Nick Mason - Fictitious Sports (1981)

Artista: Nick Mason

Álbum: Fictitious Sports
Año: 1981
Género: Experimental / Progresivo ecléctico
Duración: 35:51
Nacionalidad: Inglaterra

Lista de Temas:
1. Can't get my motor to start
2. I was wrong
3. Siam
4. Hot river
5. Boo to you too
6. Do ya ?
7. Wervin'
8. I'm a mineralist

Alineación:
- Nick Mason / drums, percussion
- Robert Wyatt / vocals
- Karen Kraft / vocals
- Chris Spedding / guitars
- Carla Bley / keyboards
- Gary Windo / tenor, bass clarinet, flute
- Gary Valente / trombones
- Mike Mantler / trumpets
- Howard Johnson / tuba
- Steve Swallow / bass
- Terry Adams / piano, harmonica, clavinet
- Gary Windo, Carlos Ward, D. Sharpe, Gary Valente, Vincent Chancey & Earl McIntyre / additional voices

Y los coletazos floydeanos de nuestro comentario de "The Endless River" siguen hasta el último día del 2014, otra vez traído por Alberto, otra vez el batero de Pink Floyd en un disco por demás interesante, con músicos de la reverenda madre... pero no les cuento nada, que para eso se matò escribiendo el propio Alberto e hizo, para no desentonar con el disco, un comentario genial (bueno, me gustan mucho los comentarios de Alberto):

Si bien este trabajo es considerado el primer disco solista de Nick Mason, muchos críticos consideran que realmente le pertenece a Carla Bley, por cuanto todos los temas le pertenecen, Mason en su momento aclaró que recibió este material precisamente antes de viajar a Estados Unidos donde justamente iba con intenciones de producir su propia obra, y que el material era tan bueno que prefirió trabajar en él y lanzarlo como su disco solista, "quien avisa no traiciona", asevera el dicho,y esto es así.
Es fundamental la colaboración de Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine) en el disco y no sólo aporta su voz en la mayoría de las canciones sino que se nota también su trabajo en la producción musical, esos espacios atemporales, esas cadencias en el canto y la atmósfera Softmachinera es evidente que no salió de la cabeza de Mason ni de Bley, y genera una sensación muy placentera en todo el disco.
Si escuchamos a tipos con estilo para cantar Wyatt es un indiscutido, como Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Nebbia o Spinetta, los podes reconocer a kilómetros de distancia, con Wyatt sucede también que es un pionero de la escena Canterbury, y su influencia fue muy marcada para otros músicos, y hoy es casi un mito dentro del rock. Obras como "Rock Bottom" es considerada por la crítica mundial como uno de los grandes discos de todos los tiempos, opinión que comparto totalmente. Y si su mano maestra está presente en este proyecto, es indispensable atender y prestar atención simplemente porque está Wyatt.
Existen muchísimas obras de músicos que si no se difunden y no se les brindan un pequeño espacio pasan desapercibidas para la mayoría de los mortales, quizás este blog como ningún otro apuesta a esa pretensión, y luego de tormentas y huracanes del cyber espacio sigue apostando a la buena música latinoamericana y a llevar a sus oídos obras como la de estos músicos. Por todo esto colaboro con el blog que además me dió la oportunidad de seguir conociendo músicos y obras impresionantes, y mi forma de agradecimiento es traer del viejo arcón joyas como ésta y compartirlas.
Seguramente muchos asiduos visitantes cabezones no conozcan este material, pero como muchísimas veces recomienda Moe, llévense esto que no se van arrepentir, de los dos discos de Mason éste es sin dudas el mejor, más experimental, con muy buenos arreglos de vientos, la bata no es tan lineal, y los arreglos de teclados de Carla Bley se complementan perfectamente con la locura de Wyatt, el material fue grabado en 1979 y vió la luz dos años después, en realidad no habáa nadie interesado en lanzarlo, ¿a quien le interesa el batero de Pink Floyd? ¿a quien le interesa Carla Bley (una de las mas grandes compositoras y pianistas de jazz de EEUU)? ¿y a quien le interesa Robert Wyatt?. Manga de estupidos empresarios que nunca se juegan por nada, y sólo les interesa el número de ventas, si apuntaran más al corazón y menos al bolsillo sin duda tendríamos un mundo muchísimo mejor, me acuerdo muy bien como El Flaco Spinetta tuvo que inventar su propio sello para lanzar el doble con los Socios del Desierto porque ninguna compañía se interesó por su material, estaban ocupados con Luis Miguel.
Quizás Nick Mason tuvo la única intención de producir este proyecto de Carla Bley, reunirse con músicos de la puta madre y dejarlo fluir para que hoy levantemos el pañuelo despues de 35 años y aún estemos hablando de ello, si así fue, no dejemos que este material se pierda, levanta tu pulgar y dale una oportunidad a tu oído.
Este proyecto no tiene nada que ver con Pink Floyd, suena tan actual que sorprende, o sea, es atemporal, y lleva el sello Wyatt, para los entendidos es suficiente.

