Picnic - A Breath of Fresh Air

Infobox Album
Name = Picnic - A Breath of Fresh Air
Type = compilation
Artist = various artists


Released = Start date|1970
Recorded =
Genre = Progressive rock, folk rock
Length =
Label = Harvest (UK)
Producer = various
Reviews =
Last album =
This album =
Next album =
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = 2007 cover
Type = compilation


Lower caption = Album cover for the 2007 album

Picnic - A Breath of Fresh Air is a sampler issued by the Harvest Records label, originally released in 1970 and is remarkable for including the full-length version of the unreleased Pink Floyd song, "Embryo".

A Breath Of Fresh Air - A Harvest Records Anthology 1969 - 1974, [Catalogue No. SHTW801] , released on 14 May 2007 this borrowed most of the original title, but had only three tracks in common with its precursor (Pink Floyd's Embryo, Panama Limited's Round and Round, and Quatermass' Black Sheep of the Family). Although most tracks featured were of similar vintage, the album was a retrospective compilation, rather than a promotional sampler.

History

EMI as a record label did not generally have a reputation for taking risks; however, having seen that progressive music had become popular, the niche Harvest label was launched in 1969 to take advantage of that market. As with many record labels at the time, a budget-priced showcase album of their artists was produced. This was Picnic, and Harvest's roster of artists was large and interesting enough to support a double album retailing at 29s/11d (approximately £1.50/$3.00 in 2007). The result was an eclectic mixture of traditional folk, hard rock, psychedelia and the wilfully obscure.

The 1970 Release Track Listing

ide One

#"Into The Fire" (Blackmore/Lord/Paice/Gillan/Glover) - Deep Purple (from LP "In Rock" SHVL 777)
#"Mother Dear" (Barclay James Harvest) - Barclay James Harvest (from LP "Barclay James Harvest" SHVL 770)
#"Embryo" (Waters) - Pink Floyd (no attribution; previously unreleased)
#"Twisted Track" (Spedding/Brown) - The Battered Ornaments (from LP "Mantle-Piece" SHVL 758)
#"Glenlogie" (Trad. arr. S. & D. Collins) - Shirley & Dolly Collins (from LP "Love Death and The Lady" SHVL 771)

ide Two

#"The Good Mr Square" (May/Waller) - Pretty Things (from LP "Parachute)" SHVL 774)
#"Song Of The Ages" (H. Ash) - Roy Harper (from LP "Flat Baroque and Berserk" SHVL 766)
#"This Worried Feeling" (Clempson/Poole) - Bakerloo [ [http://www.alexgitlin.com/bakerl.htm Bakerloo ] ] (from LP "Bakerloo" SHVL 762)
#"Eleanor's Cake Which Ate Her" (Ayers) - Kevin Ayers (from LP "Joy of a Toy" SHVL 763)
#"Again and Again" (Watt/Roy) [This credit is incorrect; the song was written by Garth Watt-Roy] - The Greatest Show On Earth [ [http://www.alexgitlin.com/npp/gsoe.htm The Greatest Show on Earth were originally formed in 1968 by guitarist Garth Watt ] ] (from LP "Horizons" SHVL 769)

ide Three

#"Water" (Coff/Minns/Smith/Sweeney) - Third Ear Band (from LP "Third Ear Band" SHVL 773)
#"Terrapin" (Barrett) - Syd Barrett (from LP "The Madcap Laughs" SHVL 765)
#"A Glade Somewhere" (Welham/Allenby/Welham) - Forest [ [http://www.theunbrokencircle.co.uk/artist_profile_forest.htm Classic Artist Profile - Forest ] ] (from LP "Forest" SHVL 760)
#"Golden Country Kingdom" (Brown/Mullen) - Pete Brown & Piblokto! [ [http://www.alexgitlin.com/npp/pbp.htm Pete Brown & Piblokto! ] ] (from LP "Things May Come and Things May Go But The Art School Dance Goes On Forever" SHVL 768)
#"Round and Round" (W.Shade) - Panama Limited (from LP "Panama Limited Jug Band" SHVL 753)

