The 1981 Listening Post - Nick Mason - Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports

 Nick Mason - Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports

#177

May 3 1981

Nick Mason

Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports

Genre: WTF is this? 

4 out of 5

Highlights:

Can’t Get My Motor to Start

I Was Wrong

Do Ya?

First off, let’s talk about the percussion. And production. Stellar. 

But, caveat emptor. This is only a Nick Mason project inasmuch as he produced it and plays percussion. The songs are ALL written by Carla Bley, who is an American Jazz composer. And Robert Wyatt of Soft Machine is the lead singer. 

So, this is a…project. I have little more to say about this except, if you were a Pink Floyd fan and that’s what brought you to an experimental Henry Cow/Captain Beefheart Jazz exercise, you might have said, “WTF is this?”

And then, after that realization that this is not what you expected, you can settle in. I did. And, while I wouldn’t classify this as “rock”, cuz it isn’t, I was rewarded throughout the experience. 

Some of the songs wash over you while demanding your full attention at the exact same time. “Siam” is a great example. Punctuated with what I think are birds caterwauling, Wyatt’s vocals are intended to be lush harmonies that are also abrasive in a Peter Gabriel way. And, for me, that dichotomy works. 

The weakest moments are when the album reaches for Floydian rock and that’s just too easy to compare to the original, paling in comparison.

This is a challenging record and while it appears pretentious, it really is. And it isn’t. As far as Pink Floyd offshoot projects go, this might be my favorite. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/nick-masons-fictitious-sports/1393133766

The 1985 Listening Post - Nick Mason and Rick Fenn - Profiles

Nick Mason and Rick Fenn - Profiles

#274/908

July 29 1985

Nick Mason and Rick Fenn

Profiles

2.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Malta

2 songs in and I already find this more pleasing than any of Roger Waters solo stuff. I know it’s MOR and it’s SUPPOSED to be pleasing but that doesn’t mean it isn’t. And I balked at reviewing it, since all but two tracks are instrumental. 

I’m pretty glad I was reprimanded. That opening track is bouncy and then not and then glides to other styles but never bores. 

It’s gentle, key driven prog rock and it’s perfectly fine. The title track is a top down drive into the countryside. 

But, boy…Side Two opens with an atrociously awful track, “Israel”. Musically crappy, lyrically terrible, arranged…fuck it. I’m tired of talking about this song. 

Ugh…as we keep going through this thing I find myself coming back to Brand X. It’s a Phil Collins side project (what the fuck was this guy NOT doing in the 80s??). Unorthodox Behavior starts off great with "Nuclear Burn" but then it just owns up to what it is: Jazz Fusion noodle bore. 

And that’s what’s happening here. 

Only late, with “Zip Code” do we get any sense of life but it’s a mirage. They try real hard with “Black Ice” but these guys aren’t really all that fiery. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/profiles-remastered/542454994