Alberto

Como leí en algún lado, a la pregunta de que si esto es... ¿es jazz?... ¿es progresivo?... ¿que es?.... le damos la respuesta: ¡que se yo y a quién le importa! tiene muchas vertientes y muchas aristas.
Y a continuación, algunos otros comentarios en inglés por si lo que te dijo Alberto no te sirvo, o no lo entendés porque hablás otro idioma:

Columbia, apparently attempting to cash in on Pink Floyd's explosion in popularity, released this album in 1981 under Nick Mason's name when in reality he's simply the drummer in this incarnation of Carla Bley's ensemble; Ms. Bley composed all the music and lyrics for this project. It's possibly her most overtly pop-oriented album, with all eight songs featuring vocals by Soft Machine alumnus Robert Wyatt. The music, by Bley's standards, is fairly pedestrian if occasionally catchy, though the lyrics are often wryly amusing.
So we have songs about failed car motors and a skeptic's encounter with a flying saucer, and one dedicated to unappreciative audiences titled "Boo to You Too." Though the band is staffed with several fine jazz musicians, the music has more of a rock or jazz-rock feel, largely due to the spotlight on guitarist Chris Spedding, who evidences slick, if relatively uninteresting, chops. To the extent the songs succeed, Wyatt can take much of the credit. His engagingly hoarse voice is capable of both wrenching sincerity and mordant humor; pieces like "Do Ya?," where he is asked to tortuously squawk the line "God knows I try!," would collapse entirely with a less convincing vocalist. The closing cut, "I'm a Mineralist," is the one that leaves a lasting impression. Conflating geology and minimalism, it includes lines like "Erik Satie gets my rocks off/Cage is a dream/Philip Glass is mineralist to the extreme," before launching into a note-perfect rendition of some pointedly bland Glassian measures. For Pink Floyd completists, this album might provide a glimpse into an alternate universe of which they were otherwise unaware, but fans of Bley's earlier masterpieces like Escalator Over the Hill are likely to emerge somewhat disappointed.

Brian Olewnick

This is very much a Carla Bley motivated album however it does not detract from the overall positive energy of the album. It is an album brimming with good humour, very tongue in cheek at times but also not compromised musically. The sound material is strong and Robert Wyatt's vocals possibly the strongest I have heard him sing. As a collection of songs I would overall rate this as a good album. There are however some songs which stand out above the rest, namely " Hot River", the fun ' Can't Get My Motor To Start" with lyrics like ' Bring that beer over here, cos I need it to steer'!! You can't take that too seriously now can you? and for me the highlight with Robert Wyatt delivering the goods on " I'm a Mineralist". Recommended for die hard Pink Floyd fans who need all the solo albums to complete the Floyd library repertoire.

Chris S.

