September 14, 2012

At last here's the wonderful, tremendous 1970 TEB TV broadcast!


As announced in the last days, here's the link at INAfr to watch the best TEB broadcast existing!
Thanks Gérard Sayag ("It was a pleasure to modestly contribute to bring this musical piece to the ears of all the fans", he writes me...) all the TEB fans can watch now the Band at the zenith of its playing, with a wonderful Paul Minns on oboe and the strings players (Richard Coff on violin and Ursula Smith on cello) using all the ways to play their instruments (pizzicato, bow, arpeggio...).
Two tracks only ("Hyde Park Raga" and a not-so-easy-track to identify - maybe a rendition of "Mosaic" or a part of "Abelard & Heloise", the band would have recorded two months later in Germany...) but very intense and exemplar of the rare, magic interplay of the four musicians.

Richard Coff introducing "Hyde Park Raga".

The Band on stage at Olympia.

A visual masterpiece, totally unexpected!
The concrete proof that there are probably other recordings somewhere around from the golden era of the group...

Just some clarifications: the TEB broadcast is around 17:30 long, not the 31:27 as cut by Ina fr (infact after the band you'll see the great Bridget St. John play her acoustic guitar...). 
Then, contrary to what I've understood, INAfr asks you to buy  the video on DVD format (at around € 12,00) or download (at € 2.99).

Anyway enjoy this extraordinary TV broadcast at:
http://www.ina.fr/recherche/recherche?search=third+ear+band&vue=Video
Any comments on this gem, especially in review format, will be welcomed here!

Glen Sweeney smoking in the dressing-room just after the concert.
no©2012 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)     

21 comments:

  1. What a thrill to see the TEB live in their most legendary line-up!!! ...all I can see is a 3 minutes clip, am I doing something wrong? Do I have to sign up to the Ina.fr site in order to see the whole concert?
    Thanks a lot anyway, this is a great find, I've been checking tha blog everyday in order to see it :-)))

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  2. ...maybe it's because you managed to register at InaMediaPro...

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    1. No, Mirco, you can watch the integral video just:
      1. register on INAfr site;
      2. click on the little window on the video as "Télécharger se média...";
      3. when you are in a new section, decide if you want TELECHARGER (downloading) or GRAVER SUR DVD (buy it on CD);
      4. when a new window tells you are in the basket (VOTRE PANIER), go to the basket;
      5. at this point you have to follow all the procedures to buy it (paying with a credit card).

      With this research I was so lucky to have an accreditation on INAMediaPro, so I can watch it free in a reserved section, where I can download and cut all the videos I wish...
      Sorry, but I couldn't do more than this...

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    2. I thought there was a chance to see the whole concert for free in streaming, but it's ok, this old precious footage is certainly worth the price, I will downloaded. Thanks once more :-)

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  3. Spirito Bono here,
    Good work Luca !
    The video is very good (I remember watching it on tv as a teenager).
    The "female musician" is Bridget St John, and for me it doubles the pleasure...

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  4. Thanks for the mysterious women revealed! I've got all the Bridget St John CDs but I didn't recognize her!
    If you like to write a review aboout the TEB video I'd be very glad...

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    1. I'm sorry, Luca,but when i listen to TEB i remain speechless...

      Spirito Bono

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  5. Yes, me too... Every time is a inexpressible experience even for me...
    Even if, as you maybe can see, I've got the nature (the mind) of a researcher/archivist...
    When a review of this great retrival by you?
    Cheers and thanks again.

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  6. I downloaded the whole video and I'm truly touched by it. I never even dared to dream to see somethnig like this!
    The second tune is almost certainly a version af Mosaic. The rhythm pattern and the introduction are very similar.
    I might try to talk about it, but it's hard to do it wothout using the same old stereotypes. As Glen said: "Words cannot describe..."
    I also feel tempted to share this treat on YouTube, although I know I shouldn't...
    Thanks again, Luca

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    1. By all means, you're free to do what do you want, but I will do not it.
      I understand your point of view about the opportunity to write on the Third Ear Band music and I respect it: probably it would be better just to listen to the music or at least watch the few videos around, but I've so conceited (sorry for it!)to think that with no words (and you know I use to be a writer...)there wouldn't be this archive or the TEB Facebook page... I think this archive potentially is a great place of culture around this extraordinary experience of the TEB... a way to know and maybe understand more about it. In other words, we cannot leave the last word about 'our' band to pseudo-journalists as Scaruffi or to the most of the Italian ones...

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    2. I agree with you. I didn't mean to say that it's unuseful to write about TEB, but just that it is difficult to me to express with words my feelings about this music (but maybe I might give it a try to review this marvellous video)
      You have been able to write some very interesting things and share many precious news about 'our' band, on your book and on this blog. All of us TEB's fans are very grateful to you for this :-)

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  7. Thanks a lot for your kind words, Mirco. The point for myself is that this kind of experience (for instance a blog or a facebook page...) show us that it is possible a very different kind of work about/around the music, better if with the contribution of many people involved... Thanks the so-called 'social networks' we can experience a kind of approach to the music quite different from the traditional ones, breaking the old rules (the dynamic expert-reader or critics-fans...) and become creators of our knowledge...
    As you know very well, about the TEB have been written so many bullshits that we could make an encyclopedia: now we have the chance to know something that comes near the truth. I always hope with the help of all that feel to tell something about.

