitar-driven instrumental Canterbury prog rock influenced by Soft Machine, but did not achieve much success beyond occasional gigs. The band’s demo tapes were rejected by several record companies they approached.

When gigs were few and far between, the band had to consider hanging up their gloves. The final nail in the band’s coffin was Manzanera’s joining Roxy Music in 1972, which quickly achieved great popularity. Quiet Sun was put on hold and MacCormic joined Robert Wyatt’s Matching Mole, Hayward played in Mal Dean’s Amazing Band, Dolphin Logic, and Jarrett left his career as a professional musician and became a math teacher.

A few years later, at the end of 1974, Roxy Music already had four successful albums under their belt and was one of the most popular bands in England. So popular, in fact, that Manzanera was offered the opportunity to make a solo album. And, strangely enough, the Quiet Sun demos by Manzanera and his companions suddenly sounded much more interesting to record moguls than they had just a few years earlier.

However, Manzanera didn’t have a huge budget for the Quiet Sun album, and in his youthful enthusiasm, he decided to record two albums at the same time: his actual solo album and Quiet Sun’s long-awaited debut. Combining the sessions would save a lot of money.

Manzanera had the Island studio at his disposal for 26 days. During the day, they recorded the main sessions for the solo album Diamond Head (which is also a nice album), and at night they recorded Quiet Sun’s debut album, which, considering the circumstances and style of music, was given the somewhat ironic name Mainstream.

To make Mainstream, Manzanera managed to get the entire original band back together, which is fitting since the album draws on material that was composed when the band first got together. The responsibility for composing Mainstream’s music is divided quite democratically, with each band member contributing two of their own songs to the album.

In addition to the original four, Manzanera’s old Roxy Music colleague Brian Eno was also recruited to play the synthesizer and otherwise just to ”Eno-ize,” which in practice means occasional brainstorming and, on the other hand, disrupting stagnant processes. The team was completed by sound engineer Rhett Davis, who also worked as the sound engineer for Diamond Head’s sessions, which meant that he also had long working days in Manzanera’s company.

quiet_sun_band

Mainstream is mainly an instrumental mix of progressive rock and jazz rock with a Canterbury vibe. Only the last track on the album, the excellent ten-minute ”Rongwrong,” features vocals. They are sung sharply by the song’s composer, drummer Hayward, who sounds surprisingly similar to Brian Eno. Eno later ended up singing the song with the supergroup 801.

The influence of Soft Machine’s first couple of albums is evident throughout the record, but Quiet Sun still has its own distinct style, not least thanks to Manzanera’s original guitar playing, which relies heavily on various effects. Of course, keyboardist Jarrett also stands out with his Fender Rhodes electric piano, clearly distinguishing himself from Soft Machine’s Mike Ratledge’s organ playing.

Manzanera’s guitar playing is at its finest on the opening track, ”Sol Caliente,” where his biting electric guitar is truly magnificent to hear. The song is crowned by subtle Latin influences, which would later become something of a trademark for Manzanera (Manzanera’s mother was born in Colombia). Jarrett’s deliciously rough organ sounds also work perfectly in the song.

On average, Mainstream is not as complex as many other albums from the Canterbury scene, but Quiet Sun’s music can also be quite complex at times. One example of this is one of the highlights of the album, MacCormick’s witty composition ”Mummy was an Asteroid, Daddy was a Small Non-Stick Kitchen Utensil,” named in the Canterbury tradition, which jerks forward at a brisk pace in 13/8 time. This intricate song features Jarrett’s exciting garage-like Farfisa organ solo and Manzanera’s rough guitar playing. Drummer Hayward also gets to show off his skills in this particular song. Hayward’s lively drumming sounds to me like a mixture of Chris Cutler (Henry Cow, Art Bears) and Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson).

Mainstream is a consistently strong album, characterized by a delightful roughness, energy, and a certain live spontaneity. The chemistry between the musicians of Quiet Sun seems to be perfect, and the whole album sounds like a therapy session for top musicians in the best possible sense of the word. However, the instrumental revelry is always based on good, imaginative compositions. In my opinion, Mainstream is also, in a strange way, a really cheerful album, even though it also contains several melancholic and aggressive passages.

Rhett Davis’ recording is excellent. The cymbals and percussion ring out brightly and distinctly, and MacCormick’s bass provides a satisfyingly rich contrast. Surprisingly, Mainstream actually sounds better than the star of the sessions, Diamond Head.

Mainstream certainly did not become mainstream in terms of record sales, but it received a very positive reception from critics, and the value of the album has not diminished over the decades. On the contrary!

Quiet Sun’s story officially ended with the album Mainstream, but the band and its music got a kind of extension with the supergroup 801, formed by Manzanera and MacCormick a year later. The original 801 only played three gigs, and their repertoire included a few songs from Mainstream. These gigs resulted in the excellent live album 801 Live in 1976. This live album is highly recommended as a follow-up to Mainstream.

Best tracks: ”Sol Caliente”, ”Mummy Was an Asteroid, Daddy Was a Small Non-stick Kitchen Utensil”, ”Rongwrong”

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI

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Tracks:

  1. ”Sol Caliente” (Phil Manzanera) – 8:02
  2. ”Trumpets with Motherhood” (Charles Hayward) – 1:30
  3. ”Bargain Classics” (Dave Jarrett) – 5:37
  4. ”R.F.D.” (Jarrett) – 3:09
  5. ”Mummy was an Asteroid, Daddy was a Small Non-Stick Kitchen Utensil” (Bill MacCormick) – 6:09
  6. ”Trot” (Manzanera) – 5:00
  7. ”Rongwrong” (Hayward) – 9:39

Musicians:

Phil Manzanera: 6 & 12-string electric guitars, treated guitars, Fender Rhodes Dave Jarrett: piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hammond & Farfisa organs, VCS-3 synthesizer Bill MacCormick: bass & treated bass, backing vocals Charles Hayward: drums, percussion, keyboards, vocals

Ian MacCormick: backing vocals Brian Eno: synthesizers, treatments

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