This is a rather bizarre album! There are omnipresent brass arrangements that sound slightly jazzy, funky, fanfare music and even RIO/avant garde, like on "I'm a mineralist". Nick Mason's drums patterns can be quite elaborated & fast here, especially on "Boo to you too" and "Can't get my motor to start", if you compare them to his work with Pink Floyd post-Barrett. Some keyboards are REALLY low profile, mostly producing odd and strange sound effects. There are omnipresent good piano parts. There are some twisted & dissonant sax sounds like on "I was wrong". The rhytmic electric guitar sound is a bit too monolithic. The songs have too many repetitive patterns that do not really retain the attention, so that the overall music is more progressive related than progressive itself. Robert Wyatt is the lead singer, and we really feel his influence here. Mason's drums are quite good, but there are some unconvincing pieces, like "Siam" and "Hot river". I prefer the dynamic and fast songs like "Boo to you too". The sound is good and the instruments are well played. Mostly the album is neither catchy nor accessible at all. Plus, the songs are pretty unemotional. This original and unique album is certainly not bad if you accept its clinical dimension.

greenback

One would have to say that by 1981, it was high time for Nick Mason, Pink Floyd's drummer, to unleash a solo work, as all other Floyd members had already done so years before. What we have here is not a Mason 'solo' work per se, (we don't get any experimental treats like 'The Grand Vizier's Garden Party) ; all of the compositions were written by Jazz keyboardist Carla Bley, and involved many jazz oriented musicians such as Gary Window, Steve Swallow, Mike Mantler, Chris Spedding and the wonderful Robert Wyatt, among others. The musical style couldn't be further away from Floyd as this : a nod towards Zappa, a touch of Canterbury, and kind of alternative rock with slight RIO tendencies (actually, these observations could be applicable to certain Floyd in some ways...). Humour permeates many songs on the album, and with Wyatt handling the mic, there is no-one better to convey the often quirky lyrics with as much intelligence and wit. Technically speaking, Mason's drumming is almost perfunctory (he's not the world's greatest drummer, but he often has a headful of ideas and a 'magic touch') whilst the rest of the band play their parts perfectly around him, the brass instruments in particular. No one song is better or worse than the other, making it a fairly consistent listen throughout, but hats off to 'I Was Wrong' and 'I'm a Mineralist' (minimalist, I guess).

Tom Ozric

A highly enjoyable (but not exactly great) album. I only wish it were still in print (which, at the time of writing, it isn't). Not quite jazzy enough for Carla Bley, and not weird enough for Robert Wyatt, it's still very much dominated by those artists, and as previous reviewers have pointed out, the fast songs are the best. 'I was wrong' and 'Siam' are ballads which hover somewhere between teasing, fascinating and annoying. 'Do ya' is a splendid torch song, and 'I'm a mineralist' a tongue-in-cheek parody of the minimalist movement in music. Best of all are uptempo numbers such as the Zappa-esque 'Can't get my motor to start' and 'Boo to you too'. Strangely enough, Mason's role on the album is negligible. You can't call his drumming outstanding, and you certainly can't guarantee that Pink Floyd fans will enjoy this sort of music. Apparently, Mason only wanted to use his name to put Wyatt and Bley in the spotlight - a noble gesture, for which he deserves praise. Let's hope FICTITIOUS SPORTS will be back in print as soon as possible.

Fuxi

I have to admit that I was quite disappointed when I listened to this album for the first time. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece but at least something closer to Pink Floyd. Well, if you don't consider "Hot River" there's nothing that sounds floydian here.
Of course this is mainly a Carla Bley work to which Mason has put his name. More or less the same thing that Mike Oldfield did with Pekka Pohjola's Mathematical Air Display.
The result is a avantgarde/jazzy album not so bad as it could appear if you are looking for things like Shine on you crazy diamond.
Robert Wyatt's voice gives it a touch of Canterbury. All the musicians are very skilled and also Mason seems able to play better than he was used in Pink Floyd, even if he's everything but a cat. Drums are what sound less jazzy in the whole album.
The songs vary fromn the crazyness of "Can't get my motor to start" and "Boo to you too" to the late psychedelia of "Hot River" passing by the very proggy "Siam" and "Do Ya" which sounds more like Soft Machine.
It's not a fundamental album but it's neither a bad one. I think it would have had a better success if Robert Wyatt's name appeared on the cover instead of Nick Mason's as the music inside is closer to the first.
I suggest this album to Soft Machine fans. If you are looking for Pink Floyd this is not your pot, as there's only "Hot River" which features a Gilmour-like guitar and Wright-like organ in the background (and is a great song IMO).

