Although the album Jumble Lane [Holyground Records, 1971] is officially credited to Jumble Lane, no such band ever existed: the name describes a constellation of 23 musicians with diverse interests and directions, who had Bretton Hall College as their common denominator. The record was pressed in just 99 copies, with the original covers by Mal Williamson falling victim to an accident. Biff Byford does play the flute and participates in the composition of 4 tracks out of a total of 17 sessions at the time, of which 12 made it onto the original vinyl version (which is extremely rare and is rumored to have changed hands for up to 1,900 euros), while the rest remained unreleased until the 1993 CD reissue.
It was a whirlwind record, combining Rich Freeman's interests in Johann Sebastian Bach and John Dowland ("Prelude In D Minor/Allemande"), British folk ("Lyke Wake Dirge"), the echo of Joni Mitchell pre-Ladies Of The Canyon (covering "Gallery" by Marcia and Linda King) and the era's electric concerns around blues, American folk rock and guitars: we hear e.g. both an adaptation of the well-known one by B.B. King "Rock Me Baby" featuring Ric Jerrom, as well as original efforts like "Blues For Joanne" and "Frustration/Ends Away!", where we meet Byford again. A special touch is also "Girl From Gothenburg", presented as an instrumental composition by pianist Martin Snell, but in essence it is a renegotiation of the melody of the Swedish traditional song "Visa Från Utanmyra".
The overall feeling is that it shows a wide variety of playing skills that are difficult to categorize.
Tracks
1. Prelude In D Minor / Allemande (Johann Sebastian Bach, John Dowland) - 3:15
2. Girl From Gothenburg (Martin Snell) - 3:55
3. Flutelode (Biff Byford) - 1:56
4. Blues For Joanne (Ric Jerrom) - 2:05
5. Five In A Van (Chris Garfield, Martin Snell) - 4:14
6. Red Hot Daddy (Reprise) (Ian Ball) - 0:20
7. Frustration / Ends Away (Biff Byford, Chris Garfield, Liam Arthurs, Martin Snell, Nick Dew, Nick Mann) - 5:00
8. Little Frederique (Biff Byford, Rich Keys, Steve Channing) - 1:38
9. The Shipper / Rock Me Babe (Dave Holland, Melvin Jackson, Joe Josea, B.B. King) - 4:35
10.Organics / Red Hot Daddy (Liam Arthurs, Martin Snell, Nick Dew, Ian Ball) - 3:19
11.The Gallery (Joni Mitchell) - 3:37
12.Preserve (Biff Byford, Liam Arthurs, Martin Snell, Nick Dew, Rich Keys, Steve Channing) - 4:43
13.A Train Ago Last Saturday (Ric Jerrom) - 3:48
Musicians
*Biff Byford - Flute
*Ric Jerrom - Vocals, Guitar
*Steve Channing - Silent Slide Guitar, Guitar
*Chris Garfield Lead Guitar,
*Liam Arthurs [Leom Arthurs] - Bass, Vocals
*Martin Snell - Piano, Organ, Glockenspiel
*Nick Dew - Drums
*Rich Freeman - Guitar
*Rich Keys - Mouth Harp
*Dave Holland - Piano
*John Millington - Lead Guitar,
*Rob Clark - Bass
*Howard Wriggley - Piano,
*Mike Brownrigg - Lead Guitar
*Rob Rutherford - Jaws Harp
*Ian Ball - Vocal Kazoo Mouth Trumpet Ukelele
*John Davidson - Banjo,
*Graham Heaney - Jug Tea Chest Bass
*Pete Tidball - Guitar
*Tina Barnes - Washboard
*Marcia Phillips - Vocals, Guitar
*Linda King - Vocals
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