These days we offer platitudes to a lot of musicians who come out of the woodwork to make a new stand on wobbly legs, or have genuinely brilliant work heard and recognized by more arduous music fans who missed it the first time around in passing, or younger folks who never had the chance in the first place. And rightfully so. It seems odd to place Kevin Ayers in this category, but he is perhaps the most enigmatic of all. Ayers, who along with Robert Wyatt and Mike Ratledge founded Soft Machine, left after its second album to pursue a career as a solo artist, releasing seminal psychedelic classics like Joy of a Toy, Shooting at the Moon, and Bananamour, to name just three. He's recorded and performed with everybody from Syd Barrett (who appeared as a sideman on Ayers' first platter) to Phil Manzanera, Eno, John Cale, Nico, and Elton John. He influenced David Bowie, and was the musical companion of stalwart jazzmen like Lol Coxhill and prog rockers like Mike Oldfield, Steve Hillage (speaking of enigmas) and the late guitarist Ollie Halsall (a dear friend of Ayers, who was truly shaken at his untimely death). Odd, but fitting. Throughout the '80s due to rather bacchanalian circumstances, Ayers' final record for Virgin was not promoted; he began to retreat from the life and music he'd created: from England, then from touring, then from recording, too. He surfaced briefly with an acoustic album recorded in France with Fairground Attraction, did a bit of collaboration with Ultramarine, and the Wizard of Twiddly, and then poof...gone.

1		Only Heaven Knows
2		Cold Shoulder
3		Baby Come Home
4		Wide Awake
5		Walk on Water
6		Friends & Strangers
7		Shine a Light
8		Brainstorm
9		Unfairground
10		Run Run Run

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