Luca

I imagine this album was a shock to Pink Floyd fans hoping for more Floydlike music from their drummer. But this is actually not a Nick Mason solo album. It's a Carla Bley album (whose band Mason occasionally recorded with. Fear not, Carla Bley writes some great, and often very funny rock music. And Mason does play drums on all of the tracks.
Can't Get My Motor To Start opens the album with a quirky upbeat song about a broken down car. It's fun and very funny. I Was Wrong follows, with Robert Wyatt singing as a skeptic who has an alien encounter.
The dirgelike Siam is next. With it's slow beat, you may think it's going to be the most Floyd- like track on the album. But on Hot River, Bley sounds like she was imitating Roger Waters' "The Wall" era style, complete with Great Gig In The Sky vocals.
Boo To You Too is an upbeat boogie, with more funny lyrics about how to deal with hecklers during a concert. Do Ya? is more typical of Bley's big band compositions, but with Wyatt singing odd lyrics about being misunderstood.
Wervin' is not bad. It's a repetitious song, with a good sax solo, with bizarre lyrics. I'm A Mineralist is the masterpiece on the album. It's a sendup of the minimalist music that was so popular in that decade. Brilliant.
If you are not expecting Pink Floyd, and open your ears, this is an extremely enjoyable album.

Scott

I saw this album in the record shops when it was released in 1981. I never bought it. At that time, I was listening more to GENESIS, YES, and other bands than to PINK FLOYD. But finally I could listen to this album recently, not being disappointed by it, despite the fact that NICK MASON did not write any of the songs in this album. The songs were composed by CARLA BLEY, an artist from the U.S. whose style of music is more towards Jazz-Rock music (and maybe somewhat Avant- Garde) than Rock music or Progressive Rock, and very far from PINK FLOYD`s musical style in many ways. Maybe Mason was tired of PINK FLOYD and Roger Waters (at that time, in late 1979, they were reaching the final stages of the recording of "The Wall" album, and Mason went to New York to co-produce this album with Carla Bley, in October 1979). I have to say that the music in this album is somewhat complicated, with some influences from FRANK ZAPPA (even in the use of some humour in some songs like "Can`t Get My Motor to Start" and "Boo To You Too"). All the musicians played very well and the recording and mixing of this album is very good, and maybe it took to them some time to learn the songs in the right way to record them, so maybe they took a considerable time for rehearsals, but maybe I am wrong. Anyway, this is a good album, an album which maybe needs some repeating listenings to really like it. The lead vocals by ROBERT WYATT are very good and very well adapted to this kind of music, not sounding very far from his own style of music. The song which sounds more close to Rock music is "Hot River" which has some very good guitars played by Chris Spedding. But the main instruments in all the other songs are the wind instruments and the keyboards. Mason plays the drums very well, I can say that I can listen to this album a lot of times more than to "The Wall".

Guillermo Vázquez Malagamba

In between "The Wall" and "The Final Cut", Pink Floyd's Nick Mason had plenty of time on his hands. He teams up with friends Mike Mantler and Carla Bley to record the Bley penned "Fictitious Sports". It's released under Mason's name to pull in a bigger fee from the record company. The Pink Floyd drummer calls in a favor and has ex-Soft Machine and soloist Robert Wyatt provide vocals. Mason had produced Wyatt's Rock Bottom album some seven years prior.
The album is eclectic. Anyone expecting a Pink Floyd knock-off album will be in for a big surprise. Bley brings in a kind of weird jazz rock with horns flavored music and combines them with a wicked sense of humor. For listeners without a prior introduction to Mr. Wyatt, his vocals are distinctive and for me, took a bit to get used to. A listener who found out about Fictitious Sports via Pink Floyd, will have one song that is closely related to their work. The track "Hot River" sports a dead on David Gilmour guitar solo from Chris Spedding with producer Nick Mason making his drums brighter and displaying them more prominiently in the mix then he had with his "day job" band.
In short, this is a good, enjoyable album. It will expand your musical palette if you are not familiar with the supporting cast. I later found out that It doesn't have the best of Carla Bley but it was my introduction to her work.

