Matching Mole Paris 1972 (original) (raw)

Paris, Olympia – 15 May 1972

This is not a previously unheard performance – although it should be pointed out that the footage filmed on that day for the French TV programme ‘Pop 2’ was captured earlier in the day during soundcheck – but this version comes from a very low generation copy that hasn’t circulated much until now. It is somewhat ‘brick walled’ but a more pleasant listen than one would surmise from the corresponding waveforms. For this version we have a generous collector of all things Wyatt to thank, he himself having obtained it from a friend back in the day. This is a relatively short set – Matching Mole were opening for John Mayall on a short French tour, the odd pairing having already played a number of shows in the UK – but an intense one, with Robert particularly ‘lively’ in his Echoplex’d vocal improv. Of particular interest to us Phil Miller fans is that the performance opens and closes with two of his signature pieces – “Lything and Gracing” going on to appear on Matching Mole’s Little Red Record in the guise of “Righteous Rhumba”.

Download – 506 MB (.wav files)

Phil Miller – electric guitar
Dave MacRae – Fender Rhodes
Bill MacCormick – bass
Robert Wyatt – drums, mouth

Note: The accompanying photo (notable for Robert holding his toy saxophone) was taken earlier that month outside Battersea’s Tennyson Secondary School where the band had just filmed a performance for Education TV’s Music Alive series, recently made available online (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CtAf1frSeI)