I'm very, very pleased to be able to share this one with you. I finally discovered it, after many l-o-n-g years of wanting to hear it (I've never seen a copy & don't know anybody who ever has), at the Pukekos page, where it's been posted it with little-to-no info. It's sufficiently important to warrant further explanation, I think?
At a loss as how to occupy himself when Swell Maps broke up in early 1980, Epic (aka Kevin Godfrey) began playing drums for Mayo Thompson'sunforgivingly exasperating Red Krayola, while toying with the idea of pursuing a solo career with the Maps' old label, Rough Trade. Around the same time, R.T. founder Geoff Travis had successfully managed to lure ex-Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt out of self-imposed early retirement to record a sporadic series of 7"s (most of which were anthologised as the Nothing Can Stop Us LP), culminating in the landmark "Shipbuilding". Inspired by the label's hands-on spirit of anything goes collaboration, Wyatt simultaneously embarked on a series of lowkey collaborations with other Rough Trade (or associated) artists: The Raincoats, Scritti Politti, Vivien Goldman, Ben Watt & finally, in 1981, Epic himself. These being his first official solo recordings, Epic - apparently not having sufficient confidence in his own voice at this point - asked Wyatt to provide the lead vocal instead. The results were breathtaking.
30 years on, I'm genuinely nonplussed as to why this lovely e.p. continues to becompletely overlooked. Possibly it's because people simply do not know about it. Wyatt's contribution only came to my attention comparatively recently while purusing this excellent discography - even dedicated fansites like Strong Comet somehow manage to omit it. And no doubt Wyatt's pseudonymous billing as "Robert Ellidge - (muddy) mouth" is a contributing factor? Musically, "Jelly Babies" falteringly begins to map out Epic's future, gentler musical direction & has very little in common with his former band, though the two Wyatt-free b-side tracks ("A 3-Acre Floor" & "Pop In Packets") were both considered suitably Maps-compatible to be included on their Train Out Of It retrospective. Obsessives will be keen to learn that the barking dog you might hear (if you listen very carefully) is in fact Wyatt's own pet, Flossie!
One final interesting aside: Epic's vast, constantly expanding record collection (much of it accumulated during protracted stints behind the counter at Rough Trade & the Notting Hill branch of Record & Tape Exchange) was apparently cited by Alan McGee as "the cornerstone upon which Creation Records was based". Crikey.
Perhaps best known as a co-founder of British post-punkers Swell Maps, Epic Soundtracks reinvented himself as an eccentric, critically acclaimed piano balladeer during the '90s. Soundtracks -- who trademarked his stage name, forcing Epic Records' soundtrack division to change its spelling to "Soundtrax" -- was born Kevin Paul Godfrey in Croydon, England, on March 23, 1959 (although several sources list Paul Godley). In 1972, he and his older brother Nicholas -- later Nikki Sudden -- started playing music together, influenced chiefly by Can and T. Rex, and often using found objects as percussion. By 1976, this project had become the seminal Swell Maps; over 1979-1980, the band issued two cultishly adored albums that influenced underground icons like Sonic Youth and Pavement.
Soundtracks had an affinity for pure pop and singer/songwriter sensitivity that had thus far gone unfulfilled. In 1993, he returned to his long-abandoned solo career to explore just that, signing with Bar/None to issue his first-ever album, Rise Above. Although it featured guest appearances from alt-rock admirers like Lee Ranaldo, Kim Gordon, and J Mascis, the album was a warm, gentle exercise in traditional-style pop that placed Soundtracks and his piano firmly at center stage. Surprised at the results given Soundtracks' post-punk pedigree, critics responded with equal warmth. A follow-up album, Sleeping Star, appeared in 1994 and duplicated much of its predecessor's low-key charm.
Soundtracks had an affinity for pure pop and singer/songwriter sensitivity that had thus far gone unfulfilled. In 1993, he returned to his long-abandoned solo career to explore just that, signing with Bar/None to issue his first-ever album, Rise Above. Although it featured guest appearances from alt-rock admirers like Lee Ranaldo, Kim Gordon, and J Mascis, the album was a warm, gentle exercise in traditional-style pop that placed Soundtracks and his piano firmly at center stage. Surprised at the results given Soundtracks' post-punk pedigree, critics responded with equal warmth. A follow-up album, Sleeping Star, appeared in 1994 and duplicated much of its predecessor's low-key charm.