Bob Fitz

One of the best Pink Floyd solo albums, but it's not really fair to characterize it as such as it's really a Carla Bley album that Mason agreed to put his name on in the hope of shifting more copies. (We can see how well that worked! Maybe if they had thrown a flying pig on...)
Anyway, it's a superb record, and considering Wyatt was in sort of semi-retirement at the time this was recorded (he did very, very little between the '75 Henry Cow gigs and the Rough Trade singles that formed the basis of "Nothing Can Stop Us") it's a great pleasure to hear his voice on the majority of the album. "I'm A Mineralist", a simultaneous parody of sexual perversion and Philip Glass, is often cited as the highlight and indeed it is a very good song, but there's honestly not anything bad on tap anywhere. Recommended to Wyatt and Bley fans. For anyone buying this hoping to hear some of the excitement and thrills of "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party"... WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?

Phil G.

Despite Mr. Mason's pedigree, absolutely no Pink Floyd vibes are to be heard here (save for one Gilmour-esque solo from Chris Spedding). But what you do get is a Carla Bley rock album (on Carla's terms, of course) with lead singer Robert Wyatt on practically every tune.
Lotsa melodic mischief abounds with Bley's band, the aformentioned Spedding, NRBQ's Terry Adams, some familiar upstate NY session horn men, and, oh yeah, Nick Mason all waving the flag. Lyrically, there's almost a benign Zappa tinge at work here - don't miss the hysterical Philip Glass satire that closes the album. And Wyatt, fronting such a large and loud band, is more full throated than on any project he's been involved with since, I'm guessing Soft Machine Vol. 2!
The Carla Bley fans I know find this a little too quaint for their tastes, but my fellow Robert Wyatt fans all feel this is indeed one of Wyatt's all time greatest - a real overlooked diamond in the rough.
Though his name is front and center, Nick Mason only produced and provides his trademark dependable timekeeping. But if it wasn't for Mason, I'm sure CBS wouldn't have given this album the time of day. So, thanks, Nick, for giving us one of the all time greats, even if few have gotten round to hear it.
Everyone here at PA, especially the Wyatt fans, really needs to check Fictitious Sports out at their earliest convenience. One helluva payoff!

Steven in Atlanta

This is one of those situations where many people find themselves quite shocked by an album that is nothing like what they suspected. Take any other member of Pink Floyd and you get something remotely like the band - even Mason's collaboration with Rick Fenn, which has David Gilmour do guest vocals on a song. So, someone expecting a vaguely Floyd-like lineup of guest artists instead gets - avant-garde jazz fusion?
In truth, this is an album by Carla Bley with Nick Mason as a guest musician. From what I have read they slapped his name at the "Fictitious Sports" moniker on at the last moment in an effort to use his name to sell more copies.
The good news is that if you know what to expect then you have a pretty good jazz-fusion record here with a few touches of prog (mostly in the punny ode to geological fetishism, "I'm a Mineralist"). "Can't Get My Motor to Start" is a fun ode to Nick Mason's other profession as a race car driver, where Siam contains a fair bit of fun silliness.
Not everything is going to be up to the standards of either fans of Carla Bley or Pink Floyd, but this is definitely an album worth checking out, especially if you leave any preconceptions behind.

