BJ Cole: The New Hovering Dog (CD on BJ Cole)

Band: BJ Cole
Label: BJ Cole
Title: The New Hovering Dog

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Band:BJ Cole
Title:The New Hovering Dog
Reviewed By:Maarten Schiethart
Date Published:17/12/2013

Label:BJ Cole
Format:CD
Release Year:0
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Though the pedal steel was a feature in bands like the Flying Burrito Brothers 40 years ago, when I was buying Beefheart, Kevin Ayers and Nick Drake LPs, I did not get to hear this eccentric from London playing this quintessential American instrument, yet London-based musician BJ Cole was doing just that with little success at that time. The first label to bring BJ Cole to my attention was Cooking Vinyl when around 1999 it released a swing and jive CD of his. 'The New Hovering Dog' now sees its extremely long overdue re-issue on CD. The novelty effect of the pedal steel, when everyone else concerned was on hashisch and listening to sitar ragas, has waned after 40 years, but with the sound quality tremendously improved 'The New Hovering Dog' stands testament to a previously unearthed freeform era of London and documents how extraterrestial BJ Cole's music must have sounded to the average Londoner.

The (failed) single culled off the album was the hillbilly cover of 'Up On The Hill Where They Do The Boogie', and today this track merely functions to show BJ Cole's quite exquisite control of the pedal steel snares. His pièce d'œuvre remains the nine minute long 'Five Pieces For Steel Guitar And Percussion'. Following on from there, the original LP rushed to an end through the jingle jangle of 'I Know How' before on 'The East Winchley Tango' electronic buzzing comes in to ruin the mood. Angelic vocals, a rolling harpsichord, captivating string arrangements plus riveting pedal steel guitar play then probably proved an unfashionable brew, at a time when glam rock surfaced, 10CC were penning 'Rubber Bullets' and when Roxy Music acted über cleverly.

I'm not even sure whether John Peel cared at the time. The original LP concluded with an edit from a piece BJ Cole played on one of the first synthesizers, the VCS3, without having the necessary keyboard though! The CD re-issue includes two extra tracks recorded in 1977 of which only 'Remington Ride' provides more pedal steel music. Incidently when I first noticed my dad's Remington electric shaver, I imagined it to be a new type of transistor radio.

Having settled a score in history in late 2013, 'The Regal Progression' rolls out a magic carpet for 'The New Hovering Dog' on which you can fly for a good thirty minutes, as on the original LP. Followed by 'Now You See Them (Now You Don't)' which has little evidence of the pedal steel, one wonders why this BJ Cole LP was ignored in the way that it was. The CD comes with liner notes from BJ Cole himself which alas doesn't mention the irate way it was received back then, whilst by now its grace and sense of adventure should be something to treasure.

Track Listing:

01) The Regal Procession
02) Now You See Them, Now You Don't
03) The Cold Mountain Mariner
04) Up On the Hill Where They Do Do the B
05) You're Probably Lost
06) Five Pieces for Steel Guitar and Percus
07) I Know Now
08) I Know Now
09) Pie In the Sky
10) Remington Ride

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Related Links

http://www.bjcole.co.uk/bj_albums/albums.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._J._Cole
https://www.facebook.com/bj.cole.790

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Fabulous reissue of London-based pedal steel guitarist BJ Cole's then little heard but now classic 1972 debut solo album

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The New Hovering Dog - CD
Fabulous reissue of London-based pedal steel guitarist BJ Cole's then little heard but now classic 1972 debut solo album

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