FunkFreak75 Robert Jan Stips is the founder and key composer, keyboard player, and singer of the early Canterbury band, SUPERSISTER. Once he left the band around 1974 (to join GOLDEN EARRING--after their world-wide hit album, Moontan with the monster hit, "Radar Love") it didn't take long before the band disintegrated. Here, in 2019, Robert Jan reveals a collection of songs that are either holdovers from that early 1970s period of his life or recent compositions that demonstrate how deeply the SUPERSISTER spirit has held steadfast within him. Many of these songs are refreshing in their upbeat, fun, and beautiful melodies, reminding one of just how special those 1971-73 Supersister albums were.

1. "I Am You Are Me / Transmitter" (4:44) (10/10) 2. "Memories Are New IV" (3:26) (8.5/10) 3. "For You And For Nobody Else" (7:59) (12.5/15) 4. "Sister Talk 1" (0:44) (4/5) 5. "Max Eco" (3:00) (8.25/10) 6. "Hope To See You There Again" (5:28) cool song that plays out like a cinematically emotional Post Rock song. (9.25/10) 7. "Yellow Days" (4:31) (10/10) 8. "Sister Talk 2" (0:35) (4.25/5) 9. "Next Door Movie" (3:12) another nice soundtrack song (8.5/10) 10. "Cuckoo" (3:58) live one room stage recording? Too goofy--though I like Robert Jan's narrative in the second minute. (7/10) 11. "Hope To See You Again" (1:24) (5/5)

Total Time 39:01

B/four stars; a welcome contribution from one of the early leaders of the Canterbury sound and a nice addition to any prog lover's music collection.

FunkFreak75 Gone are founding members Marco Vrolijk and Sacha van Geest, drummer and flute-sax player, respectively. Still, Robert Jan Stips and company manage to focus and take on a concept album, no less--a musical rendering and homage to the historical figure, Alexander the Great. I think they do it exceedingly well--and still in a very Canterburian way, despite their growth and the inputs of two new, jazz-oriented members. Though I miss the predominance of the flutes from the previous albums, I love the various saxes as played by Charlie Mariano. Ron van Eck's chunky bass feels and sounds more at home, more integrated within this new music--which is mixed much more thickly, with less separation and differentiation (pointing to Robert Jan's development on the engineering/production side of things). though there is definitely a stronger commitment to jazz tendencies the keyboard and chordal structures are still very much anchored in the Canterbury sound. Total Time: 57:23

A solid four star album from this wonderful Dutch band--and their best engineered album to date.

FunkFreak75 The original lineup of this band put together three albums in rapid fire succession, 1971-72, before losing a few of its founding members Sacha van Geest and Marco Vrolijk (leader, keyboard player, and producer Robert Jan Stips would leave in 1974 after the recording of the band's fifth album, Spiral Staircase, where he would go on to join Golden Earring through their monster hit album, Moontan). This is the third of that trilogy. (The band would dis-band later with the departure of leader and founder, Stips.) The band has grown. Their experimental nature has been nurtured further but they are also putting here on display a greater maturity in their lyrical content and a greater command and confidence in the polishing department and recording/engineering departments. As I listen to Pudding en Gisteren I find myself wishing that their first two albums were rehearsed, recorded and produced as well as this one.

The opening song, "Radio" (4:00) is full of silliness--not the least of which is the end segment with "radio narrator" speaking over the band's appropriate "soundtrack" music. It's an okay song, despite its entertainment value. (7/10)

The second song, "Supersisteretsisrepus" (0:16) is one of those silly throw-away songs so common to early (pre- paralysis) Robert Wyatt project albums--this one a keyboard solo.

Song 3, "Psychopath" (3:58) is a tongue-in-cheek cabaret-like song in the Monty Python Life of Brian vein. Humorous, intelligent lyrics sung/spoken over piano and then piano and harpsichord duet in the middle section and then joined by Mellotron strings for the final third. (8/10)

4. "Judy Goes on Holiday" (12:38) is the epic that completes Side 1 of the album. It opens with a very catchy synthesizer/flute riff, which is then periodically repeated throughout the song in order to bring the band back to center before venturing off into some of the more EGG-heavy or CAMEL-light passages that make up the body of the song. I find the mix of this song interesting for the consistent "compartmentalization" of each of the individual performers--keys in left, bass center up front, drums center in back, flute center-right and guitars full right. An odd slow, spacious section begins in the fifth minute that allows the band some percussive playfulness. Then a slow keyboard and flute duet begins mid-song that is absolutely gorgeous--very much in a CAMEL/Latimer- Bardens or Hackett-Hackett way. Like Satie "Gymnopedia," I could listen to this forever. The song eventually returns to the opening riff and pacing. (9/10)

5. Side 2 is filled with one song, one epic--one of the finest epics Canterbury music has to offer, the title song "... (Music for Ballet)" (21:00). From the opening riff and its variations which fill the first two minutes, to the organ and flute interplay and rolling bass lines in the more varied tempos of the second movement, to the smooth, cool grooves and key sounds in the CAMEL-esque third movement, this is an absolute masterpiece of instrumental music. I do love the way Supersister can cough up so many catchy and memorable and fun melodic riffs. Each section/movement of this piece is grounded in at least one of them. There must be about 20 of them through the course of this song! I can often hear sections appropriate for ballet, as the title indicates, but not the majority--though there are a few themes that feel like variations on already-existing classic ballet themes. I mean, I know dancers can dance to just about anything, but as for your typical musical score intended specifically for ballet, I don't see this one as one of those. I'd like to see it staged as such. (10/10)

Definitely a weird and diverse album with questionable lows but with more solid, mature, and memorable highs-- namely the two epics; they are not to be missed. Accordingly, I think this album must claim its place among the pantheon of prog masterpieces.