Ezreal

I find Ficticious Sports, as essentially a Carla Bley project, thoroughly entertaining. After much searching, I finally got hold of this record (yes, searching for it was borne out of my Pink Floyd completist obsession). I'm certainly glad I got this record! It's an all-star cast, but it doesn't have the often uncohesive results that can occur when top-shelf musicians are thrust together on the merit of name alone. I think of some of those horrid CTI jazz albums of the 70s...every player was a giant in his or her field, but together they couldn't find musical magic if it bit them in the face. That is certainly not the case here. We get lovely arrangements and quirky lyrics courtesy of the always- interesting Carla Bley, the great bass playing of the inseparable Steve Swallow, the timeless voice of Robert Wyatt, some amazing guitar comping from Chris Spedding, and Nick Mason's solid, tasteful drumming. Sure, one can criticise Nick Mason for his lack of virtuoso chops, but then, when have you ever heard him play too many notes? I'd often rather hear real musicality and taste than chops-a-plenty.
All in all, this record has all the quirkiness that makes Canterbury bands fun and interesting to listen to, coupled with a (slightly skewed) pop sensibility that's never pretensious, great production, and FUN! Get it if you can find it!

Matt Baxley

Essentially, this was "Nick Mason Piggybacks Most of Carla Bley's Band Onto A Major-Label Recording." It's a riot, absolutely memorable, with great Robert Wyatt vocals, twisted songs, and the most perfect parody of Philip Glass you'll ever hear. Mason acquits himself well, the band is tight and hot, Michael Mantler's trumpet playing is sublime. "Can't Get My Motor To Start" is one of the most sadistic and funniest car songs I've ever heard, right up there with The Waitresses "It's My Car." I'm not sure if it's possible to find this any more, but snatch it up if you do.

jackal59

Magnificent! This album comes at you from all angles. But is simply brilliant. It is proggy, Jazzy and it rocks all at the same time. Songs like "I was Wrong" and "Boo To You Too" grab me and make me want to play it ove and over again. I can find no weekness in this album and the all-star cast of sessions artists from botht eh rock and jazz world simply make this set work!

ewank

Wow. This is a unique album. Of course, on the whole, it is a Carla Bley album, complete with her often-used vocalist, Robert Wyatt; bassist Steve Swallow; and musical (and otherwise) partner at the time, Michael Mantler. However, the results are lighter fare than the majority of her albums, with some wild and hilarious lyrics and almost standard late 70s feel in places.
The unusual pairing of Wyatt with Karen Kraft makes for a slight clash in style. Some say that she's inappropriate for nost of the work, but it sounds like she may have been chosen specifically for this clash.
There's no single outstanding piece on this album, as it sort of flows along as a teetering, grooving mass of weirdness in which everyone at hand is clearly having a lot of fun. Chris Spedding's guitar is amazing, and the horns and woodwinds cook. The lyrics are alternatingly searching, tongue-in-cheek, absurd and profound--sometimes within the same song! They are delivered as only Robert Wyatt could...dryly, sometimes painfully. Indeed he was the man for the job. Of course, Mason's drumming is...well...normal, but way-out percussion isn't required here.
If anyone makes the mistake of approaching this album as having anything to do with Pink Floyd, they would definitely be disappointed. Likewise, if people come at it from the Canterbury psych perspective, the result would be the same. But fans of Carla Bley and even Frank Zappa...or even the Residents...should definitely seek this out. While it's rare (it's not too surprising that it's never sold particularly well...this isn't mainstream at all), clean copies shouldn't be too expensive, as many Pink Floyd fans would have a hard time trying to get into it.

evilblackspider

Well well well. Mason, Wyatt & Carla Bley. Need I say more? Fantastic album. Maybe not *the* greatest thing the trio has recorded when you factor in Floyd, Soft Machine and Bley's vast array of material, but when they come together here, it's magical. That's all I asked for, and that's what I got.

susurrus

Otro regalito cabezón para que tu cabeza estalle junto con los fuegos artificiales. Es un disco muy disfrutable, muy dinámico y experimental por momentos..... Y sirve para conocer otras facetas del baterista de esa enorme banda inglesa.
Y agradezcan otra vez a Alberto que es quien trae estas joyitas.