Tea Break Over, Back on Your 'Eads
Encyclopedia
Tea Break Over, Back on Your 'Eads, released in 1975, was the eighth and final studio album by British jazz-rock band If
. It was followed by compilation CDs covering tracks from the first four LPs featuring the band's previous line-up.
The album reflects the band's more rock-influenced style, perfectly balanced with Dick Morrissey's harsher hard bop
/bebop
sax playing. The title track "Tea Break", referring to the hardships of being "on the road", is the punch line
to an old musicians' joke and contains a tribute to Charlie Parker
in the lyrics ("The Bird was the man to be heard" and "The music was the word") as well as in a swirling bebop tenor solo. The "Ballad of the Yessirom Kid", a tribute by the band to Dick Morrissey, finishes with a roaring bebop tenor solo. "Song for Alison" features the flute more than holding its own with a rock accompaniment. The song "Don Quixote" opens with an extensive acoustic Spanish guitar solo by Whitehorn.
If (band)
If was a progressive rock band formed in Britain in 1969.Referred to by Billboard as "unquestionably the best of the so-called jazz-rock bands", in the period spanning 1970-1975, they produced 8 studio-recorded albums and did some 17 tours of Europe, the US and Canada.-History:They toured...
. It was followed by compilation CDs covering tracks from the first four LPs featuring the band's previous line-up.
The album reflects the band's more rock-influenced style, perfectly balanced with Dick Morrissey's harsher hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
/bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
sax playing. The title track "Tea Break", referring to the hardships of being "on the road", is the punch line
Punch line
A punch line is the final part of a joke, comedy sketch, or profound statement, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be funny or to provoke laughter or thought from listeners...
to an old musicians' joke and contains a tribute to Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
in the lyrics ("The Bird was the man to be heard" and "The music was the word") as well as in a swirling bebop tenor solo. The "Ballad of the Yessirom Kid", a tribute by the band to Dick Morrissey, finishes with a roaring bebop tenor solo. "Song for Alison" features the flute more than holding its own with a rock accompaniment. The song "Don Quixote" opens with an extensive acoustic Spanish guitar solo by Whitehorn.
Side one
- "Merlin the Magic Man" (Davies) – 5:05
- "I Had a Friend" (Davies) – 5:20
- "Tea Break Over, Back on Your 'Eads" (Whitehorn, Davies, Monaghan) – 7:50
Side two
- "Ballad of the Yessirrom Kid" (Davies) – 6:05
- "Raw Sewage" (Davies) – 3:55
- "Song for Alison" (Morrissey) – 4:30
- "Don Quixote's Masquerade" (Davies) – 6:13
Line-up
- Cliff Davies – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, synthesiser and vocals - Gabriel Magno – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Carlos Martinez – percussion
- Walt Monaghan – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and vocals - Dick MorrisseyDick MorrisseyRichard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor sax, soprano sax and flute.- Background :...
- saxophones and flute - Geoff WhitehornGeoff WhitehornGeoffrey Charles 'Geoff' Whitehorn is a guitarist and singer-songwriter, who has played as a member of If, Crawler and Procol Harum.- History :...
- electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s and acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
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