If not for the adventurous archive-spelunking of the intrepid Reel Recordings label, Radar Favourites would likely not have come to light. The group formed in 1974 and fell apart before the year was out, never even having the opportunity to release an album. In terms of the more esoteric end of ‘70s U.K. art rock, their credentials were impeccable -- saxman Geoff Leigh had played with Henry Cow, drummer Charles Hayward hailed from Quiet Sun and Camberwell Now (and went on to This Heat), bassist Jack Monck worked with Syd Barrett's short-lived backup band Stars and Canterbury cult heroes Delivery, and guitarist G.F. Fitz-Gerald had released the 1971 lost classic solo album Mouseproof. Keyboardist Cathy Williams was a relative unknown, but her contributions are nonetheless crucial to the band's sound. This self-titled collection, the first-ever Radar Favourites collection, may have taken 36 years to appear, but it's a vital document, containing four studio tracks and a live cut by the band. It's a mostly instrumental outing that seems to have its roots in the ‘60s/'70s Canterbury scene (not surprising, considering the members' backgrounds), but Radar Favourites took their post-Soft Machine blend of jazz and progressive rock someplace that was uniquely their own. Some sections of the tunes are stately and melodic, closer to the most intricate moments of Caravan or Camel than the jazzier side of the Canterbury spectrum, but things just as often get edgy and downright experimental-sounding. While the four studio tracks include moments of improvisation, they're nevertheless well structured overall, but the live track, the 12-minute Blastest, is a free-form freakout pitched somewhere between Sun Ra (mentioned by the band in the liner notes as an inspiration) and the wilder, woollier exploits of Larks' Tongues in Aspic-era King Crimson. ~ J. Allen, Rovi

1		Peggy Delaney's Hothouse Tinkers
2		Umbrella Walk
3		Trees and Tanks
4		Blues for Henry
5		Blastest

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