The Keith Tippett Group - The Keith Tippett Group (LP) [Be With Records]

Format: LP in gatefold sleeve.

The Keith Tippett Group's Dedicated to You, But You Weren’t Listening is a landmark of avant-garde jazz and groundbreaking fusion. A vital and deeply adventurous slice of Jazz-Rock that still maintains a powerful swing, it was first released on Vertigo in 1971.

Original copies are now very hard to find and, as many should already know, it has aged spectacularly.

Reissued by Be With, this legendary work has been freshly remastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, showing why it deserves to be available again. The stunning gatefold sleeve fully restores the original, striking artwork by Roger and Martyn Dean, completing this essential reissue.

Vibrant and full of a joyous energy that must be heard to be believed, Dedicated to You, But You Weren’t Listening verges on perfection. It is truly magical and eternally essential.

Keith Tippett, brilliant jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader, “capable of making the confines of modern music feel like the cosiest of places” (The Guardian), presents in this second album what is often regarded as his “Canterbury Album.”

Indeed, it not only draws inspiration from past, present, and future members of Soft Machine, but the album title ironically refers to a band composition. Ray Babbington handles bass alongside Neville Whitehead, while drums are shared between Brian Spring (Nucleus), Robert Wyatt, and Phil Howard (who would replace Wyatt in Soft Machine). Gary Boyle (Isotope) plays guitar, while the great percussionist Tony Uter contributes his expertise on congas and cowbell. Elton Dean on alto saxello, horn player Marc Charig, and Nick Evans on trombone complete this impressive ensemble.

Dedicated to You, But You Weren’t Listening features a collective of superhuman musicians genuinely enjoying themselves in the studio. The exuberance of the playing is utterly infectious. It’s wild, energetic, atmospheric, and, frankly, bordering on chaos at times. In a word: beautiful.

Robert Wyatt’s drumming kicks off the record powerfully on the majestic Be With favourite, “This Is What Happens.” Some have described his work here as “the most inspired of his entire career on record.” It’s an ultra-funky conga-driven groove, heightened by the interplay between the three wind instruments. In the background, Keith’s insistent piano, in conversation with the drums, acts as an anchor keeping the piece moving. Impressive.

The epic and energetic “Thoughts to Geoff” is a 10-minute jam that leans towards the dissonant and improvised but becomes more fluid, laconic, and melodic as it develops. The interaction between soloists and ensemble is dazzling: fiery solos from Evans, Charig, and Tippett himself in a display of angular arpeggios interspersed with harmonic playing.

Next up, the no less urgent, Mingus-referencing “Green and Orange Night Park” is an example of ambitious jazz blended with rock aggression, with Dean standing out on a fiery solo. An absolutely stunning piece, perhaps the highlight of this album full of highlights.

While much of the album leans towards the thunderous (Gridal Suite approaches the most chaotic and, daringly, “difficult” free jazz), there are calmer and sometimes spatial tracks, like the deeply impressionistic “Five After Dawn.” The rhythmically complex “Black Horse” is the most accessible track: a Big Band-like number with tight grooves, soaring horn and brass melodies, a burning guitar solo from Boyle, and tasty electric piano riffs from Tippett. A hypnotic climax to an amazing record.

This Be With edition of Dedicated to You, But You Weren’t Listening has been remastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, with mastering engineer Simon Francis working alongside Cicely Balston’s cut at Abbey Road Studios to work their usual magic on these wonderful recordings. The stunning gatefold sleeve has been restored to its full glory, ensuring this is the definitive reissue. Now, are you listening?