Featured Album | Alternative Liner Notes

367 | Various Artists | Charisma Disturbance | Charisma  TSS1 | 1973

The first sampler to be released on Tony Stratton Smith’s famous Charisma label, was this double LP set, that features no fewer than 19 acts, covering a wide range of styles from progressive rock to classical, comedy to spoken word.  Opening with what could only be described as a fanfare, the Sinfonia of London, conducted by one Joseph Egar, provide a right old regal kick start to proceedings with ‘Sonata Pian E Forte’ and is swiftly followed by something equally strange, for what is essentially a Prog album, ‘The Unanswered Question’ read by the Shakespearean actor John Neville, specifically for this release.  Tony Stratton Smith obviously had some sway when it came to these things.  As the record continues though, more conventional stuff is added, though not before we hear further classical adventures courtesy of The Nice, with a track from the band’s album Five Bridges, ‘Intermezzo Karelia Suite’, which you may remember was also used at the time, as the theme tune to the current affairs TV programme, This Week.  Perhaps the inclusion of Monty Python’s ‘Spam Song’ might’ve been considered a bizarre addition, though it has to be said, fans of Genesis, Van Der Graaf Generator, Capability Brown and the like, were by definition, also fans of the popular comedy team.  The selections are divided equally amongst most of the acts on the Charisma roster, such as Bell +Arc, String Driven Thing and Rare Bird, though why they chose to include two songs by Lindisfarne, together with one from the band’s leader on the same side, remains a mystery.  The other slightly awkward thing about Charisma Disturbance is the slightly disturbing Hipgnosis sleeve design, which continues to baffle me all these years on, though with Hipgnosis, nothing really surprises me.   Having said all this, the sampler was a crucial addition to any 15 year-old’s record collector back in ’73.                       

Playlist:

The Return of the Giant Hogweed – Genesis (Nursery Cryme)

Sympathy – Rare Bird (Charisma Disturbance)

Regent Street Incident – String Driven Thing (String Driven Thing)

I’m So Worried – Monty Python (Contractual Obligation)

Theme One – Van der Graaf Generator (Pawn Hearts)

Jackdaw – Audience (The House on the Hill)

Dawn – Bell + Arc (Bell + Arc)

The Old Forest & Tom Bombadil – Bo Hansson (Lord of the Rings)

January Song – Lindisfarne (Fog on the Tyne)

Money Game – Alan Hull (Charisma Disturbance)

America – Nice (Elegy)