“Incident At a Free Festival” is a tribute to the mid-afternoon slots at Deeply Vale, Bickershaw, Krumlin, Weeley, and Plumpton – early 70s festivals that don’t get the column inches afforded the Isle of Wight or Glastonbury Fayre, but which would have been rites of passage for thousands of kids. Bands lower down the bill would have been charged with waking up the gentle hippies and appealing to both the greasy bikers and the girls in knee-high boots who wanted to wiggle their hips. And the best way to do that was with volume, riffs and percussion. Compiled by the venerated Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs of Saint Etienne, this is the heavier side of the early 70s they summarised on the acclaimed “English Weather” collection. There’s an air of menace and illicit thrills among tracks by Andwella, Stack Waddy and Leaf Hound (whose “Growers of Mushroom” album is worth well over £1,000). Bigger names include the rabble-rousing Edgar Broughton Band and kings of the festival freakout, Hawkwind. They are represented by their rare version of ‘Ejection’ For every mystical Tyrannosaurus Rex performance there was something like Atomic Rooster’s Tomorrow Night or Curved Air’s Back Street Luv to capture the spirit of the day and stir the loins of festival goers; the tracks on “Incident At a Free Festival” were inspired by both Chicago’s percussive wig-outs and the Pink Fairies’ anarchic spirit. The sounds were heavy and frequently funky, with a definite scent of danger. Their message was clear and simple: clap your hands, stamp your feet, hold on to your mind. TRACK LIST 1. CHASING SHADOWS – Deep Purple 2. ONE WAY GLASS – Manfred Mann Chapter Three 3. HOLD ONTO YOUR MIND – Andwella 4. HOT PANTS – Alan Parker & Alan Hawkshaw 5. DO IT – Pink Fairies 6. TOMORROW NIGHT – Atomic Rooster 7. TAKEN ALL THE GOOD THINGS – Stray 8. OUT DEMONS OUT – Edgar Broughton Band 9. FOR MAD MEN ONLY – May Blitz 10. BACK STREET LUV – Curved Air 11. EJECTION – Hawkwind 12. MEAT PIES ’AVE COME BUT BANDS NOT ’ERE YET – Stackwaddy 13. LOVELY LADY ROCK – James Hogg 14. THIRD WORLD – Paladin 15. TAKING SOME TIME ON – Barclay James Harvest 16. RICOCHET – Jonesy 17. LED BALLOON – Steve Gray 18. BIG BOOBS BOOGIE – Slowload 19. FREELANCE FIEND – Leaf Hound 20. CONFUNKTION – Dave Richmond