ide Four

#"Black Sheep of the Family" (Hammond) - Quatermass (from "Quatermass" SHVL 775)
#"Postcards of Scarborough" (Chapman) - Michael Chapman (from LP "Fully Qualified Survivor" SHVL 764)
#"Maybe My Mind (With Egg)" (Daw/Phillips) - Tea & Symphony [ [http://www.alexgitlin.com/npp/teasymphony.htm Tea & Symphony ] ] (from LP "An Asylum For The Musically Insane" SHVL 761)
#"Old Gopher" (S. Broughton) - Edgar Broughton Band (from LP "Sing Brother Sing" SHVL 772)

The 2007 Release Track Listing

Disc One

# "Evil" - Edgar Broughton Band
# "Listen Learn Read On" - Deep Purple (from "The Book of Taliesyn" 1968)
# "Druid One" - Third Ear Band
# "Station Song" - Pete Brown and His Battered Ornaments
# "Rainmaker" - Michael Chapman
# "Singing A Song In The Morning" - Kevin Ayers
# "Foresaking Our Captain Cried" - Shirley and Dolly Collins
# "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" - Pink Floyd (single b-side)
# "Armchair Theatre" - Tea and Symphony
# "Big Bear Ffolly" - Bakerloo
# "Round And Round" - Panama Ltd. Jug Band
# "Octopus" - Syd Barrett (from "The Madcap Laughs" 1970)
# "Painter" - Deep Purple
# "Country Morning" - Pete Brown & Piblokto!
# "Francesca" - Roy Harper
# "Bad Penny" - Forest
# "Backwood" - Chris Spedding
# "Real Cool World" - Greatest Show On Earth
# "Breathe" - Roger Waters and Ron Geesin (from "Music from "The Body"" 1970)
# "Taking Some Time On "- Barclay James Harvest

Disc Two

# "There's No Vibrations But Wait" - Edgar Broughton Band
# "Soulful Lady" - Michael Chapman
# "Entropy" - Quatermass
# "Black Sheep Of The Family" - Quatermass
# "Grass" - Pretty Things
# "Salisbury Plain" - Shirley & Dolly Collins
# "Embryo" - Pink Floyd
# "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" - Dave Mason
# "Speed King" - Deep Purple
# "Magic Woman Touch" - Greatest Show On Earth
# "Aeroplane Head Woman" - Pete Brown & Piblokto!
# "Baby Lemonade" - Syd Barrett
# "Don't You Grieve" - Roy Harper
# "October 26" - Pretty Things
# "Song From The Bottom Of A Well" - Kevin Ayers
# "First Leaf Of Autumn" - Michael Chapman
# "Call Me A Liar" - Edgar Broughton Band

Disc Three

# "She Said" - Barclay James Harvest
# "South Africa" - Roy Harper
# "Evening Over Rooftops" - Edgar Broughton Band
# "Do Ya" - The Move
# "When The City Sleeps" - Bombadil
# "Lady Rachel" - Kevin Ayers (from "Joy of a Toy" 1969)
# "10538 Overture" - ELO
# "The City (Part Three)" - Mark-Almond
# "Spaceship" - Spontaneous Combustion
# "Macbeth" - Third Ear Band
# "Fresh Air" - Jan Akkerman
# "Twelve Hours Of Sunset" - Roy Harper
# "Wells Fargo" - Babe Ruth
# "Showdown" - ELO
# "Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus" - Be Bop Deluxe

The Album Cover

It has been pointed out elsewhere (You Can All Join In, Bumpers, El Pea) that sampler album covers are not necessarily kind to the musicians involved; in the case of "Picnic" this is taken to a new level; none of the artists are portrayed in any way whatsoever. The front and rear of the gatefold show a group of people wearing World War II gas masks sitting in sand dunes: there is a dead bird on the sand. The interior of the sleeve is a little more accessible: covers of the albums (or most of them) from which the tracks are taken are shown, against the background of an incoming sea tide, with a family walking across the sands - all of this in a washed out monochrome. The cover design and photographs are credited to Hipgnosis, later to become famous for their progressive rock album cover designs.

References