FunkFreak75 To the Highest Bidder replicates the upbeat, happy-go-lucky yet quite tight and complex instrumental weave as their previous album, their debut, Present from Nancy. The difference with To the Highest Bidder is that the songs are longer (three of the four songs are over seven minutes long) and there is a greater variety of keyboard instrument sounds used. But, like a SOFT MACHINE suite, the long songs seem more to be made up of a collection of short songs all spliced into one suite. There are some "songs" within the four titles that are eminently enjoyable, some laughable, many quite memorable. Overall all four songs earn five star ratings from me, though there are specific high points within the opener,

1. "A Girl Named You" (10:11) (9/10) and the epic on Side Two, "Energy," that I would single out for praise.

2. "No Tree Will Grow (On Too High a Mountain)" (7:40) is founded throughout upon a drone of some kind of Tibetan/Tuvan-like overtone throat vocal. The Canterbury jazz music builds and builds--in tempo over the final 90 seconds. Though very Canterburian--especially the English vocal spoken/sung mid-song--there is a bit of a BEATLES psychedelia feel to it as well. (9/10)

3. "Energy (Out of Future)" (15:01) is another tom-based tribal sounding rhythm over which two very breathy, trilly flutes are playing their solos. At the two minute mark a new theme and style take over--reminiscent of the carnival song at the end of "Dona Nobis Pacem" on Present from Nancy. Then at 3:45 the band breaks into one of their happy up tempo grooves--over which a treated voice sings his psychedelic hippy lyric. Quite an infectious groove, this. I could listen to this all day! And feel happy and get so much done! A drum solo at the six minute mark has a kind of Pierre Van der LINDEN/FOCUS "Eruption"-just-before-"Tommy" feel to it (though, obviously, this came first.) The solo comes to an end to allow the buzz-saw organ to solo a bit before the Snoopy-theme piano melody returns and gets support from flutes and organ. At 8:55 the song devolves into a kind of scary carnival ride--fast-paced polka-like rhythm. But then in the eleventh minute it comes back toward classical--though the treated vocal sounds like a Circus Master speaking through a blow horn. The carnival merry-go-round sound starts up again, at first slowly but then rapidly picking up it s speed till it culminates in a crescendo crash of backwards tapes. What a trip! Psychedelia at its craziest! And this is what we get to the end! (9/10)

4. "Higher" (2:47) brings us back to Earth with a pleasantly jazzy pop vocal. (9/10)

Overall this album takes the listener on one wild ride! A perfect example of considerable Canterbury instrumental prowess with all of the psychedelia to well represent the era.

FunkFreak75 Present from Nancy is one of the most upbeat, happy-happy, joy-joy albums of the Canterbury subgenre of progressive rock music. From it's opening notes of Latin-sounding drum rhythms played on the toms to the rocket speed piano and breathy staccato flutes and rolling bass lines, the first two songs, "Introductions" (2:58) and the title song "Present from Nancy" (5:15) flow one into the other while maintaining the happy jazzy breakneck speed until the final 15 seconds. (10/10)

3. "Memories Are New (Boomchick)" (3:48) is another fast-paced piece, this time organ-driven and supporting a very Canterbury-sounding vocal. At 1:35 the music shifts into scary-weird land with some odd organ/keyboard noises being supported by a steady rapid-fire cymbal play on the hi-hat. At 3:20 we return to the opening section with vocals as if nothing had happened there. Weird but great! (9/10)

4. "11/8" (3:17) sounds like one of Robert FRIPP's guitar and tempo exercises. Screeching dissonance! I love it! (8/10) You can really see how much THE SOFT MACHINE influenced these guys.

5. "Dreaming Weelwhile" (2:53) is a floating meditative play on Ravel's "Bolero" flute melody using flanged bass, cymbal crescendos and soft organ to support the distant-seeming solo flute. (10/10)

6. "Corporation Combo Boys" (1:22) opens as an a cappela exercise with several male voices singing "Do-do-do-do-do" in harmony before a humorous play on a Bond theme with lyrics takes over. (9/10)

7. "Mexico" (4:22) opens with "buzz-saw" organ and tribal drumming pattern before everything quiets down in a soft movie soundtrack-like organ instrumental. The song proceeds with opening "tribal" Section and second "movie soundtrack" themes alternating equally until at 2:35 it turns into a BACH-like organ and flute duet with light tongue-twisting Canterbury lyric sung over and with. This C "waiting" Section plays out to the song's end. (8/10)

8. "Metamorphosis" (3:28) is a very metronomic drum, bass and left hand of the organ play while the "buzz-saw" playing the jazzy, improvisational lead on the right. At the start of the third minute the left channel organ takes over the lead--at times two-hands mirroring one another. (8/10)

9. "Eight Miles High" (0:23) is a funny 23 seconds of the final measure of the classic BYRDS song blending into the famous "and the living is easy" lyric of GERSHWIN's "Summertime." Funny!

10. "Dona Nobis Pacem" (8:36) is a slow tempo solo organ exercise for its first three minutes. Then the flute enters giving the song truly a Porgy and Bess feel to it. Some of the incidental and background melody ditties around the five minute mark and thereafter have YES "Awaken" and "Nights in White Satin" sounds. At 6:30 the tempo picks up as the song transforms into a carnival-like/Nutcracker-like sound with ever-increasing tempo. Interesting--and humorous--but not my favorite. (8/10)

An album that starts off so strongly and melodically, but then begins to falter and slide after the sixth song, still rates as one of the best Canterbury albums--and one of my favorites--ever.