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  8. ..scusa se passo all'italiano. Sono considerazioni interessanti e condivisibili, le avevo già lette ed apprezzate tempo fa in un intervista su di un numero del Mucchio che avevo acquistato appositamente, anche a me le riviste musicali non dicono più molto...
    In effetti è stato grazie alla rete ed al contributo dei fans, oltre che al tuo paziente lavoro, se si sono aggiunti tasselli alla storia un po' oscura della TEB, alla quale pareva non ci fosse nulla da aggiungere, se non ripetere le solite scontate considerazioni. Il mio problema nel parlare di questa musica, oltre all'obiettiva difficolà nel descriverla, sarebbe l'accostarmi, anche con una sorta di timore reverenziale, al modello del critico saccente, unico portatore della conoscenza, col quale son cresciuto musicalmente. Magari in qualità di vecchio fan non addetto ai lavori avrei un altro contributo da portare. Posso provarci... Spero che altri ci provino.
    L'altra faccia della medaglia è che in rete la fruizione è spesso veloce e superficiale e forse pochi hanno la volontà di approfondire.
    Intanto, visto che oggi è pure il mio compleanno, mi godo di nuovo questo video come un regalo speciale :-)
    Un caro saluto

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    1. Non è detto che il modello Wikipedia debba essere la frontiera del sapere contemporaneo (ci sono alcuni evidenti limiti intrinsechi nel modello culturale che esprime...), ma credo che l'idea tradizionale di una qualsivoglia verità trasmessa da un'elite intellettuale stia inesorabilmente tramontando.
      Un aspetto appassionante, almeno per me, delle opportunità offerte dai social networks, più che la trasmissione/condivisione di emozioni ("mi piace", "non mi piace"...)- che comunque mantengono il 'fruitore' in una condizione di passività (uno posta qualcosa e gli altri dicono mi piace/non mi piace), è l'opportunità di costruire collettivamente il sapere intorno a un dato tema. Rimanendo alla TEB, per me questa piccola esperienza è stata illuminante: ho scoperto, con il contributo di tanti, cose che non sapevo, ho riflettuto su aspetti che non avevo mai considerato, ho azzardato interpretazioni... Se mi fossi limitato alle poche ripetute cose conosciute - con cui anch'io sono cresciuto negli anni 70' e 80' - oggi mi ritroverei meno ricco e più frustrato... Poi il Web ti consente di mantenere un oggetto perennemente provvisorio, parziale, incompleto: chiunque, da qualsiasi parte del pianeta, può aggiunge o togliere, modificare, rettificare... rielaborare i dati conoscitivi.
      Credo sia l'essenza della conoscenza contemporanea, essendo tramontata nei fatti l'ambizione all'enciclopedismo dei saperi.
      Se puoi provare a scrivere, fallo pure, pubblicherò senz'altro quello che avrai da dire.
      Se non vuoi, non preoccuparti. Si può contribuire in tanti modi, anche facendo sapere di esserci.
      E comunque... auguri!

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  9. Absolutely fucking gorgeous! The second Mosaic-ish track is close to the DOG EVIL piece on the 1970 In Concert broadcast. What else can one say? To me this is about as perfect as music gets - and an perfect joy to hear & see it in such clarity. Ah! Those Gnostic Chthonic resonances! I could listen to this all day - quite possibly I will, once I figure out how to burn it to a DVD-R with the other TEB footage. I doff my cap to the ongoing wonders of Luca's Ghetto Raga which always makes life just that little bit more worthwhile.

    PS - All I know of Bridgit St John is a couple of old songs she did with Kevin Ayers (Oyster & the Flying Fish / Jolie Madame) although I believe they re-united for a song on his 2007 album???

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  10. PPS - Didn't get the footage of Glen smoking after the gig though. Where's that from??

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    1. Thanks for all your very kind words, Sedayne... They warm my heart up...
      The relation with "Dog Evil" could be very fitting... I'll check it, I didn't think about it.
      Bridget was a sort of protegee of John Peel, sometimes involved in concerts with the TEB too...
      About the short sequence of Glen smoking, is not available at INAfr but at INAMediaPro, where I'm so lucky they have let me registered... In that cut you can see the bands ready to play that evening (Ayers, TEB, Bridget St John and Edgar Broughton band) to come in the hall at the stage (about 1 minute) and in the backstage (2 minutes) smoking and relaxing all together... Not so much, believe me, just interesting to see Glen, Paul, Ursula and a surpisingly chatty Richard Coff, sort of a band leader...

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  11. I have tried three times without success to download this footage, yet ina.fr have happily taken my money each time. Can anyone PLEASE, PLEASE upload this priceless stuff somewhere where I can actually grab it? Thanks and blessings in advance.

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  12. It would make a lot of sense is somebody uploaded the full version of this for everyone.

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    1. This video is still available on the Net at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oI2-S7W55A
      Anyway, you can click up on the right column of this Archive on the picture titled "Third Ear Band live on French TV (May 28th, 1970)"...

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    2. Thanks for the reply Luca but that version is the 15 minute one and the same one I've had for a long time. I'm talking about the full 31/32 minute version that is on the ina.fr site -- I can't get that one anywhere.

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