The Bevis Frond might easily be mistaken for a group but is essentially just guitarist and songwriter Nick Saloman.
Saloman is old enough to have seen The Beatles (aged 10) and he bought Please Please Me when it was first released. He auditioned (unsuccessfully) to replace Robin Trower in Procol Harum.
Eschewing the major and minor labels, he has for the best part of three decades been regularly putting out albums on his own imprint - Woronzow Records.
On these, he has resolutely, some would say stubbornly, stuck to the 60s/70s template of classic rock combined with a distinctly British take on psychedelia.
Though not oblivious to punk, grunge or new wave, he has flown his own freak flag and remained relatively un-distracted by these movements.
As co-publisher of the invaluable ‘Ptolemaic Terrascope’ psych ‘zine, he has sought to encourage we, the public, to look beyond these, and other, passing trends.
Accustomed by now to being lauded by the few and ignored by the many, his work is described as "time-warped pop" by the 'All Music Guide' and “shamelessly archaic” in 'The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Popular Music' while 'All Tomorrow's Parties' rates him/them as "England's premier psychedelic rock band".
I think 'The Trouser Press' sums his career up most succinctly by identifying him as “an artist who enjoys a large cult following for precisely the same reasons that certain sectors of the music press consistently dismiss him: unfashionable attention to craft, an unashamedly nostalgic sound, sprawling tracks and a thematic focus on middle age and decline”..
Ahead of The Bevis Frond's 30th Anniversary in 2017, Fire Records have undertaken to re-issue the entire back catalogue on vinyl and CD. The simultaneous release of these three albums from 1993 -95 are part of this labour of love.
Saloman normally prefers to work alone in the studio, playing all the instruments himself but 1993's Superseeder was the first album in which he used a full band throughout. The record includes trusted members of his touring group: ex-Hawkwind bassist Adrian Shaw and ex-Camel drummer Andy Ward.
Strong melody and wry wit are features of shorter tracks like Stoned Train Driver and the autobiographical Animal Tracks.
At one point in Sue Me, Saloman inquires of an imaginary mirror on the wall "Who's the psychedelic-est of them all?".
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In support of a 'You are, Mr Saloman' response, this album begins with Superseded, an extended acid rock workout and also includes veritable 'scuse me while I kiss the sky' moments in House of Mountains, a 16 minute long adoration of Hendrix.
'It Just Is' is a more pared down affair with Saloman playing solo. It mainly consists of pop style tunes exemplified in the wistful fragility of Day One (where he sounds a little like Robert Wyatt) and the self deprecating Can’t Stop Lying. It is also notable for downbeat reflections on aging and change in tracks like What’s It All About and All Gone
By way of contrast, 'Sprawl' lives up to its name by indulging Saloman's space-jamming, raga-infused inclinations to the full. This double album includes a 20-minute-plus meditation entitled Right On (Hippie Dream) in which Current 93’s David Tibet guests on spoken word vocals.
Another band production, the album includes Jimmy Hastings (flute), Tony Aldridge (violin) and Andy Ward on drums and the group sound is heard to particularly good effect on The Puller where guitars and strings are tastefully combined.
The Bevis Frond's relative lack of success suggests that Nick Saloman's music has been widely dismissed as self-indulgent retro-rock. The high quality of these three albums indicates how wrong-headed and narrow-minded such an assessment is.
Saloman's guitar playing and arrangements are top notch and what really sets the tracks apart is his sardonic, and often personal, song writing. He never appears to be simply going through the motions.
If we were living in an ideal world, a long overdue reappraisal of this neglected artist would now be in the offing. For numerous reasons this is unlikely to happen but I strongly urge you, dear listener, to demonstrate your infinite good taste by opening your ears to these discs and the other reissues that will follow.
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