Audience reform

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Howard Werth has gotten back together with the lads and reformed Audience.
Anyone who gets the chance to see these guys should take it.....always an aquired taste and not everyones cup of tea this band was one of the most unique bands we Brits ever produced.
Howard was front runner for The Doors gig and would have made an excellent job of capturing The Doors spirit.
He had a lot in common with Jim and although the band would not have been what we know the Doors to be it would have been more in tune with Jim's ideas than the pointless money grubbing rubbish R$ay Manzarek fronts.

here is a link to Howards record company
www.luminousmusic.co.uk/
and it also gives you a chance to listen to the complete House On The Hill album
www.saxmusicplus.com/audience.htm
which has many gems....
as I say not everyone will like what they hear as Audience were not your normal 70s act but give it a shot and you might find something you like...

Look out for gigs by the lads
here are ones I am aware of at the moment

Saturday, March 26, 2005
AUDIENCE, HOWARD WERTH & KEITH GEMMELL
@ London - The Underworld
07:00PM

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Here is a bit of Audience info.....
Sadly I never got to see them as I was always underage to get in the gigs round here.....I once travelled to see the lads at Durham Uni in 1971 only to be told that me and my mate could not come in as we were only 15....bugger.

AUDIENCE
by Mark J. Moerman

Audience was an acclaimed and influential British art-rock band of the late 60s and early 70s. After one LP for Polydor in 1969, they became one of the first acts signed to Charisma, and released three LPs in as many years. The band toured extensively in many parts of the world and achieved chart success in Europe, Australia and the United States.

Howard Werth: guitar, banjo, lead vocals
Keith Gemmell: saxophones, woodwinds
Trevor Williams: bass guitar, accordion, vocals
Tony Connor: drums, percussion, piano, vibes, marimba

Despite a strong following and four well-received albums, the band never achieved a major breakthrough, and disbanded toward the end of 1972. Howard Werth made one more LP for Charisma with a new band, Howard Werth & The Moonbeams, and drummer Tony Connor went on to great success with British pop/soul band Hot Chocolate.

After 32 years, Werth, Gemmell and Williams reformed Audience in 2004 along with drummer John Fisher.

Discography

Audience
AUDIENCE Polydor 583 065 (1969)
FRIEND’S FRIEND’S FRIEND Charisma CAS 1012 (1970)
THE HOUSE ON THE HILL Charisma CAS 1032 (1971)
LUNCH Charisma CAS 1054 (1972)
YOU CAN’T BEAT ‘EM (compilation) Charisma CS7 (1973)
NOSTALGE (German compilation) Charisma 9299 735 (1974)
UNCHAINED (Best Of) Virgin CDVM 9007 1992

Howard Solo
KING BRILLIANT - by Howard Werth & the Moonbeams Charisma CAS 1104 (1975)
FROM OUT OF THE EAST Luminous 1999
6IX OF 1NE AND 1/2 A DOZEN OF THE OTHER Luminous 1999
THE EVOLUTION MYTH EXPLODES Luminous 2004

Gig review....
Venue: The Astoria, London Date: 22nd November 2004

I was casually flicking through a friend's rock magazine a couple of weeks ago when I noticed an ad for 'Progeny 2'. It always amuses me when you read these mags and see the gig list read like something from the early seventies, but Audience? Could it be?

I went on the net as soon as I got home and found it was indeed true. I always regretted not having seen them at the time, and knew I had to go. Although I remain unimpressed by the current (and former) output of most of the 'prog rock' acts of that era, the Audience recordings still sound fresh and (in most cases) timeless.

The instrumentation and sound is unlike any other band with Howard Werth's distinctive, versatile vocals and nylon strung guitar. Keith Gemmell's mastery of a host of wind instruments and use of effects to compliment the music, rather than hide inadequacies was underpinned by Trevor Williams and Tony Connor, the most under rated rhythm section in rock music.

So at 4.30 on a Monday afternoon in late November I made my way into an
almost empty Astoria to hear them live for the first time! As the venue started filling up, I realised there were quite a few people who had obviously come specifically for the bottom billed band.

As soon as they started the first bars of 'You're Not Smiling', they were
contradicted by my broad grin. This sound is one of the most unique you'll
ever hear, and more importantly it works! Werth's voice has lost none of it's power and emotion and although occasionally there were signs of strain, this was nothing a few gigs wouldn't sort out. His energetic nylon string playing was a joy and the sound of that guitar (yes, the same green Baldwin) was brilliant; percussive and melodic. How did this man manage to elude rock stardom?

Adding colour and harmony to the mix was the flawless playing of Keith
Gemmell; saxes and flute with and without a variety of effects. If I had expected the sax sound on 'Jackdaw' to sound weak and exposed without the aid of a studio recording I was wrong. Every part played sounded better live and where he strayed from the original hymn sheet, I was even more impressed.

Trevor William's bass was brilliantly solid and melodic, including his trademark fuzz bass soloing, and his backing vocals necessary and accurate.

New drummer John Fisher (at a guess less than half the age of his fellow band members) was great in parts, although at times he did not quite match up to the style that Tony Connor had, but bearing age and experience in mind it's only a matter of time. I would also suggest that when they start playing new material together, his playing will really gel.

The short set also included 'I Had a Dream', 'Man on Box', 'I Put a Spell
on You' and 'House on the Hill' and although the crowd wanted more, time
restrictions prevented it.

So, where do they go from here? First they should enjoy playing the older stuff and relax into it. We all want to hear 'Nancy', 'Thunder and Lightning' and the other classics, but these guys are real musicians and will obviously do new material. They have all the elements they need to do it and the capability, although the search for perfectionism that pervades a lot of their material could mean it will take a while.

I hear a live album is in the pipeline first, so let's enjoy the present and look forward to the new phase of Audience.
Adam Gaiman 24/11/2004